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Music Lessons Linked to Better Reading

Children who learn an instrument may also develop useful reading skills, according to research reported on November 9. The study involved 86 Cantonese-speaking kindergarten children in Hong Kong, recruited in 2023. Their average age was about five. Half had received instrumental music training, mainly on the piano or violin. The other half had no music training beyond their usual kindergarten classes. Researchers compared children of similar ages, general thinking abilities and family backgrounds. The music group performed better when reading Chinese words aloud. Their average word-reading score was 65 percent, compared with 38 percent for the other group. The findings suggest a possible link between musical training and the ability to recognise and work with speech sounds.

However, the study does not prove that music lessons caused the reading difference. It compared existing groups rather than randomly placing children into music classes. Other differences could still help explain the results. The researchers have started a larger study designed to test cause and effect more directly. Meanwhile, the findings offer a useful topic for families and schools deciding how to divide children’s time. Extra reading practice may seem like the clearest route to better results, but music could deserve a place too. Cost is another issue: private lessons and instruments may be difficult for some families to afford. Schools could consider group lessons, while also asking whether children enjoy them. Choosing an activity involves more than comparing test scores.

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Chat

Talk about these words from the article.

instrument / kindergarten / recruited / training / aloud / word-reading score / findings / recognise / speech sounds / prove / randomly / cause and effect / afford / group lessons / test scores

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Discussion

1. What experiences have you had with learning a musical instrument?

2. How might learning music and learning a language be similar?

3. How should parents divide children’s time between academic subjects and the arts?

4. What would you want to know before accepting a claim about better learning?

5. How could schools make music lessons available to more children?

6. How much should children’s enjoyment influence their choice of activities?

7. What skills are valuable even when they do not improve test scores?

8. What would encourage you to start learning an instrument as an adult?