The Impact of Music Therapy on Children in a Multicultural Elementary School 3658393297, 9783658393298

Table of contents :
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
1 Literature Review
1.1 First and Second Language Acquisition (SLA)
1.1.1 History and Models of L2 Learning Theories
1.1.2 A View from Developmental Psychology
1.1.3 Indications for Teaching L2
1.1.4 Research on Romance Languages as L2
1.1.5 Summary
1.2 Music Therapy
1.2.1 Definition of Music Therapy
1.2.2 Settings and Application of Music Therapy
1.2.3 Music Therapy in Educational Settings
1.2.4 Summary
1.3 Music and Language Acquisition
1.3.1 Linguistic and Musical Sound Systems
1.3.2 Melodic Elements of Speech and Music
1.3.3 Linking Rhythm in Speech and Music
1.3.4 Syntax: Structure in Language and Music
1.3.5 Communication: Transfer of Linguistic and Emotional Meaning
1.3.6 Musical Training as Entrainment for Developing Language Skills
1.3.7 Summary
1.4 Migrant Populations in Rome
1.4.1 Statistics on Migrant Populations in Rome
1.4.2 Children with Foreign Citizenship in the Italian School System in Rome
1.4.3 Language Skills in Italy’s and Rome’s Migrant Populations
1.4.4 Summary
2 Methodology
2.1 Timeline
2.2 Study Design
2.3 Sample
2.4 Music Therapy Intervention
2.5 Bus Story Test, Italian version (It-BST)
2.5.1 Bus Story Test (BST)
2.5.2 Italian Version of the Bus Story Test (It-BST)
2.5.3 Application of the BST in the literature
2.5.4 Motivation for choosing the It-BST as a tool of measurement
2.6 Evaluation of Behavior in Experimental and Control Condition
2.6.1 Likert Scale and Procedure
2.6.2 Misbehavior
2.6.3 Participation
2.6.4 Attention
2.6.5 Silence
2.7 Analysis of the Data
3 Data Analysis And Results
3.1 Outcomes on the It BST
3.2 Hypothesis 1: Children perform differently on the Likert Behavior Scales in Music Therapy and Regular Classroom Activity
3.3 Hypothesis 2: One or more of the It-BST scores correlate with one or more items on the Likert scales in music therapy
3.4 Hypothesis 3: One or more of the It-BST scores correlate with one or more items on the Likert scales in regular classroom lessons
4 Discussion of Results
4.1 Summary of Findings
4.1.1 Bus Story Test Items
4.1.2 Likert Scales
4.1.3 The hypotheses
4.2 Implications for Future Research
4.3 Limitations of the Study
Conclusions
Bibliography

Citation preview

Sylvia Ingeborg Haering

The Impact of Music Therapy on Children in a Multicultural Elementary School

The Impact of Music Therapy on Children in a Multicultural Elementary School

Sylvia Ingeborg Haering

The Impact of Music Therapy on Children in a Multicultural Elementary School

Sylvia Ingeborg Haering Augsburg, Germany Dissertation Università degli Studi Roma Tre, Rome, Italy, 2020

ISBN 978-3-658-39329-8 ISBN 978-3-658-39330-4 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-39330-4 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2022 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Responsible Editor: Stefanie Probst This Springer VS imprint is published by the registered company Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature. The registered company address is: Abraham-Lincoln-Str. 46, 65189 Wiesbaden, Germany

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my supervisor Prof. Barbara De Angelis, for her constant guidance and moral support. Thank you to Prof. Milena Gammaitoni, for her precious friendship and guidance, and to Prof. Giuseppe Bove, for his valuable and insightful feedback. Thank you to the Università degli Studi Roma Tre for awarding me a scholarship, and providing me with the financial means to complete this project, the PhD Committee and the staff at Università degli Studi Roma Tre, for making this project possible. A heartfelt thank you to the principal, teachers, students, and staff of Istituto Comprensivo Simonetta Salacone for making this research project possible. Finally, I extend my thanks to my fellow PhD students at Università degli Studi Roma Tre for their continuous encouragement, advice and moral support.

v

Introduction

Helping children who experience problems in understanding and producing the language of instruction at school, and including them in the classroom, is a crucial task for education in the 21st century. The OECD member countries increasingly report problems in language skills in younger immigrant populations.1 In Italy, for example, a significant number of individuals, families, and children have experienced migration,2 and the number of children who predominantly speak a non-Italian language at home and enter the school system with insufficient knowledge of the language of instruction increases.3 Families with migrant backgrounds tend to be spread across Italy unevenly, and most of them move to metropolitan cities, such as Rome.4 Consequently, there is a need to help these children improve their skills in the language of instruction, and for interventions to facilitate the acquisition of the second language at school. According to the idea of scholastic inclusion, interventions that foster a sense of belonging and community are increasingly in demand. 5 Novel types of intervention that facilitate self-expression, communication, and self-awareness might aid in creating a more inclusive environment for children who experience migrating to another 1

Schleicher, A. (2015). Helping immigrant students to succeed at school—and beyond. Paris: OECD, p. 1. 2 I 100 Comuni con più cittadini stranieri residenti (per popolazione) (2018, January 1). Retrieved April 1, 2019, from www.comuniverso.it. 3 The usage of Italian language, dialects and other languages in Italy (2017, December 27). Retrieved February 6, 2018, from www.istat.it. 4 Comuni con più cittadini stranieri residenti—primi cinque Comuni per regione (in %) (2018, January 1). Retrieved April 1, 2019, from www.comuniverso.it. 5 Schleicher, A. (2015). Helping immigrant students to succeed at school—and beyond. Paris: OECD, p. 6.

vii

viii

Introduction

country, and find their identity between their parents’ cultural background and that of their new home. Music therapy is a type of treatment that uses music as a means to reach a therapeutic goal. It is increasingly investigated in educational contexts, for example, as a tool to help students cope with anxiety, depression, and other psychological problems,6 to develop cognitive skills,7 social skills,8 and to further inclusion at school.9 Since music and language are neurologically closely connected,10 music therapy has proven to be a valuable tool for developing linguistic skills, particularly in populations with delays in their language development.11 Consequently, music therapy is growing increasingly important in educational settings, especially in the overlap between inclusive education and language acquisition. The present study does not primarily seek to prove that music therapy affects children in a multicultural school environment. It rather inquiries how this effect might look like. Therefore, the results of this study might grant valuable insight into the dynamics of music therapy in a large group of children, at least some of whom have problems using the teaching language. In the long run, music therapy interventions might improve, get more adapted to this population, and be more efficient for use in schools. In other words, this study might help establish music therapy as a useful tool to promote language learning, inclusion, and well-being in multicultural and multilingual classrooms. Therefore, the research question of this study is: How does the level of language skills manifest in music therapy sessions when compared to regular school lessons in multilingual classes? Accordingly, the following hypotheses are formulated:

6

Shipley, A., & Odell-Miller, H. (2012). The Role of Music Therapy for Anxious Adolescent School Refusers: The Importance of Identity. British Journal of Music Therapy, 26(1), 39– 52. 7 Thaut, M. (2005). Rhythm, Music, and the Brain: scientific foundations and clinical applications. New York: Routledge, pp. 116–119. 8 Jordan, A., Menebröcker, E., & Tüpker, R. (2016). Can music therapy support language development of primary school children? Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 25(1), 135. 9 Rickson, D., & McFerran, K. (2014). Creating music cultures in the schools: A perspective from community music therapy. University Park, Illinois: Barcelona Publishers, pp. 27, 67, 93. 10 Patel, A. (2011). Why would musical training benefit the neural encoding of speech? The OPERA hypothesis. Frontiers in Psychology, 2(142), 1–14. 11 Hoskins, C. (1988). Use of music to increase verbal response and improve expressive language abilities of preschool language delayed children. Journal of Music Therapy, 25(2), 73– 84.

Introduction

ix

Hypothesis 1: Children perform differently on the Likert behavior scales in music therapy and regular classroom activity. Hypothesis 2: One or more of the It-BST scores correlate with one or more items on the Likert scales in music therapy sessions. Hypothesis 3: One or more of the It-BST scores correlate with one or more items on the Likert scales in regular classroom lessons. The first hypothesis is based on the idea that children who experience difficulties in using the language of instruction might show different behavior in class than those students who do not. Consequently, they might participate less, be very quiet, get bored, or misbehave. Music therapy, however, relies less on verbal instruction than regular classroom activities. So, it might be possible to observe variations in the children’s behavior. The literature supports this idea because music therapy positively influences relationship-building,12 emotional self-regulation,13 attention,14 inclusion,15 and second language skills.16 The second and third hypotheses refer to correlations between the students’ language skills and behavior. They explore how the ability to reproduce a narrative according to the Bus Story Test17 might correlate to behavior during music therapy sessions and regular classroom activity. Therefore, this thesis opens with a literature review in chapter 1. It investigates processes of first and second language acquisition (section 1.1), music therapy in educational settings (section 1.2), the relationship between music and linguistics (section 1.3), and the current background of migrant children with particular attention to aspects of school life and language skills (1.4).

