Philippine E-Journals

The Effectiveness of Instrumental Religious Music on Selected Reading Comprehension Skills and the Reading Comprehension Level of First Year College Students

Glenn T. Hallorina

Discipline: Education

 

Abstract:

Researchers on the reading process have not reached a level of contentment as far as the reading proficiency of students is concerned. Thus, experts in the field of reading generate strategies and methodologies to help improve, if not augment, students’ reading proficiency. Among the different approaches, music has been found to have significant effect on both students’ reading skills and comprehension level. This study aimed to develop the specific reading skills of the English 1a (Developmental Reading) students particularly on noting details, getting the main ideas, making inferences and predicting outcomes with the aid of the instrumental (religious) music. In this exploration, the quasi-experimental method of research using the two-group pre-test and post test design was used. Findings revealed slight improvement in the reading comprehension skills of students. The improvement is the progression of most students in the experimental group from low instructional level to high instructional level of reading comprehension. The religious music background aided in the improvement of the reading performance of students in four specific skills of noting details, getting the main idea, making inferences and predicting outcomes. On the other hand, reading comprehension skills of students who were not exposed to the musical background remained the same throughout the experiment. Students exposed to religious music background also improved their grades in English 1a at the end of the course. Instrumental background music especially religious music can create a positive mental atmosphere to the students. Thus, creativity in using music to help students in their reading comprehension can be a good tool to achieve reading objectives.