Singing Enhances Poetry Learning and Memorization in Preschool Children

Preschool years are a critical period for developing advanced sociolinguistic skills, and poetry education provides unique cognitive and cultural benefits. Singing, as an alternative to rote recitation, may enhance this learning, yet empirical evidence remains limited. Across two experiments, we investigated the effects of singing versus recitation on memorizing classical Chinese poems in 118 Mandarin-speaking preschool children. In Experiment 1a, children aged 4-5 years who learned poetry through singing recalled the material more rapidly and fluently than those who learned through rote recitation. Experiment 1b showed that these advantages persisted over a 6-month interval. Experiment 2 demonstrated that singing continued to improve memorization speed, accuracy, and fluency even with increased semantic complexity in children aged 5-6 years. Together, these findings provide strong evidence for a "singing superiority effect," whereby singing enhances both immediate and long-term poem memorization in preschoolers. We discuss potential sensorimotor and motivational mechanisms by which melodic structure supports language memory and propose singing as a practical, developmentally appropriate strategy for early language acquisition.