How primary teachers use music to support oral language development

This study is professional inquiry into the pedagogy used by primary teachers to encourage students' oral language development and to meet the increased oral language requirements of the BC English Language Arts curriculum. I interviewed three primary teachers who routinely use music activities to help children develop oral language or to meet specific oral language outcomes and I also responded to the interview questions as a fourth participant. I analyzed the interviews qualitatively to better understand the beliefs that are the foundation of the teachers' practices and to discover the sources of these beliefs. I collected and compared strategies and teacher perceptions of student responses to these strategies. The findings of this study, including a description of promising practices, may provide a foundation for teacher education or professional development on this topic. --Leaf ii.