12

Fragkouli, A. (2013). Music Therapy in Special Schools: The Assessment of the Quality of Relationship. Approaches: Music Therapy & Special Music Education, 5(2), 152–165. 13 Uhlig, S., Jansen, E., & Scherder, E. (2018). “Being a bully isn’t very cool…”: Rap & Sing Music Therapy for enhanced emotional self-regulation in an adolescent school setting— a randomized controlled trial. Psychology of Music, 46(4), 568–587. 14 Kim, J., Wigram, T., & Gold, C. (2008). The Effects of Improvisational Music Therapy on Joint Attention Behaviors in Autistic Children: A Randomized Controlled Study. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(9), 1758–1766. 15 Schwantes, M., & Rivera, E. (2017). “A team working together to make a big, nice, sound”: An action research pilot study in an inclusive college setting. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 55, 1–10. 16 Schwantes, M. (2009). The use of music therapy with children who speak English as a second language: An exploratory study. Music Therapy Perspectives, 27(2), 80–87. 17 Renfrew, C. (1997). Bus Story Test: A test of narrative speech, London: Speechmark.

x

Introduction

Section 1.1 explores the literature on language acquisition, starting with a brief historical overview of linguistics. It presents models of language learning and acquisition in the 20th century. Special attention is devoted to the history of linguistics in Italy and the country’s position toward both national and international trends during that time. Then similarities and differences between first and second language learning are outlined, and implications for second language teaching are discussed. The properties of romance languages as a second language are investigated since the children participating in this research project learn Italian as a second language. The following section (section 1.2) deals with music therapy. Definitions of music therapy from Italian, English, and German sources are compared to get an insight into different music therapy traditions in Europe and to shed light on the profession from the viewpoints of separate cultures. Subsequently, the current political situation of music therapy in Italy, England, and German-speaking countries is confronted, which proves relevant because the legislative situation on music therapy in these countries is fundamentally different. For example, England and Austria have a law on music therapy, while Switzerland, Germany, and Italy do not. Furthermore, in order to discuss applications of music therapy in educational settings, a definition of educational settings—as opposed to therapeutic settings—is provided, and implications for music therapy interventions are discussed. The subsequent chapter (1.3) elaborates on common underlying neurological networks in language and music processing. It targets similarities and differences between sound systems, pitch, timbre, melodic, and rhythmic elements in both systems. By confronting musical and linguistic syntax, this chapter investigates what creates meaning in musical phrases and linguistic sentences, their similarities and differences. Furthermore, a comparison of musical and linguistic communication discusses aspects of emotional communication. Finally, it is examined how this knowledge might be applied to music therapy, for example, when improving first or second language skills or rehabilitating language skills after traumatic events. The last section of the literature review (section 1.4) delineates current migrational developments in Italy and the challenges they pose for the scholastic system. The number of households that primarily use a language other than Italian increases. In consequence, more and more children enter the school system with, at times, very little knowledge of the language of instruction. Therefore, innovative strategies for language teaching and strategies to facilitate inclusive processes are in demand.

Introduction

xi

The third chapter depicts the study’s methodology, beginning with its time frame (section 2.1) and study design (section 2.2). Section 2.3 introduces the sample, which consists of first and second graders in an elementary school with a high percentage of children with a migrant background. Then the music therapy interventions and their underlying theoretical considerations are outlined (section 2.4). These draw strongly from research on rhythm as a structuring element that correlates with syntactic aspects of language. In other words, low grammar skills are linked to increased difficulties in rhythmic exercises, and more developed rhythmic skills correlate to better results on grammar tests.18 In consequence, rhythm-based exercises serve as the main component of music therapy interventions in this study. Section 2.5 introduces the Bus Story Test (BST), a test based on a story-retelling task. It serves as a measure of the children’s level of language skills and provides information on the children’s use of vocabulary and grammar. An examination of the literature on the test justifies its usefulness in the context of the present study. The children’s behavior is evaluated using Likert scales on the level of misbehavior, participation, attention, and silence (section 2.6). Finally, considerations for the process of data analysis using statistical software SPSS get debated (section 2.7). The fourth chapter presents and discusses the results of the data analysis, beginning with the BST (section 3.1). Then the data on the Likert Scales are compared to the results of the BST. Each of the three hypotheses of the study is confronted with the results of the data analysis, showing that the children indeed behave differently in music therapy and school lesson (section 3.2) and that some items on the test correlate with child behavior in music therapy (section 3.3) and regular school activity (section 3.4). This indicates that the level of language skills relates to the child’s performance during music therapy. A division into subgroups based on the children’s nationality shows that the behavioral effects observed in the largest minority group differ significantly from that in the Native, Italian group, and the group composed of other language minorities. The fifth chapter is dedicated to the discussion of the results. At first, the findings are summarized and put into perspective with current research (section 4.1). Then, the implications for music therapy theories and suggestions for teaching interventions are presented (section 4.2). At last, the limitations of the study are outlined (section 4.3). Finally, the fifth chapter provides conclusive thoughts on the study and presents an outlook for future research projects.

18

Gordon, R., et al. (2015). Musical rhythm discrimination explains individual differences in grammar skills in children. Developmental Science, 18(4), 635–644.

Contents

1 Literature Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1 First and Second Language Acquisition (SLA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1.1 History and Models of L2 Learning Theories . . . . . . . . . . 1.1.2 A View from Developmental Psychology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1.3 Indications for Teaching L2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1.4 Research on Romance Languages as L2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1.5 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2 Music Therapy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2.1 Definition of Music Therapy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2.2 Settings and Application of Music Therapy . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2.3 Music Therapy in Educational Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2.4 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3 Music and Language Acquisition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3.1 Linguistic and Musical Sound Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3.2 Melodic Elements of Speech and Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3.3 Linking Rhythm in Speech and Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3.4 Syntax: Structure in Language and Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3.5 Communication: Transfer of Linguistic and Emotional Meaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3.6 Musical Training as Entrainment for Developing Language Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3.7 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.4 Migrant Populations in Rome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.4.1 Statistics on Migrant Populations in Rome . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.4.2 Children with Foreign Citizenship in the Italian School System in Rome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1 1 1 11 24 29 32 33 34 61 66 90 91 91 94 96 98 104 108 111 111 111 115

xiii

xiv

Contents

1.4.3 Language Skills in Italy’s and Rome’s Migrant Populations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.4.4 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

117 119

2 Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1 Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2 Study Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3 Sample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4 Music Therapy Intervention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5 Bus Story Test, Italian version (It-BST) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5.1 Bus Story Test (BST) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5.2 Italian Version of the Bus Story Test (It-BST) . . . . . . . . . 2.5.3 Application of the BST in the literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5.4 Motivation for choosing the It-BST as a tool of measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.6 Evaluation of Behavior in Experimental and Control Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.6.1 Likert Scale and Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.6.2 Misbehavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.6.3 Participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.6.4 Attention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.6.5 Silence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.7 Analysis of the Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

121 121 122 123 127 129 129 132 135

3 Data Analysis And Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.1 Outcomes on the It BST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2 Hypothesis 1: Children perform differently on the Likert Behavior Scales in Music Therapy and Regular Classroom Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3 Hypothesis 2: One or more of the It-BST scores correlate with one or more items on the Likert scales in music therapy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4 Hypothesis 3: One or more of the It-BST scores correlate with one or more items on the Likert scales in regular classroom lessons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

149 149

4 Discussion of Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1 Summary of Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1.1 Bus Story Test Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1.2 Likert Scales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

138 143 143 143 144 145 146 147

154

157

167 173 173 173 174

Contents

xv

4.1.3 The hypotheses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2 Implications for Future Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3 Limitations of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

175 176 177

Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

179

Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

181

List of Figures

Figure 1.1 Figure 1.2 Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure

1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10

Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure

2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 3.1

Figure 3.2 Figure 3.3

Language Acquisition Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Theoretic Background of Current Research on Language Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Syntactic Tree of an English Sentence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Syntactic Tree (or: prolongation reduction) . . . . . . . . . . . . . Artistic Communication by Arthur Berger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Map of the Metropolitan City of Rome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Migrant population in Rome by age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Migrant population in Italy by age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rome’s Foreign Population in Percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Language primarily spoken within the family home by people aged 6 and over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Study Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Non-Italian population in Municipality 5, Rome, Italy . . . . Nationalities of Participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Distribution of Gender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Year of Birth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Citizenship according to Year of Birth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Theoretical Elements of Music Therapy Interventions . . . . Sheet for Evaluation of Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Distribution of Scores on the BST item for Vocabulary, BST (voc) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Distribution of Scores on the BST item for Phrase Length, BST (phr) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Distribution of Scores on the BST (A5LS) . . . . . . . . . . . . .

12 13 101 102 105 112 113 113 114 118 122 124 124 125 126 126 128 143 150 150 151

xvii

xviii

Figure 3.4 Figure 3.5 Figure 3.6 Figure 3.7

List of Figures

Distribution of Scores in the BST item for Subordinate Clauses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Means of BST items divided by Nationalities . . . . . . . . . . . Means of the 4 Items of the Likert Scales for the Experimental Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Means of the 4 Items of the Likert Scales for the Control Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

151 153 154 155

List of Tables

Table 1.1 Table 1.2 Table 1.3 Table Table Table Table

1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7

Table 2.1 Table 2.2 Table Table Table Table Table

3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5

Table 3.6 Table 3.7 Table 3.8

Lange Stages and Age of LA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Advantages and Disadvantages of being Bilingual . . . . . . . . Acquisition Order of Locative Expressions in Different Languages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary of elements in music therapy definitions . . . . . . . . Comparing Education and Therapy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Organization of musical and linguistic structures . . . . . . . . . Foreign students in the various levels of education for the municipality of Rome (school year 2015–2016) . . . . Comparison of Reliability, validity, and normative data in the English and Italian Version of the BST . . . . . . . . . . . . Differences between the Italian and English Version of the BST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Results on BST recoded according to Citizenship . . . . . . . . . Test for Paired Samples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Statistics for Paired Samples t-Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Correlations for Paired Samples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Correlation between It-BST and Likert Scale for Experimental Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Correlation for Subgroup Italy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Correlation for Subgroup Bangladesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Correlation for Subgroup Others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

14 19 30 58 70 103 116 134 135 153 156 157 157 159 161 163 165

xix

xx

Table 3.9 Table 3.10 Table 3.11 Table 3.12

List of Tables

Correlation between It-BST and Likert Scale for Control Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Correlation for Subgroup Italy in Control Condition . . . . . . Correlation for Subgroup Bangladesh in Control Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Correlation for Subgroup Others in Control Condition . . . . .

