The Effect of Singing Paired with Signing on Receptive Vocabulary Skills ofElementary ESL Students

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of singing paired with signing on receptive vocabulary skills of elementary English as a Second Language (ESL) students. Eighty children attended language sessions in one of the following rehearsal conditions: sung text paired with signs, spoken text paired with signs, sung text, and a control group of spoken text only. Pretest and posttest data were analyzed to determine gains in receptive vocabulary identification. Results from this study indicate that all four groups made significant pretest to posttest gains. Children in the sung text paired with sign and the spoken text paired with sign conditions, however, made significantly greater gains in vocabulary recognition than those in the control condition of spoken text only. These findings suggest the benefits of integrating signs into second language rehearsal to provide visual cues and to engage students in meaningful physical participation. The condition yielding the highest mean gain score was that in which signing was paired with singing, indicating there may be advantages to using a combination of the two for language acquisition.