The Effects of Shared Singing Picture Book Instruction on Chinese Immersion Kindergarteners’ Spoken Vocabulary Recall and Retention

Abstract

The present study investigates the effects of shared singing of a picture book on the Chinese vocabulary recall and retention of young bilingual learners in Chinese immersion programs using an experimental study design. One hundred and six immersion kindergarteners from three different school districts in the U.S. Midwest were assigned to the experimental group (n = 53) and the control group (n = 53) at the class level. The experimental group listened to a song-based storybook (also known as a story song) and shared in singing it, while the control group heard the same story, read aloud and shared in reading it. The pre-test was administered to determine the participants’ vocabulary level before the study. Immediate and delayed post-tests were used to assess their immediate recall and delayed retention of vocabulary targeted in the shared reading/singing. Independent t-test and one-way ANOVA analysis were employed to examine differences between the two groups in vocabulary recall and retention. The results showed that the experimental group achieved greater improvement in their vocabulary than the control group. This finding suggests that shared singing can be a useful pedagogical tool for spoken vocabulary acquisition and retention in picture books.

Keywords

Chinese immersion / shared singing / song-based picture books / story songs / vocabulary recall/retention

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2017 Higher Education Press and Springer