167 168 170 171

1

Literature Review

1.1

First and Second Language Acquisition (SLA)

The investigation of the development of first and second language skills from a linguistic and developmental psychologic perspective is at the core of this chapter. First, a brief historical outline of the main developments in 20th -century linguistics is provided, introducing current theories on language acquisition. Particular interest is put into the history of linguistics in Italy. Then the stages of language learning in L1 and L2, their similarities and differences, are discussed. The experiment in this doctoral thesis targets children aged 5 to 7, so an emphasis is placed on the first decade of life. On that basis, recommendations for language teachers are discussed, and the current situation of research on Italian as both L1 and L2 is elaborated. This section mainly deals with speaking and understanding language. Reading and writing skills are not explicitly targeted because the main focus of the following study is on verbal expression and understanding of spoken language.

1.1.1

History and Models of L2 Learning Theories

1.1.1.1 Historic Outline Following the example set in the manual Second Language Learning Theories by Rosamond Mitchell,1 Florence Myles,2 and Emma Marsden,3 this thesis will 1

Emeritus Professor of Applied Linguistics in Modern Languages and Linguistics at the University of Southampton, UK. 2 Professor of Second Language Acquisition at the University of Essex, UK. 3 Professor in Education at the University of York, UK. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2022 S. I. Haering, The Impact of Music Therapy on Children in a Multicultural Elementary School, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-39330-4_1

1

2

1

Literature Review

focus on the history and models of second language (L2) learning in the 20th century, even though theories on language learning can be traced back to 1400.4 This is motivated by several paradigm shifts in theories on L2 learning since the 1950s, as it developed “from an adjunct to language pedagogy, to an autonomous field of research”.5 Before 1950, there were two major theories on second language acquisition: structuralism in linguistics and behaviorism in psychology. Theories about language learning were very closely connected to language teaching. However, it was well-established since the 19th -century pedagogic reform movements that a methodology needs to be validated by underlying learning theory.6 Current theories stand in the tradition of both structuralism and behaviorism. The structuralist principle according to which “a language is a self-contained relational structure, the elements of which derive their existence and their value from their distribution and oppositions in texts or discourse […] was first stated clearly, for linguistics by the Swiss scholar Ferdinand de Saussure7 ”,8 was the foundation of the work of the British linguist Harold Palmer.9 In the 1920s, he developed an approach whose key features are summed up by Anthony Howatt10 as follows11 : – Learning a spoken language means acquiring a set of appropriate speech habits. – Courses of instruction should be built around a graded syllabus of structural patterns to ensure systematic step-by-step progress. – Grammar should be taught inductively through the presentation and practice of new patterns […] with visual and/or textual support. – Errors should be avoided through adequate practice and rehearsal. 4

Howatt, A., & Widdowson, H. (2004). A history of English Language Teaching. 2nd edition. New York—Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 9–76. 5 Mitchell, R., Myles, F., & Marsden, E. (2013). Second Language Learning Theories. Abingdon: Taylor and Francis. Kindle-Version. p. 27. 6 Howatt, A., & Widdowson, H. (2004). A history of English Language Teaching. 2nd edition. New York—Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 187–200. 7 Swiss linguist whose ideas on structure in language laid the foundation for much of the approach to and progress of the linguistic sciences in the twentieth century, 1857–1913. 8 Structuralism: Linguistics (2018, April 6). Retrieved July 26, 2019, from www.britannica. com. 9 English linguist, phonetician and pioneer in English language learning and teaching. 10 Former Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics at the University of Edinburgh, UK. 11 Howatt, A. (2004). In: Mitchell, R., Myles, F., & Marsden, E. (2013). Second Language Learning Theories. Abingdon: Taylor and Francis. Kindle-Version, p. 28.

1.1 First and Second Language Acquisition (SLA)

3

Behaviorism, the other relevant theory in the early 20th century, became the dominant learning theory in mainstream psychology.12 It was “concerned exclusively with measurable and observable data and excluded ideas, emotions, and the consideration of inner mental experience and activity in general. In behaviorism, the organism is seen as ‘responding’ to conditions (stimuli) set by the outer environment and by inner biological processes”.13 In other words, a stimulus from the environment causes a response in the learner. If the response is correct or the desired one in a particular situation, it is reinforced. Through repeated reinforcement, the response becomes a habit. Accordingly, should a response not lead to the desired outcome, it is not reinforced, and the learner does not continue to apply it and avoids this strategy in the future. Following the behavioral approach, any skill learned is based on the formation of habits, which themselves are based on trial and error that lead to the desired outcomes. In this context, language learning is accordingly considered as any other kind of learning: a formation of habits.14 Greeting, for example, is required when meeting someone, yet it is highly dependent on the situation: meeting a friend or family member might call for a hug, as opposed to meeting a business partner who rather might be greeted with a handshake. If the greeting is understood and the communication continues, the response is reinforced; if the conversation terminates because the wrong type of greeting has been used, the response is not reinforced. Following this idea, first language learning (L1) learning is rather simple: through stimuli-respond, a set of habits is learned. L2 learning gets more complicated because the learner already has a set of habits in L1 and needs to acquire a new one. The set from L1. interfere[s] with this process, either helping or inhibiting it. If structures in the L2 are similar to those of the L1, then learning will take place easily. If, however, structures are different, then learning will be difficult.15

As investigated by Mitchell, Myles, and Marsden, this has two implications for language teachers: (1) since repeated stimuli-response leads to new habits, the L2 12

E.g.: Watson, J. (1924). Behaviorism. New York: Norton; Thorndike, E. (1932). The Fundamentals of Learning. New York: Columbia Teachers College; Bloomfield, L. (1933). Language. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. 13 Behaviourism. (2019, March 7). Retrieved July 26, 2019, from www.britannica.com. 14 Skinner, B. (1957). Verbal Behavior. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. 15 Mitchell, R., Myles, F., & Marsden, E. (2013). Second Language Learning Theories. Abingdon: Taylor and Francis. Kindle-Version, p. 29.

4

1

Literature Review

learner needs to practice as much as possible in order to improve and (2) teachers need to concentrate on structures that are different in L1 and L2 and therefore more difficult to acquire.16 In the 1950s/60s, both fields, linguistics, and psychology, saw some profound developments. Linguistics moved from structural linguistics to generative linguistics, “which emphasized the rule-governed and creative nature of human language.”17 Psychology went from a behavioralist to a developmentalist view of learning, such as Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory.18 Noam Chomsky19 played a significant role in this process, so much indeed that some scientists talk about the “Chomskian revolution,”20 so radically distinct was his program perceived. In 1959 Chomsky published his critical review21 of Skinner’s book Verbal Behavior,22 which outlines language learning from a behaviorist perspective, and claims that Skinner has misinterpreted the nature of language because human utterances are not limited to specific stimulus–response situations. As an example, he claims that a situation might provide for several possible responses: a picture might be praised as beautiful, dismissed as ugly, its position on the wall, or even the wallpaper might be commented on.23 In short, there is no approved response or set of reactions. Chomsky puts it like this: A consideration of the character of the grammar that is acquired, the degenerate quality and narrowly limited extent of the available data, the striking uniformity of the resulting grammars, and their in dependence of intelligence, motivation, and emotional state, over wide ranges of variation, leave little hope that much of the structure of

16

Idem, p. 29–30. Idem, p. 30. 18 Piaget, J., & Inhelder, B. (1966). The Psychology of the Child. New York: Basic Books. 19 American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist and political activist. 20 E.g.: Bracken, H. (1973). Minds and Learning: the Chomskian Revolution. Metaphilosophy, 4(3), 229–245; Murray, S. (1980). Gatekeepers and the ‘Chomskian revolution’. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 16(1), 73–88; Aronoff, M., & Rees-Miller, J. (2017). The Handbook of Linguistics. Hoboken—Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, p. 111. 21 Chomsky, N. (1959). Review of B.F. Skinner, Verbal behavior. Language, 35, 26–58. 22 Skinner, B. (1957). Verbal Behavior. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. 23 Aronoff, M., & Rees-Miller, J. (2017). The Handbook of Linguistics. Hoboken—Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, p. 112. 17

1.1 First and Second Language Acquisition (SLA)

5

the language can be learned by an organism initially uninformed as to its general character.24

Mitchell, Myles, and Marsden summarize Chomsky’s criticisms: Firstly, language is a creative process in which children learn how to create sentences they have never heard before rather than reproducing a broad set of sentences. They, therefore, acquire the grammatic rules of language and apply them to new situations instead of learning strings of words. Secondly, children acquire language in a short amount of time, and the samples of language given to children cannot cover all the structural properties of language in all its complexity. Thirdly, in caretaker-child interactions, parents reward statements that are true rather than those that are grammatically correct: a child’s ungrammatical utterance, ‘Teddy sock on,’ is approved by the mother when the child shows her a teddy bear wearing a sock, but ‘Look, Teddy is wearing a sock’ receives the mother’s disapproval when the child shows the mother a bear without a sock.25

Thus, Chomsky concludes that children have an “innate faculty which supports them in their learning of language.”26 These considerations are called Chomsky’s theory of Universal Grammar (UG). In the 1970s, scientists such as Edward Klima,27 Ursula Bellugi28 , and Dan Slobin29 investigated language acquisition through the lens of UG. They find that children go through similar stages in their L1 learning behavior, regardless of the language they are learning. Furthermore, they seem to use similar constructions to express meanings and make the same kinds of errors.30 The consequence was a shift of interest from the target language (or the L1) to the language produced

24

Chomsky, N. (1964). In: Aronoff, M., & Rees-Miller, J. (2017). The Handbook of Linguistics. Hoboken—Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, p. 112. 25 Aronoff, M., & Rees-Miller, J. (2017). The Handbook of Linguistics. Hoboken—Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, p. 112. 26 Mitchell, R., Myles, F., & Marsden, E. (2013). Second Language Learning Theories. Abingdon: Taylor and Francis. Kindle-Version, p. 30. 27 Linguist who specialized in the study of sign languages, 1931–2008. 28 Professor and Director of the Laboratory for Cognitive Neuroscience at the Salk Institute in California, USA. 29 Professor Emeritus of psychology and linguistics at the University of California, USA. 30 Idem, p. 31.

