材料呈现方式对不同音乐训练经验的汉语儿童英语言语记忆的影响

The Impact of Material Presentation Mode on English Verbal Memory among Chinese Children with and without Formal Music Training

选取受过音乐训练和未受过音乐训练的汉语儿童为被试，在同一呈现速率条件下以歌曲、韵律和朗读三种方式呈现一段英文材料，从单词、句子和篇章三个层面探讨音乐训练经验和材料呈现方式对第二语言言语记忆的影响。结果发现：1）音乐组的记忆成绩高于非音乐组；2）相比于朗读材料，儿童对于歌曲和韵律材料的记忆效果更好；3）在单词和句子层面，音乐组和非音乐组的差异主要体现在歌曲材料上，而篇章层面没有类似发现。该结果表明音乐训练和材料呈现方式均能影响儿童的第二语言言语记忆，并且音乐训练效应对材料呈现方式表现出选择性。

Previous research has confirmed the age-old wisdom that verbal materials are better remembered when presented in musical forms (e.g.， songs) than in other forms (e.g.， regular speech). Furthermore， several studies have shown that music training can improve individuals’ verbal memory. These studies， however， had three limitations: they were conducted mainly with adults， they examined only verbal memory in native language， and they did not investigate potential interactive effects between music training and mode of presentation. In the present study， 112 children were recruited from a local primary school. About half of them (n=55) had received three or more years of regular formal music training (mainly piano). The rest (n=57) had received minimal (half a year or less， and mostly none) music training. Subjects within each group were randomly assigned to one of three presentation conditions: song， rhythm， and speech. In the “song” condition， subjects were asked to remember four carefully selected lines (27 words) in English that were presented as the lyrics to the tune of an English children’s song Apple Song. In the rhythm condition， they were read the same four lines with rhythm and in the speech condition as regular speech. The text was presented six times and subjects were asked to recall the text four times: after Trials three， five， and six， and 15 minutes after Trial six. Results showed that (1) subjects with formal music training outperformed those with minimal music training， (2) materials were retained better when presented in musical forms (song or rhythm) than when presented as regular speech， and (3) the effects of music training and presentation mode showed a significant interaction， indicating that music training facilitated verbal memory mainly under the song condition. These results extended previous research by replicating the association between music training and verbal memory among children and with second-language materials. Moreover， the present study specified that the music training’s facilitation effect was most prominent when the materials were presented as song lyrics. These results should provide useful information for teachers and developers of teaching materials.