Abstract
This study focuses on an action research project related to the use of classical music to improve reading comprehension in a foreign language classroom at a university level in the town of Ambato, Tungurahua, Ecuador. The need for university students to improve reading skills in this society was analysed, due to the fact that young people have not developed reading habits, even in their mother tongue. This aspect was conside- red, as well as students’ results on reading exercises applied to them, before and after being exposed to the use of classical music in the language classroom, which were evaluated through a comparison between the different experiences revealed in the surveys applied to the students, and their grade reports. The conclusion highlights that there was a significant improvement in the academic performance of students when they felt comfortable in their classroom environment while classical music was played. Even though research has not yet proved scientifically that the use of classical music influences students to improve their reading comprehension in the language classroom, there are studies related to the use of classical music in education and the learning process, related to the topic of this study, which contributed to conclude that further research must be done in this specific area.
Highlights
The need for university students to develop reading skills has been noticed for more than fifteen years in English as a Foreign Language (EFL)
This study is based on an Action Research project carried out at the University of Ambato which intended to discover to what extend the use of classical music in the EFL classroom encourages university students to improve reading comprehension in their language class
The tools used to develop this action research project were the reading materials that were part of the textbook and workbook, Passages 2; extra reading materials related to the class topics; the previously selected classical music tracks; reading comprehension questions; and the questionnaires applied to each student before and after being exposed to the use of classical music in the foreign language classroom
Summary
The need for university students to develop reading skills has been noticed for more than fifteen years in English as a Foreign Language (EFL). In Ecuadorian society, people tend to have insufficiently developed reading habits and motivation from early stages, even in their mother tongue. Regarding this aspect, the latest census performed in Ecuador, to people older than 16 in Quito, Guayaquil, Cuenca, Machala and Ambato, demonstrated that: El 26,5% de los ecuatorianos no dedica tiempo para leer, de ellos el 56,8% no lo hace por falta de interés y el 31,7% por falta de tiempo. 50.3% of Ecuadorians read 1 to 2 hours per week] (INEC, 2012). As a result of research that has been performed, it is possible to see the truth in Plato’s statement “musical training is a more potent instrument than any other for education” (Harris, 2009, p. xi), as neuro-musicology studies the form in which music affects the brain. Ramos (2008, p.6) for instance, states that music is in the environment, all around us, and the voice is the first musical instrument possessed by humans; the qualities of sound and its effects in learning are possible to investigate, as people musically express themselves in an improvised voice with everyday objects
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