6

1

Literature Review

by L2 learners and the development of Error Analysis, “the systematic investigation of second language learners’ errors.”31 In this methodology, the errors in L2 learners’ speech are worked back to their causes.32 Evidence has been found that the estimation that errors in L2 learning are caused by interferences from L1 is unfounded. Instead, the majority of errors cannot be traced to the L1, and also areas in which L1 should inhibit mistakes, were not always free of them.33 The result is the development of the interlanguage concept according to which the “language produced by the learner is a system in its own right, and it is a dynamic system, evolving over time.”34 Recent research, however, shows that L1 does, in fact, interfere with the L2 learning process, as shown, for example, in a study in which the acquisition of Italian as an L2 to German and Spanish mother language speakers is compared—showing that the use of the imperfect was delayed in and the perfect tense overproduced in German-speaking learners, indicating an L1 interference.35 Now, the focus shifts to the learner system as a whole, showing that children of different language backgrounds acquire eleven grammatical morphemes of the English language in a similar order.36 A similar study with adults shows that their results were comparable to those reported in

31

Idem, p. 35. Corder, S. (1971). Idiosyncratic errors and error analysis. International Review of Applied Linguistics, 9(2), 147–59. 33 Richards, J. (ed.) (1974). Error analysis: perspectives on second language learning. London: Longman, p. 43. 34 Selinker (1972). In: Mitchell, R., Myles, F., & Marsden, E. (2013). Second Language Learning Theories. Abingdon: Taylor and Francis. Kindle-Version, p. 36. 35 Rosi, F. (2009). Learning Aspect in Italian L2 Corpus Annotation, Acquisitional Patterns, and Connectionist Modelling. Milano: Franco Angeli, p. 196. 36 Dulay, H., Burt, M., & Krashen, S. (1982). Language Two. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 207– 9. 32

1.1 First and Second Language Acquisition (SLA)

7

the case of children.37 This leads to crucial models on L2 acquisition being constructed, like Krashen’s Monitor Model38 by Stephen Krashen.39 Though many of its proposals have been overtaken by now, it provided the way for many research agendas in the 1980s. It contains five hypotheses40 : – The Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis: Language acquisition means a “subconscious process identical in all important ways to the process children utilize in acquiring their first language,”41 and the term learning refers to the “conscious process that results in ‘knowing about’ language.”42 They are considered separate processes. Essential is the difference between meaningful communication in order to trigger subconscious acquisition processes and conscious attention to acquiring form and grammar. – The Monitor Hypothesis: Conscious learning of the L2 form leads to the development of an editor or “Monitor.” With enough time, focus on style, and when the relevant grammatical rule has consciously been learned, the monitor might modify the L2 output (e.g., to self-correct). This hypothesis did not find evidence-based support. – The Natural Order Hypothesis: Based on the concept of interlanguage, “rules of language in a predictable order, some rules tending to come early and others late. The order does not

37

Bailey et al. (1974). In: Mitchell, R., Myles, F., & Marsden, E. (2013). Second Language Learning Theories. Abingdon: Taylor and Francis. Kindle-Version, p. 39. 38 Krashen, S. (1977a). The monitor model of adult second language performance. In: Burt, M., Dulay, H. and Finocchiaro, M. (eds) (1977). Viewpoints on English as a second language. New York: Regents, 152–161; Krashen, S. (1977b). Some issues relating to the monitor model. In: Brown, H., Yorio, C., & Crymes, R. (eds) (1977). Teaching and learning English as a second language: some trends in research and practice. Washington DC: TESOL, 144–148; Krashen, S. (1978). Individual variation in the use of the monitor. In: Ritchie, W. (ed.) (1978). Second language acquisition research: issues and implications. New York: Academic Press, 175–183. 39 Linguist and professor emeritus at the University of Southern California. 40 Mitchell, R., Myles, F., & Marsden, E. (2013). Second Language Learning Theories. Abingdon: Taylor and Francis. Kindle-Version, pp. 41–45. 41 Krashen, S. (1985). The Input Hypothesis: Issues and Implications. Harlow: Longman, p. 1. 42 Idem.

8

1

Literature Review

appear to be determined solely by formal simplicity, and there is evidence that it is independent of the order in which rules are taught in language classes”.43 – The Input Hypothesis: Linked to the Natural Order Hypothesis, it claims that L2 learners develop their skills by receiving and processing comprehensible input. They do not need to produce L2 utterances in order to build their language skills; instead, regular and appropriate input is enough. – The Affective Filter Hypothesis: The Affective Filter determines how receptive a learner is to comprehensible input. It indicates the view that emotion influences second language learning, an idea that has been followed up in later research. The 1980s saw the rise of several theories on SLL. One of them is Chomsky’s Government and Binding Theory (also: Principles and Parameters Model),44 for example, is based on UG and advocates that “the child’s mind possesses universal principles that always apply to language and variable parameters that have different settings in different languages.”45 This model led to further elaboration of the concept of an “innate language faculty, and its possible role in L2 acquisition, including the role played by the L1 when parameters are set differently in the L2 being learned”.46 The information processing models of L2 learning (also cognitive approach, or cognitivism) grew from cognitive psychology. It says that mental processes used for interpreting experiences are also involved in L2 acquisition. In contrast to the UG-based approaches, which assume a separate language faculty, the information processing approach says that the same mental faculties used for other cognitive activities underlie language use, too.47 The Interaction Hypothesis48 , as proposed by Michael Long,49 is designed as an alternative to Krashen’s Input Hypothesis and deals with the role of environmental 43

Idem. Chomsky (1981; 1986a; 1986b). In: Mitchell, R., Myles, F., & Marsden, E. (2013). Second Language Learning Theories. Abingdon: Taylor and Francis. Kindle-Version, p. 46. 45 Aronoff, M., & Rees-Miller, J. (2017). The Handbook of Linguistics. Hoboken—Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, p. 568. 46 Mitchell, R., Myles, F., & Marsden, E. (2013). Second Language Learning Theories. Abingdon: Taylor and Francis. Kindle-Version, p. 46. 47 Hummel, K. (2014). Introducing Second Language Acquisition: Perspectives and Practices. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, p. 75. 48 Long, M. (1981; 1983a; 1983b). In: Mitchell, R., Myles, F., & Marsden, E. (2013). Second Language Learning Theories. Abingdon: Taylor and Francis. Kindle-Version, p. 48. 49 Professor in Second Language Acquisition at the University of Maryland, USA. 44

1.1 First and Second Language Acquisition (SLA)

9

language in L2 learning. He discovered that “native speaker/non-native speaker interactions when performing tasks such as informal conversation […] was rich in meaning negotiations, including repetitions, confirmation checks or clarification requests,”50 and negotiation of meaning within interpersonal interaction seems to have a considerably higher effect on L2 acquisition than the exposure to input alone.51 Similarly, Merrill Swain52 doubted that input alone might lead to L2 acquisition. Instead, she says that “only production (that is, output) really forces L2 learners to undertake full grammatical processing, and thus drives forward most effectively the development of L2 syntax and morphology”.53 To this day, there is a continuing debate on certain aspects of SLA on the role of internal mechanisms, both language-specific and cognitive.54 Specifically, on the language-specific side, the questions of how similar the processes of L1 and L2 learning are and until which age language-specific mechanisms remain active. On the cognitive side, questions like How similar are first and second language processing to the processing of any other complex skill? are relevant. Up to now, the role of L1 during the L2 acquisition process is discussed in the light that such language transfer seems to be selective: some L1 properties transfer and others do not. The role of psychological variables, like motivation or working memory, is still under investigation, and so is the role of social and environmental factors.55

1.1.1.2 The History of Linguistics in Italy Describing Italian linguistics in the 20th century, Hans Helmut Christmann56 mentions “the almost unparalleled reception of modern international research”57 combined with the “rich […] contribution of Italian scholars themselves”.58 In other words, there has been a great interest in 20th -century Italian linguists on international trends and approaches. Historically, de Saussure’s structuralism is 50

Mitchell, R., Myles, F., & Marsden, E. (2013). Second Language Learning Theories. Abingdon: Taylor and Francis. Kindle-Version, p. 48. 51 Idem. 52 Professor emerita of second-language education at the University of Toronto. 53 Idem. 54 Idem, pp. 49–50. 55 Idem. 56 German linguist, medievalist, expert on roman languages, and historian of science, 1929– 1995. 57 Christmann, H. (1986). Neuere Italienische Beiträge zur Geschichte der Sprachwissenschaft. In: Ramat, P. et al. (1986). History of Linguistics in Italy. Amsterdam—Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 321–346. 58 Avalle, D. (1973ff.). In: idem.

