tknight poster

tknight poster

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  THE EFFECTS OFPREFERENTIAL MUSIC LISTENING ON ADOLESCENT READING COMPREHENSION Fig. 2. Non-Fiction Text Comprehension: Silent vs. Music ComprehensionScores 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 Student Participants D L N T 0.7 0.60.6 0.7 0.9 0.8 0.90.9 Silent Reading Reading with Music Fig. 3. Narrative Text Pace: Silent vs. With Music WordsPerMinute 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300 Student Participants D L N T 139.52 219.34 149.87 260.42 171.92 258.38 140 296.64 Silent Reading Reading with Music Fig. 4. Non-Fiction Text Pace: Silent vs. With Music WordsPerMinute 50 82.5 115 147.5 180 212.5 245 277.5 310 342.5 375 Student Participants D L N T 156.36 231.6 201 268 104.02 173.83 101.17 238.03 Silent Reading Reading with Music Fig. 1. Narrative Text Comprehension: Silent vs. Music ComprehensionScores 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 Student Participants D L N T 0.80.8 0.7 0.5 0.9 0.7 0.80.8 Silent Reading Reading with Music INTRODUCTION Today’s adolescents have greater access to technology than any generation before them. For these ‘digital natives,’ multitasking, especially with music, is increasingly routine. In many high schools, students with earbuds plugged in during work time are a common sight. This study sought to examine what effects, if any, listening to music via personal electronics has on teen readers’ comprehension, and whether lower-skilled readers were especially susceptible to distraction. PROCESS Four adolescent students were given a standard reading exam. After determining reading level, students read a set of fiction and non-fiction texts in silence, and then a second set while listening to familiar music via their cell phones. After reading each text, students answered standard comprehension questions. Achievement with and without music was then compared, along with reading rates and pre-exam student interviews to form a comprehensive analysis of what impact the music had on the readers. FINDINGS The results of this study suggest that familiar music interferes with language processing and reading comprehension, though the strength of the effect is not universal. Previous research pointed to a neurological bias towards information heard, rather than read, which appears to be the case here, particularly among weaker readers. Score comparisons revealed that comprehension while reading with music fell 10-30%, regardless of genre, when compared against reading in silence (figs. 1 and 2). After reading while exposed to familiar music, students were less able to recall explicit information from the texts. Reading speed was also affected by the presence of their music (figs. 3 and 4), though the degree and nature of the effect appears to be more reliably related to student study habits and preference than the presence of the music itself. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE Given the findings of this study, as well as the research on which it was founded, it is strongly recommended that educators discourage students from listening to music on personal devices while reading. Lyrics, fast beats, and loud volume all serve to disrupt comprehension of texts, slowing down pace and deteriorating learning. Cognitive research has demonstrated that the human brain biases attentive resources towards speech and verbal processing. over visual information. With the contemporary focus on reading for information, it does not serve student interests to encourage multitasking that conflicts with their ongoing literacy development. This is especially critical in regards to students with developing skills or students with special needs, who may well be more sensitive to distraction than others, and who require adult modeling of quality independent literacy skills, as well as a quiet environment in which to practice. Travis O. Knight and Dr. Dennis Parsons with SUNY Oswego SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE STUDY Future researchers may choose to look at what effect(s) music may have on student writing achievement in various genres, or on other types of reading beyond comprehension tasks. Researchers may examine the role of home life in the development of multitasking study habits. Some data obtained in this study suggested that student studying preference may predict the severity of music’s deleterious effects, and exploration of that area may help identify students susceptible to distraction. This research project was completed for Dr. Dennis Parons’ LIT 530 class as part of SUNY Oswego’s Literacy Education Graduate Program in the fall of 2014. Students were volunteers known personally to the researcher. For more information, please contact Travis at [email protected].