Music can play a valuable role in supporting children's communication and language development. It is important to understand how music and language are connected so that musical activities can be carefully selected and planned to make the most of music's potential.
Songs and rhymes support language and communication particularly well - and so this will be my focus in this piece. But the full range of music activities (playing instruments, listening to music and moving rhythmically) also support the ability to discriminate between, and separate, sounds - abilities that are crucial for language learning and, at a later stage, reading.
The most important point is that all music activities need to be carefully tailored to babies' and young children's developmental abilities if they are to have cross-over benefits to language. Not just any song-singing or musical activities will do.
Register now to continue reading
Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Unlimited access to news and opinion
-
Email newsletter providing activity ideas, best practice and breaking news
Already have an account? Sign in here
