A comparison of musical aptitude with reading ability and language development among 1st and 2nd grade students

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships of music aptitude with literacy skills for ELL and native English speaker students in the 1st and 2nd grade. This quantitative study follows a correlational design with a comparative component. This study was limited by a small sample (N=28) of 1st and 2nd grade students from one elementary school. Testing instruments for this study included Rhythm and Tonal music aptitude tests from the Intermediate Measures of Music Audiation (IMMA) and literacy measures from the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS), including phonemic segmentation fluency (PSF), nonsense word fluency (NWF), word reading fluency (WRF), and oral reading fluency (ORF). Results indicated that positive relationships existed between Tonal Audiation, Rhythmic Audiation, and the IMMA composite. The IMMA Composite, the Rhythmic Audiation Test, and the PSF from the DIBELS were statistically significant, favoring native English speakers over ELLs.