| The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to investigate the relationship between several arts modalities and language acquisition. The foundation of the study was how students acquire language through visual, auditory, aural, and kinetic modalities. The following art modalities were examined: (a) visuals and (tactile) manipulatives, (b) visuals and kinetics, and (c) music (auditory) and kinetics, as perceived by general education (GE) and English Language Learner (ELL) students. One hundred seventeen New York City public school students were surveyed. ELL and GE students from two high schools and two junior high schools who had varying levels of art experience and language acquisition skills participated. The students represented multiethnic backgrounds, genders, and lower socioeconomic levels, with high Latino representation at the secondary level. Data were collected using the student interest inventory and three experimental pretests and posttests over a six-week period. The researcher conducted interviews with four volunteering students and observed four classrooms. The experimental findings revealed no significant connections between the artistic modalities and language acquisition for either ELLs or GE students. If the sample size had been sufficient, trends found in the data might have attained significance. The interviews and class observations showed students using all the modalities. The interviewed students believed the various modalities helped their English learning, especially when multiple modalities were combined, as for example in a film. This result suggests that ELL teachers should be encouraged to use artistic modalities more consciously and deliberately than is currently the case. |
