Boosting language processing with song [NASW]

In the movie “Finding Nemo,” Mr. Ray takes his aquatic pupils on a journey through the ocean. To teach them the names of the plant and animals they encounter along the way, he uses the medium of song: putting the names to a tune and beat.

Why might Mr. Ray sing to his students instead of simply speaking to teach them? Music has a more regular beat than normal conversation, and a stable rhythm can make language easier to learn, according to Christina Vanden Bosch der Nederlanden, a researcher at the University of Western Ontario who studies the effects of singing on language processing. 

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Photo courtesy of the U.S. Dept of Education