10

1

Literature Review

taken up and then gets further developed by Italian linguists. For decades the liberal philosophy of Benedetto Croce59 has been an increasingly dominant movement in Italian intellectual life—including linguistics. The younger generation, however, turns away from crocianesimo at the end of the 1950s with the advent of modern linguistics, resulting in a break in the continuity of Italian linguistics. Christmann considers this regrettable from a foreigner’s perspective because, in fact, there was also a considerable degree of continuity in the development of Italian linguistics up until this point. From his perspective, it is an extraordinary stroke of luck that the three leading figures of language theory in Italy, Benvenuto Terracini,60 Giacomo Devoto,61 and Antonino Pagliaro,62 were all influenced by both Croce and de Saussure. In decades of confrontation with both, each of them strived to synthesize idealism and structuralism in their own ways.63 In general, Italy has a tradition that represents the history of its subject. For example, Sommario di Linguistica Arioeuropea64 by Pagliaro is based on linguistic idealism and, according to Christmann, one of the best introductions to linguistics at the time. Another example is the chapter “Storia ed Evoluzione della Linguistica” in the book Introduzione alla Glottologia by Carlo Tagliavini,65 a detailed account of Italian linguistics in the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century.66 Therefore, Italy was well prepared when in the 1960s, the international ‘boom’ of linguistic historiography began. Summaries of the history of linguistics in Italy now include translations of the books of John Waterman,67 which were translated into Italian only five years after its release in English, 1963,68

59

Italian idealist philosopher, politician and historian, 1866–1952. Italian linguist, glottologist and literary critic, 1886–1968. 61 Italian historical linguist, 1897–1974. 62 Italian linguist, glottologist and philosopher, 1898–1973. 63 Christmann (1974; 1981). In: Christmann, H. (1986). Neuere Italienische Beiträge zur Geschichte der Sprachwissenschaft. In: Ramat, P. et al. (1986). History of Linguistics in Italy. Amsterdam—Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 321–346. 64 Pagliaro, A. (1930). Sommario di linguistica arioeuropea. Fascicolo I: Cenni storici e questioni teoriche. Milano: Universale. 65 Italian linguist and glottologist, 1903–1982. 66 Tagliavini, C. (1936). Introduzione. In: Tagliavini, C. (1936). Introduzione alla Glottologia. 7° edition, 1969, Bologna: Patron. 67 American linguist, 1918–2019. 68 Waterman, J. (1968). Breve Storia della Linguistica. Florence: La Nuova Italia. (orig.: 1963). 60

1.1 First and Second Language Acquisition (SLA)

11

and Georges Mounin’s69 Storia della linguistica dalle origini al XX secolo70 and Storia della linguistica del XX secolo.71 Additionally, historiographical overviews are presented by Italian authors themselves, like Riccardo Ambrosini’s72 Introduzione alla linguistica storica,73 which begins with a chapter “Cenni storici sulla disciplina,” which focuses less on the bibliographic than on methods and results.74 In summary, the discipline of linguistics in 20th -century Italy is very open to influences from abroad, as seen by a large number of translations of works published in other languages. There is nevertheless an Italian scene of linguists, which was very productive during that time period, whose work got little international attention. Christmann was one of the first who drew attention to that Italian scene of linguistics in the German language.

1.1.2

A View from Developmental Psychology

1.1.2.1 Language Development in the First Decade of Life As elaborated by Laura Wagner75 and Erika Hoff,76 there is a multitude of theories on the acquisition of L1, dealing with biological, linguist, and social processes, as well as language learning as domain-general learning. Nevertheless, all theoretical approaches agree that input and output are equally critical and that children have an innate internal capacity for learning a language, leading from the input material to a linguistic output (Figure 1.1).77 The points of dispute among theoretical approaches emerge from differences in the weight they place on each part of the system. For example, the input itself might be considered a “rich source of information about the linguistic structure, 69

French linguist, translator and semiotician, 1910–1993. Mounin, G. (1968). Storia della linguistica dalle origini al XX secolo. Milano: Feltrinelli. (orig.: 1967). 71 Mounin, G. (1974). Storia della linguistica del XX secolo. Milano: Feltrinelli. (orig.: 1972). 72 Italian linguist. 73 Ambrosini, R. (1976). Introduzione alla Linguistica Storica. Pisa: Athenaeum. 74 Christmann, H. (1986). Neuere Italienische Beiträge zur Geschichte der Sprachwissenschaft. In: Ramat, P. et al. (1986). History of Linguistics in Italy. Amsterdam—Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 321–346. 75 Professor of Psychology at the Ohio State University, USA. 76 Professor of Psychology at the Florida Atlantic University, USA. 77 Wagner, L., & Hoff, E. (2013). Language Development. In: I. Weiner, R. Lerner, A. Easterbrooks, & J. Mistry (eds) (2013). Handbook of Psychology: Developmental Psychology. 2nd edition, Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 173–196. 70

12

1

Literature Review

the internal capacity that operates on it can be quite simple and general […] [and if] the input does not provide sufficient information for the generalizations found in the output, the internal capacity must include more detailed and specific tools to compensate”.78

Input (information from the environment)

The human language capacity

Output (linguistic competence)

(learning mechanisms)

Figure 1.1 Language Acquisition Process79

Current research on language development can be broadly divided into two camps: The Nativist Camp and the Alternative Camp. The Nativists assume an innate internal language capacity, which is dedicated explicitly to language acquisition. Within it, there are two theoretical approaches, which are mostly compatible with each other. Firstly, the biological approach focuses on anatomical structures and physiological processes of language, as well as shared features with other biological processes, like critical periods or heritability. Secondly, the linguistic approach accentuates the output of the process and, in particular, the linguistic content a child learns. It argues that general learning mechanisms are not enough to arrive at adult linguistic competence, given the limited input children receive during their first years of life. Therefore, children must be equipped with a language-specific learning mechanism in order to successfully learn a language. The Alternative Camp, on the other hand, seeks to describe how children become skilled at language by using learning mechanisms that are not specific to language. There are two main theoretical approaches within the camp: the social and the domain-general cognitive approach. They are not wholly compatible with each other because social learning abilities are fundamentally different from domain-general cognition, but both share the idea that language acquisition is not associated with language-specific innate knowledge. As an alternative, the social approach considers language as societal in nature and language development in consequence as a social process. Social aspects of interaction are considered relevant as an input experience to language acquisition. Lastly, the domain-general cognitive view does not distinguish language learning from any 78 79

Idem. Idem.

1.1 First and Second Language Acquisition (SLA)

13

other learning process. Thus, the internal language capacity of a child is considered just its general learning abilities applied to linguistic input. This approach investigates how language can be acquired through general learning mechanisms (Figure 1.2).80

Current Research on Language Development

Nativist Camp "innate interal language capacity, composed of language-specific elements"

biological - anatomic structures - share the hallmark features of other biological processes

linguistic - emphasizes the output stage of the process - no general, but langua e specific learning mechanism

Alternative Camp "learning mechanisms that are not specific to language"

social - language development as a social process - social aspects of interaction

domain-general cognitive - general learning mechanisms can acquire language

Figure 1.2 Theoretic Background of Current Research on Language Development81

Regardless of the theoretical model researchers apply to describe language development, typically developing children go through a series of stages that seem to be independent of home culture or mother language. In fact, “children all over the world go through similar stages, use similar constructions in order to express similar meanings, and make the same kinds of errors.”82 Table 1.1 shows the stages of L1 learning and the age it typically appears. Still, the phases are solely a rough guideline because both the age and speed at which the children proceed can differ individually. The table shows that children are generally able to cry from birth, start cooing at six weeks, and babbling at around six months. As 80

Idem, pp. 174–175. Idem. 82 Mitchell, R., Myles, F., & Marsden, E. (2013). Second Language Learning Theories. Abingdon: Taylor and Francis. Kindle-Version, p. 31. 81

14

1

Literature Review

outlined by Jean Aitchison,83 Cooing (also described as “gurgling” or “mewing”) is universal and vowel-like, even though the vowels are not the same as those produced by adults, as seen on tracings produced on a sound spectrogram. She states that it might serve the development of children by helping them to gain control over their vocal apparatus gradually.84 Table 1.1 Lange Stages and Age of LA85

Language Stage

Beginning Age

Crying

Birth

Cooing

6 weeks

Babbling

6 months

Intonation patterns

8 months

One-word utterances

12 months

Two-word utterances

18 months

Word inflections

2 years

Questions, negatives

2 years 3 months

Rare or complex constructions

5 years

Mature speech

10 years

Babbling is the uttering of consonants and vowels together, first as single syllables (e.g., MA) and later looped together (e.g., MAMA). It seems to serve the child to experiment with and increase control over her/his vocal organs. Some research indicates that at this stage, the children start to adapt to their developing mother languages, as the babbling of French children differs from that of nonFrench children,86 for example. This point of development is referred to as the “babbling drift.” Intonation patterns get gradually introduced into the babbling at around eight months, as one-word utterances start to emerge.87

83

Professor of Language and Communication at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Worcester College Oxford, UK. 84 Aitchison, J. (2008). The Articulate Mammal: an Introduction to Psycholinguistics. London—New York: Routledge Classics, p. 70. 85 Idem, p. 68. 86 Boysson-Bardies, B., Sagart, L., & Durand, C. (1984). Discernible differences in the babbling of infants according to target language. Journal of Child Language, 11, 1–15. 87 Aitchison, J. (2008). The Articulate Mammal: an Introduction to Psycholinguistics. London—New York: Routledge Classics, p. 69–77.

