Term
2011
Capstone
Restricted Access Thesis
Degree Name
MAESL
Abstract
Effective vocabulary instruction in a two-way immersion school is a fundamental ingredient to help children develop full bilingualism. Isabel Beck, Margaret G. McKeown, and Linda Kucan propose a robust instruction that directly explains the meaning of words and that uses questions and exercises to encourage children to acquire deep vocabulary knowledge. On the other hand, music has the power of motivating children to learn words in a fun way and of making vocabulary connections with rhythm, pitch and playful song stories that might enhance their lexicon. This study explores how effectively Beck et al.'s approach to teaching vocabulary can be applied to teaching Spanish vocabulary, when combined with a music component, in the daily context of a kindergarten classroom at a two-way immersion school. The study was conducted in a kindergarten classroom at a two-way immersion school during the summer academic program with six students of a group of twenty children. Students were exposed to a robust vocabulary instruction with a music component for two weeks. Students took weekly oral assessments before, during, and after instruction in each week and a final comprehension and vocabulary knowledge assessment at the end of the study. The results of these assessments showed that students made significant progress in those two weeks, but their scores did not reach the expectations set for the learning process. The findings suggested that students needed more time to learn the vocabulary and that the summer academic setting was not appropriate for this type of study.
Recommended Citation
Figueroa García, Juan Rigoberto, "A robust vocabulary approach with a music component" (2011). School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations. 442.
https://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/hse_all/442