Supportive Development of Phonological Awareness Through Musical Activities According to Edgar Willems

Abstract

It is important that before entering primary school, the child’s phonological awareness is supported by a variety of different activities whereby phonological awareness is based on a well-developed hearing ability. Hearing is part of the musical activities that support/encourage phonological awareness with the development of rhythmic and melodic music listening. In this article, we aimed to investigate the effects of musical activities derived from the methodological system of Edward Willems on phonological awareness through a quasi-experimental study with 70 children aged 4 to 7 years. Thirty-five of them received 1 hr of music instruction per week for 6 months (experimental group) and the other 35 children received no such musical support (control group). We tested each child’s phonological awareness at the beginning of the music program and after 6 months. The results of the analysis of covariance showed that there was a statistically significant difference in phonological awareness between the experimental and control groups in favor of the experimental group. The results of the research confirmed that musical activities based on the methodological system Edgar Willems are a good and effective means of promoting phonological awareness, especially in early childhood.