1.1 First and Second Language Acquisition (SLA)

15

One-word sentences occur around one year of age and tend to be difficult for linguists to interpret because a single syllable might be used for a range of different objects. The term “overgeneralization” describes the phenomenon that a child might call a series of objects by the same word, e.g., DA might refer not only to the father but also to a cup, a toy, or food. On the other hand, David McNeill88 attributes the one-word utterance to a linguistic sophistication that goes beyond the actual sound. He claims that the child does not simply name objects, but is uttering “holophrases, single words which stand for whole sentences. For example, BA might mean ‘I am in my bath’ or ‘Mummy’s fallen in the bath’”.89 He explains the misuse of one-word phases as evidence of “grammatical relationships which the child understands, but cannot yet express.”90 The child might even just say words without actually naming anything and enters the stage of understanding the “labeling” later.91 Two-word utterances occur around 18 months of age. Martin Braine92 registered these two-word utterances in children and found that they did not appear randomly but seemed to follow fixed rules, which he calls Pivot Grammar. It contains two types of words in the children’s speech: the first type, pivots, are frequently used words that occur in a fixed position; the second type, open words, appear less often but in any position.93 Other linguists focus more on the question of what a child wants to express rather than solely the structure of utterances, and they found that very basic grammatic rules appear already in the two-word phrase: Whenever Gia seemed to be expressing location, she put the object she was locating first, and the location second: FLY BLANKET ‘The fly is on the blanket’ […]. When she referred to subjects and objects, she put the subject first, and the object second: GIRL BALL ‘The girl is bouncing the ball’ […]. And she expressed possession by putting the possessor first, the possession second: LAMB EAR ‘That’s the lamb’s ear’ […]. If Gia was accidentally juxtaposing the words, we would expect BLANKET FLY or EAR LAMB as often as FLY BLANKET or LAMB EAR.94 88

Psychologist at the University of Chicago, USA. McNeill (1970). In: Aitchison, J. (2008). The Articulate Mammal: An Introduction to Psycholinguistics. London—New York: Routledge Classics, p. 102. 90 Idem. 91 Aitchison, J. (2008). The Articulate Mammal: An Introduction to Psycholinguistics. London—New York: Routledge Classics, p. 104. 92 Professor of Cognitive Psychology at New York University, USA, 1926–1996. 93 Braine (1963). In: Idem, p. 105. 94 Aitchison, J. (2008). The Articulate Mammal: An Introduction to Psycholinguistics. London—New York: Routledge Classics, p. 107. 89

16

1

Literature Review

There seem to be intercultural differences, though, which tend to depend on language structure. For example, the relationship between two objects might not be expressed through fixed word order but through word endings. Dan Slobin95 investigates in the book The Crosslinguistic Study of Language Acquisition96 variations in the language acquisition process in different cultures. He concludes that there is an influence of language structure on children’s two-word utterings. For example, in Turkish, a language in which the endings are easy to identify, children are reported to adopt consistent endings with variable word order, while in Croatian, which has inconsistent word endlings, children prefer to use a fixed word order.97 Word inflections mean that the child modifies a word in order to express different grammatical categories, such as tense, gender, or number. This occurs around the age of two and includes, for instance, that the child learns to add as -s at the end of a noun to indicate more than one object. In general, children seem to apprehend first a rule which they then apply universally before distinguishing between regular and irregular forms: when children produce an adult-like form which reflects the application of a rule, such as for example adding –s to dog in order to produce the plural form dogs, they are not merely imitating and repeating parrot-fashion the adult language around them. Two kinds of evidence show that very clearly. First, children commonly produce forms such as sheeps or breads, which they have never heard before. Second, […] when children were shown a picture of a strange bird-like creature and told, for example, this is a wug; they were then shown a picture of two of those creatures […] [they] almost invariably replied wugs (91 percent of them), showing that they do not merely learn plurals by remembering each plural form.98

95

Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Linguistics at the Berkele University of California, USA. 96 Slobin, D. (1985). The Crosslinguistic Study of Language Acquisition. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 97 Aitchison, J. (2008). The Articulate Mammal: An Introduction to Psycholinguistics. London—New York: Routledge Classics, pp. 108–109. 98 Mitchell, R., Myles, F., & Marsden, E. (2013). Second Language Learning Theories. Abingdon: Taylor and Francis. Kindle-Version, p. 33.

1.1 First and Second Language Acquisition (SLA)

17

Similarly, questions and negatives evolve at around two years and three months of age. Edward Klima99 and Ursula Bellugi100 identified three stages of learning questions with what, why, or where. First, the pronoun (e.g., what) is placed in front of the sentence (e.g., “What—Mummy doing?”), secondly, an auxiliary verb is added (e.g., “Why—Kitty—cannot see?”), at last, the correct sentence is produced by changing the position of the subject noun with the auxiliary (“Why— cannot Kitty—see?”).101 In general, the acquisition of the grammatical rule seems to occur first, which is then applied to all the words, and finally, exceptions from the rule are identified. In the example of past tense learning, first, the rule of adding -ed to indicate the past tense is understood by the child. The infant then applies the rule to all verbs, also the irregular ones, resulting at times in constructions such as “went-ed” or “go-ed.” Lastly, a distinction is made between regular and irregular past tense.102 This way, language becomes gradually more complex. In time, secondary sentences are added, and increasingly complex grammatical structures are incorporated into speech, resulting in the development of mature speech around the age of ten.

1.1.2.2 Bilingualism in Children Bilingualism refers to the ability to speak two languages, but it is not specified in which context or how the child apprehends the second language. Instead, there is a multitude of possibilities for how bilingualism can be achieved, as elaborated in the Britannica: It may be acquired early by children in regions where most adults speak two languages […]. Children may also become bilingual by learning languages in two different social settings; for example, British children in British India learned an Indian language from their nurses and family servants. A second language can also be acquired in school. Bilingualism can also refer to the use of two languages in teaching, especially to foster learning in students trying to learn a new language.103

99

Linguist who specialized in the study of sign languages, 1931–2008. Professor and Director of the Laboratory for Cognitive Neuroscience at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, USA. 101 Klima, E. & Bellugi, U. (1966). In: Aitchison, J. (2008). The Articulate Mammal: An Introduction to Psycholinguistics. London—New York: Routledge Classics, p. 75. 102 Aitchison, J. (2008). The Articulate Mammal: An Introduction to Psycholinguistics. London—New York: Routledge Classics, pp. 136–138. 103 Bilingualism (2019, March 20). Retrieved July 31, 2019, from www.britannica.com. 100

18

1

Literature Review

Both advantages and disadvantages are attributed to being bilingual. Britannica points out the socio-political perspective of pros and cons: Advocates of bilingual education in the U.S. argue that it speeds learning in all subjects for children who speak a foreign language at home and prevents them from being marginalized in English-language schools. Detractors counter that it hinders such children from mastering the language of the larger society and limits their opportunities for employment and higher education.104

Ellen Bialystok105 has studied bilingualism for decades. With her team, she acquired evidence on both sides of the bilingualism argument. Generally speaking, bilingual children have linguistic disadvantages: they know less vocabulary in each of their languages than monolinguals in their one language,106 and they need more time to retrieve words during thinking tasks.107 Additionally, there are differences in the vocabulary size of each language that might be attributed to varying times of exposure.108 Also, children who receive each language input from different people, like the mother and father, may acquire different vocabulary because another person might talk about distinctive things.109 Still, bilingual children reach important milestones, like babbling or one-word utterances, within roughly the same age span as their monolingual peers.110 Then again, bilingual

104

Idem. Professor of Psychology at York University, USA. 106 Bialystok, E., et al. (2010). Receptive vocabulary differences in monolingual and bilingual children. Bilingualism Language and Cognition, 13(4), 525–531. 107 Bialystok, E., et al. (2009). Bilingual Minds. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 10(3), 89–129. 108 Pearson et al. (1997). In: Genesee, F., & Nicoladis, E. (2007). Bilingual First Language Acquisition. In: Hoff, E., & Shatz, M. (2007). Blackwell Handbook of Language Development. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, p. 336. 109 Genesee, F., & Nicoladis, E. (2007). Bilingual First Language Acquisition. In: Hoff, E., & Shatz, M. (2007). Blackwell Handbook of Language Development. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, 334–342. 110 Idem. 105

1.1 First and Second Language Acquisition (SLA)

19

children have advantages in cognitive tasks, as they tend to have stronger executive control111 and benefits in working memory tasks,112 inhibitory control,113 cognitive flexibility,114 and multitasking.115 On average, bilinguals have a later onset of dementia when compared to people who speak only one language.116 In addition, bilinguals have more possibilities to connect to people outside of their culture, opening a whole field of socio-economic advantages. A summary is provided in Table 1.2.117 Table 1.2 Advantages and Disadvantages of being Bilingual118 Benefits of being bilingual

Benefits of being monolingual

Stronger executive control (working memory, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, multitasking)

More vocabulary in their one language than bilinguals had in either one

Later onset (about 4 years on average) of dementia in old age

Less time needed to retrieve words

Ability to communicate and connect with more of the world’s population; benefits but the social and experiential

The order of acquisition of grammar rules in children who are raised bilingual differs from that of monolinguals. As Slobin points out, specific constructions are 111

Barac, R., Moreno, S., & Bialystok, E. (2016). Behavioral and Electrophysiological Differences in Executive Control between Monolingual and Bilingual Children. Child Development, 87(4), 1277–1290. 112 Morales, J., Calvo, A., & Bialystok, E. (2013). Working memory development in monolingual and bilingual children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 114(2), 187–202. 113 Martin-Rhee, M., & Bialystok, E. (2008). The development of two types of inhibitory control in monolingual and bilingual children. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 11(1), 81–93. 114 Bialystok, E., & Viswanathan, E. (2009). Components of executive control with advantages for bilingual children in two cultures. Cognition, 112(3), 494–500. 115 Poarch, G., & Bialystok, E. (2015). Bilingualism as a model for multitasking. Developmental Review, 35, 113–124. 116 Bialystok, E., Craik, F., & Freedman, M. (2007). Bilingualism as a protection against the onset of symptoms of dementia. Neuropsychologia, 45(2), 459–464. 117 When does Bilingualism help or hurt? (2014, April 27). Retrieved July 31, 2019, from www.psychologytoday.com. 118 Based on: When does Bilingualism help or hurt? (2014, April 27). Retrieved July 31, 2019, from www.psychologytoday.com.

