An investigation of the relationship between musical aptitude and bilingualism
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Master of Science (MS)
Major/Program
Music Education
First Advisor's Name
Janet Duguay-Kirsten
First Advisor's Committee Title
Committee Chair
Second Advisor's Name
Joel Galand
Third Advisor's Name
Erskine Dottin
Date of Defense
11-10-2010
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a relationship between musical aptitude and the ability to speak more than one language. The sample size of 50 participants consisted of six-year-old students without prior formal music training. Participants' bilingual ability was determined by their English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Levels, as documented by their school district. Musical aptitude was assessed using the Primary Measures of Music Audiation (PMMA).
A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted. Bilinguals' mean scores in the PMMA were significantly higher at the p< .oi level than their monolingual counterparts. The study found no interaction between bilingual and monolingual groups.
Results point to the existence of a relationship between musical aptitude and the number of languages spoken by individuals. The researcher suggests that music teachers screen students for bilingual abilities to identify those who may have increased musical aptitude correlated with their linguistic diversity.
Identifier
FI15101458
Recommended Citation
Fuentes, Patricia D., "An investigation of the relationship between musical aptitude and bilingualism" (2010). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3424.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/3424
Rights Statement
In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).