A music and movement program to enhance multilingual learners phonemic awareness skills

The goal for the study was to create an inclusive (Gay, 2010) and culturally responsive music and movement program for all children, concentrating on MLLs. The program allowed them to learn phonemic awareness in a joyful way by moving their bodies to the sounds of music. Given that phonemic awareness skills play an important role in early reading acquisition, it made sense to screen children’s ability early on in education. Deficits in phonemic awareness are typical of early childhood children with emergent reading difficulties (Moats, 2016). The theoretical framework supporting this study draws on the tenets of both critical theory (Madison, 2005; Popkewitz, 1998) and social justice theory (Kincheloe &McLaren, 2002). Critical theory represents a broad school of thought that critiques the nature of power relationships in a culture and explores ways to emancipate members oppressed within the system. The following research questions guided our study: How did a ten-week culturally responsive Music and Movement Program impact the phonemic awareness abilities of emergent multilingual learners?