20

1

Literature Review

usually not apprehended simultaneously in both languages. Children who grow up learning Hungarian and Serbo-Croatian, for instance, use Hungarian locatives (INTO THE BOX, ON THE TABLE) long before they produce the equivalent Serbo-Croatian ones. Clearly, there cannot be any conceptual difficulty connected with the notion of locative, because the Hungarian ones are used in the correct circumstances. We conclude that there must be something intrinsically difficult about Serbo-Croatian locatives from the linguistic point of view.119

This might indicate that some constructions are easier to acquire than others for these children. Slobin concludes that there must be a set of operating principles or self-instruction, which the child uses to analyze linguistic information, like “allot one form only to each unit of meaning” or “pay attention to the order of words”.120 Code-mixing is the use of elements from two languages in the same utterance or conversation and is very common in both bilingual children and adults. It can occur within or between utterances, affect both bilingual’s languages, and can happen in both monolingual and bilingual contexts. Research on code-mixing in children tries to find out if it is rule-governed or a sign of confusion.121 While in adults, code-mixing is grammatically constrained and used for a variety of metacognitive purposes, like establishing intimacy or distance and negotiating social roles, and thus a sophisticated, rule-governed characteristic of language use in bilingual adults.122

1.1.2.3 Differences and Parallels Between L1 and L2 Learning In order to better understand the nature of L2 learning, it is important to differentiate it from L1 learning. In fact, there are a number of similarities between L1 and L2 acquisition. On a theoretical level, many of the approaches mentioned in the chapters above can be applied to both L1 and L2 learning. For example, both first and second language learners mainly follow a certain three-step pattern

119

Aitchison, J. (2008). The Articulate Mammal: An Introduction to Psycholinguistics. London—New York: Routledge Classics, p. 141. 120 Idem, pp. 141–142. 121 Genesee, F., & Nicoladis, E. (2007). Bilingual First Language Acquisition. In: Hoff, E., & Shatz, M. (2007). Blackwell Handbook of Language Development. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, p. 330. 122 Idem, pp. 330–331.

1.1 First and Second Language Acquisition (SLA)

21

of development, which is described by Rod Ellis123 and published in 1984124 : silent period, formulaic speech, and structural and semantic simplification. The silent period is the initial phase of language acquisition: a period of listening to the language a person is exposed to without actually producing any. In the case of L1 acquisition, the child tries to understand what language and its nature is; in the case of L2 learning, learners choose a silent period when immediate output is not yet demanded from them. Classroom learners, however, are usually urged to speak already in this very early stage. The second phase, formulaic speech, refers to the use of expressions that are picked up as wholes and employed on particular occasions, like “I do not know” or “Good morning,” or patterns, like “Can I have a ____?”. In the third phase the learner applies structural and semantic simplifications to their language, like omitting grammatical functions (e.g., auxiliary verbs) and content words (e.g., nouns, verbs).125 Another example is the order of acquisition of grammatical morphemes, which involves the acquisition of grammatical functions such as articles. According to Roger Brown,126 “there is a common […] sequence of acquisition for at least 14 function words in English as a first language—noun and verb inflections, prepositions, and articles”.127 The input hypothesis by Krashen128 is applicable for both L1 and L2 acquisition as well because both their inputs are simple and comprehensible at the beginning and are getting gradually more complicated. Additionally, said input ought to be always a little above the learner’s current level. He concludes that the L2 learner needs to have as much contact with the language as possible because a lack of adequate input will hinder the learner’s progress.129 The behavioristic perspective by Skinner is equally applicable to both L1 and L2 learning because it. is assumed that a person learning a second language starts off with the habits associated with the first language. These habits interfere with those needed for second 123

Research Professor in the School of Education, Curtin University in Perth, Australia. Ellis, R. (1994). The study of second language acquisition. China: Oxford University Press. 125 Ipek, H. (2009). Comparing and Contrasting First and Second Language Acquisition: Implications for Language Teachers. English Language Teaching, 2(2), 155–163. 126 American social psychologist, 1925–1997. 127 Brown, R. (1973). In: Ipek, H. (2009). Comparing and Contrasting First and Second Language Acquisition: Implications for Language Teachers. English Language Teaching, 2(2), 155–163. 128 Section “1.1.1.1 Historic Outline”. 129 Ipek, H. (2009). Comparing and Contrasting First and Second Language Acquisition: Implications for Language Teachers. English Language Teaching, 2(2), 155–163. 124

22

1

Literature Review

language speech and new habits of language are formed. Errors produced by the second language learner are seen as first language habits interfering with second language habits.130

Also, the critic of Chomsky applies equally to Skinner’s theories on L1 and L2 acquisition: language, if seen as the result of imitation and reinforcement, does not explain the creative richness of language use in the means that it does not explain why learners create phrases and expressions they have never heard before.131 Apart from the similarities between L1 and L2 learning, there are also many differences. A major dissimilarity between L1 and L2 acquisition is the age at which the language is usually acquired. The exposure to L1 begins with birth, but L2 starts to be learned later in life. Eric Lenneberg,132 for example, defines L2 as a language acquired or utilized after puberty.133 According to Krashen, the main difference between L1 and L2 acquisition is that L1 is acquired “subconsciously, through informal, implicit learning”,134 whereas in L2, “explicit, formal linguistic knowledge of the language”135 is learned consciously. Additionally, L2 acquisition is rarely completely successful,136 as opposed to L1 acquisition, which is entirely learned during the first decade of life. This deficiency might be attributed to incompletely acquired L2 grammar skills137 or fossilization in the L2 learning process.138 Fossilization means that language skills become fixed in interlanguage, that is, before reaching proficiency, where the learner cannot progress

130

Ipek, H. (2009). Comparing and Contrasting First and Second Language Acquisition: Implications for Language Teachers. English Language Teaching, 2(2), 155–163. 131 Chomsky, N. (1959). Review of B.F. Skinner, Verbal behavior. Language, 35, 26–58. 132 Linguist, neurologist and pioneer in language acquisition and cognitive psychology, 1921–1975. 133 Lenneberg, E. (1969). On explaining language. Science, 164(3), 635–643. 134 Krashen, S. (1982). Theory versus practice in language training. In Blair, R. (ed), Innovative approaches to language teaching. Rowley, MA: Newburry House Publishers, 15–24. 135 Idem. 136 Larsen-Freeman, D. & Long, M. (1991). An Introduction to Second Language Acquisition Research. London—New York: Longman, p. 153. 137 Schechter, J. (1988). Second Language Acquisition and its relationship to Universal Grammar. Applied Linguistics, 9(3), 219–235. 138 Cheng-Ling Chen. (2015). First Language Influence and Fossilization in Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition. Working Papers in Applied Linguistics and TESOL, 9(2), 65–67.

1.1 First and Second Language Acquisition (SLA)

23

beyond some particular stage in the L2 learning process. With regard to Ellis and McLaughlin, Hulya Ipek139 summarizes five possible causes for fossilization140 : 1. The learner’s age: learners’ brains loose plasticity at a critical age; therefore, certain linguistic features cannot be mastered. 2. Lack of desire to articulate: learners make no effort to adopt target language norms because of various social and psychological factors. 3. Communicative pressure: the learner is pressured to communicate ideas above his/her linguistic competence. 4. Lack of learning opportunity. 5. The nature of the feedback on learners’ use of L2: positive cognitive feedback leads to fossilization, while negative feedback helps avoid fossilization. An explanation for the occurrence of fossilization is provided by the Critical Period Hypothesis, which is defined as “a biologically determined period of life when language can be acquired more easily and beyond which time language is increasingly difficult to acquire”.141 Lenneberg was the first to introduce this idea. He argues that capacities in the human brain mature according to a “fairly fixed schedule during which language emerges in children when the anatomical, physiological, motor, neural, and cognitive development allow it to emerge”.142 This period of language acquisition seems to terminate at circa 12 years.143 The original idea by Lenneberg was initially applied only to L1 but later proved to be relevant for L2 as well.144 In summary, some of the theories on L1 acquisition can—at least in parts—be applied also to L2. However, most differences circle 139

Expert in Sociolinguistics, Language Education and Teacher Education at Anadolu University, Turkey. 140 McLaughlin (1987), & Ellis (1994). In: Ipek, H. (2009). Comparing and Contrasting First and Second Language Acquisition: Implications for Language Teachers. English Language Teaching, 2(2), 155–163. 141 Brown (1994). In: Ipek, H. (2009). Comparing and Contrasting First and Second Language Acquisition: Implications for Language Teachers. English Language Teaching, 2(2), 155–163. 142 Ipek, H. (2009). Comparing and Contrasting First and Second Language Acquisition: Implications for Language Teachers. English Language Teaching, 2(2), 155–163. 143 McLaughlin (1987). In: Ipek, H. (2009). Comparing and Contrasting First and Second Language Acquisition: Implications for Language Teachers. English Language Teaching, 2(2), 155–163. 144 Francis, N. (1999). Maturational Constraints in Language One and Language Two: A Second Look at the Research on Critical Periods. Bilingual Research Journal, 23(4), 423–449.

24

1

Literature Review

around the fact that L1 is acquired and therefore learned rapidly and automatically very early in life, while L2 is learned consciously, requiring personal effort, motivation, and an active discussion of the topic of when and how L1 affects the learning of L2.

