A number of students within Australian schools are recognised as having English as an additional language or dialect (EAL/D). The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (2014) outlines that students with EAL/D are seen to struggle with their English-speaking proficiency. With research recognising the prominence of music in everyday life, English becoming a global language, and the number of similarities between music and speech, this research explored a potential solution for students’ English-speaking proficiency
by investigating the development of prosody in students with EAL/D through music. Using a singlesubject experimental design (SSED), a total of six students with EAL/D from years one and two at a State School on the Gold Coast in Australia participated in an eight-week music intervention that drew upon principles of audiation from Gordon’s Music Learning Theory. Together, evidence from EAL/D Rating Scales and semi-structured interviews with staff revealed all students improved their prosody after their engagement with and participation in the music intervention but to varying degrees. This research not only contributes to the field of music education, but has the potential to
inform national curriculum developments regarding the teaching of students with EAL/D. Recommendations and future research directions are provided.

Published in: Canada International Conference on Education, 2017

• Date of Conference: 26-29 June, 2017
• DOI: 10.2053/CICE.2017.0226
• Electronic ISBN: 978-1-908320-83-4
• Conference Location: University of Toronto Mississauga, Canada