The Role of Music in Second Language Learning

Through the ages, art has been an expression means for conveying various ideas especially intangible ones. Among numerous types of art, music has been an important aspect of every culture with which we use to express our thoughts and feelings. However, its role in learning a language and especially learning a foreign language has not received great attention in educational research. Music due to its affective power in reducing pressure and stress will enhance language learning environment. In this regard, the present study was conducted to examine the relative effectiveness of the use of songs (lyrics and music) on vocabulary acquisition. Using an experimental approach, results of this study showed that varying degrees of the use of songs would yield different English language achievement. The subjects who were exposed to the most music obtained higher achievement.