1.1.3

Indications for Teaching L2

Given the information above, Ipek provides some considerations for language teachers. In order to affront such a complex and layered issue as language teaching, it must be considered that L2 learning depends on several factors, and none of the theories on L1 or L2 acquisition is exhaustive enough to cover the whole topic. In consequence, no teacher can base their teaching solely on one theory. Information on similarities and differences of L1 and L2 acquisition in the perspectives of each theory might, however, help the teacher to understand their students’ needs better and to implement interventions that are beneficial to the students’ learning success. The knowledge of developmental sequences, as defined by Ellis,145 for instance, indicates three stages in the natural acquisition process of a language. The first, the silent phase, in which the learner keeps silent and processes the input given by the new language environment, is hard to apply to L2 teaching. Nevertheless, the classroom situation requires the teacher to motivate the students to produce language prematurely before their natural instinct would lead them to do so. Still, teachers might benefit from the knowledge about said phase in order to better understand the anxiety or hesitance of students to speak in the initial period of L2 lessons. The second phase of formulaic speech, on the other hand, can be addressed in lessons. The teachers might instruct their students in frequently used phrases or constructions that can be used to facilitate communication. In the last phase, in which learners utilize structural and semantic simplifications, teachers can interpret the students’ “erroneous or imperfect language production of certain language items such as omitting language functors or […] content words”146 and adapt by adjusting the input material. Krashen indicates that learners acquire the rules of a language in a specific order. This might have an impact on the order in which the teacher presents the learning material 145

Ellis (1994), McLaughlin (1987). In: Ipek, H. (2009). Comparing and Contrasting First and Second Language Acquisition: Implications for Language Teachers. English Language Teaching, 2(2), 155–163. 146 Ipek, H. (2009). Comparing and Contrasting First and Second Language Acquisition: Implications for Language Teachers. English Language Teaching, 2(2), 155–163.

1.1 First and Second Language Acquisition (SLA)

25

to the student. It indicates that so-called marked features, which are languagespecific rules that are difficult for the learner to transfer to L2, are learned earlier. Unmarked features are universal rules of language that are easier to transfer, then again, might be taught later.147 Additionally, since the teacher is the student’s primary source of input in the classroom, the teachers need to modify their language in order not to overwhelm the students. Activities to encourage interaction in L2 can be used, too. The behavioristic theory of language learning can help the teacher understand how stimulus–response helps apprehend grammatical and phonological patterns, even though it lacks the creative aspect of language use. Ipek suggests affronting fossilization, the point from which no further development in L2 takes place, “by correcting repeated errors of their students, or [the teachers] can practice problematic language more than non-problematic language”.148 Once L2 is fossilized, it might be complicated to get back into a process of development, and teachers should address the issue with care. Some of the currently used methods are collected by Theodore Rodgers149 and presented in the Handbook of Foreign Language Communication and Learning.150 The PPP method is an abbreviation for “presentation-practice-production,”151 and it is rather a formulaic procedure than a method by itself. In the phase of presentation, the students are confronted with a realistic, or realistic-feeling, situation in which the target language is offered in digestible chunks. Then, in the practice phase, the teacher provides the opportunity to practice the target language and corrects any mistakes. Production is the last phase and the goal to which presentation and practice lead. Learners are encouraged to use their language skills, and it is the teacher’s job to provide occasions for the student to use their newly learned language skills actively.152 Another method is the Grammar-Translation Method, which follows the primary objective to provide its learners with the capability to read foreign literature or to obtain cognitive benefit from the discipline acquired through language learning. Thus, reading and writing are the 147

Ellis (1994), McLaughlin (1987). In: Idem. Idem. 149 Professor of Psycholinguistics at the University of Hawai, USA. 150 Knapp, K., Seidlhofer, B., & Widdowson, H. (2009). Handbook of foreign language communication and learning: Handbooks of applied linguistics 6. New York, N.Y.: Mouton de Gruyter. 151 Rogers, T. (2009). The methodology of foreign language teaching: Methods, approaches, principles. In: Knapp, K., Seidlhofer, B., & Widdowson, H. (2009). Handbook of foreign language communication and learning: Handbooks of applied linguistics 6. New York, N.Y.: Mouton de Gruyter, 341–372. 152 Idem. 148

26

1

Literature Review

primary focus of instruction. This affects all areas of teaching: vocabulary, for instance, is taught through bilingual word lists and dictionary study. The major part of a lesson is used to translate sentences into and out of the target language. Grammar is taught deductively by the study of systematically presented grammar rules. The language of instruction is the student’s native language.153 An opposite approach provides the Direct Method in which classroom instruction is conducted exclusively in the target language, following the objective of teaching everyday vocabulary and sentences. Following a graded progression, oral communication skills are built up around question-and-answer exchanges between teachers and students. Grammar is affronted inductively, and vocabulary is taught through demonstration, pictures, or association. The focus of instruction is, therefore, on both speech and listening comprehension.154 The Audio-Lingual Method evolves around dialogues that contextualize fundamental structures for particular situations. Drills are used to exercise the patterns established in the conversations. There are 12 different drill types, among them simple “repetition” or “replacement,” in which one word in an utterance is replaced by another. At a more advanced level, students are asked to, for example, make an “integration”- a drill that requires them to integrate two separate utterances into one.155 In the TotalPhysical-Response Method, imperative drills are the prevailing classroom activity. They are used to provoke physical actions and activities in the learners. These activities include role-plays that center around everyday situations and carrying out operations outside the classroom.156 The Suggestopedia Method takes advantage of physical surroundings and atmospheres at school, including art and music. A lesson following this approach consists of three phases: deciphering, concert session, and elaboration. During deciphering, the teacher presents the grammar and vocabulary of a target text in a playful, engaging way. The concert session can be active (teacher reads the text and students repeat) or passive (teacher reads the text and students listen) while music is played in the background. In the elaboration process, the students show what they have learned via texts, songs and games.157 The Silent-Way Method is based on the idea that during lessons, the teacher should be as silent as possible, giving the learner the possibility to think 153

Idem, p. 345. Idem. 155 Brooks (1964). In: Rogers, T. (2009). The methodology of foreign language teaching: Methods, approaches, principles. In: Knapp, K., Seidlhofer, B., & Widdowson, H. (2009). Handbook of foreign language communication and learning: Handbooks of applied linguistics 6. New York, N.Y.: Mouton de Gruyter, 341–372. 156 Idem. 157 Idem. 154

1.1 First and Second Language Acquisition (SLA)

27

independently and to produce verbally solicited language utterances. Its primary objective is oral production. The method utilizes, for instance, pronunciation and vocabulary charts, books, worksheets, and videotapes.158 Rodgers adds three approaches to his collection of methods. In his description, methods and approaches vary insofar that methods provide clear instructions on the objective of the lesson and how to get there. It is the teacher’s responsibility to apply the steps as accurately as possible. Approaches are a more general set of principles. In other words, a method dictates what to do and how to do it; the approach says how to think to find suitable interventions.159 However, other authors, like Eli Hinkel160 in Handbook of Research in Second Language Teaching and Learning,161 do not differentiate and use both terms synonymously. Said differentiation is, therefore, not a universal rule but rather an individual decision. Nevertheless, the distinction seems to be useful in terms of separating systematic principles from step-to-step applications in language learning. The first approach, according to Rodgers, is called Communicative Language Teaching, and it is characterized by emphasizing meaning over form. Grammatical mastery is said to result from communication and not the other way around. Similarly, the focus of the approach is on the process rather than the product and on communicative interaction rather than on grammatical forms. Basic elements, in the form of exercises and activities, are tasks emphasizing communication. In short, students learn and acquire a language by interacting purposefully while engaged in activities and tasks.162 In other words, “it is essential that learners […] use language for a variety of purposes, in all phases of learning”.163 The second approach is called Task-based Language Learning. It is closely related to Communicative Language Teaching but emphasizes the use of tasks as the core 158

Idem. Rogers, T. (2009). The methodology of foreign language teaching: Methods, approaches, principles. In: Knapp, K., Seidlhofer, B., & Widdowson, H. (2009). Handbook of foreign language communication and learning: Handbooks of applied linguistics 6. New York, N.Y.: Mouton de Gruyter, p. 349. 160 Lecturer for Applied Linguistics and TESOL at Seattle Pacific University, USA. 161 Hinkel, E. (2005). Handbook of research in second language teaching and learning. Mahwah, N.J.: L. Erlbaum Associates. 162 Rogers, T. (2009). The methodology of foreign language teaching: Methods, approaches, principles. In: Knapp, K., Seidlhofer, B., & Widdowson, H. (2009). Handbook of foreign language communication and learning: Handbooks of applied linguistics 6. New York, N.Y.: Mouton de Gruyter, p. 350. 163 Savignon, S. (2005). Communicative Language Teaching. In: Hinkel, E. (2005). Handbook of research in second language teaching and learning. Mahwah, N.J.: L. Erlbaum Associates, p. 640. 159

28

1

Literature Review

of language teaching.164 These tasks are classified by Teresa Pica165 and her colleagues according to the type of interaction during task accomplishment166 : – Jigsaw Tasks, in which learners combine different pieces of information to form a whole.167 – Information-Gap Tasks, in which two students have different sets of information, and the task is to negotiate and find out each other’s information in order to complete an activity. – Problem Solving Tasks: students are given a problem and a set of information. They must arrive at a solution to the problem. – Decision-Making Tasks: students are given a problem and a number of possible outcomes. They must choose one through negotiation and discussion. – Opinion Exchange Tasks: learners engage in discussion and exchange of ideas. The third approach is Content-based Instruction. Instead of inventing content to enable the acquisition of language, as in task-based teaching, “the idea here is that language would be acquired as a natural function of engaging with content as provided by other curriculum subjects.”168 This means that the content of instruction comes from language itself, and by engaging with those contents, the language is acquired as a by-product. An example would be that of students watching movies because they are interested in them, and the language is acquired unintentionally. This approach, however, has been shown to be problematic, for

164

Rogers, T. (2009). The methodology of foreign language teaching: Methods, approaches, principles. In: Knapp, K., Seidlhofer, B., & Widdowson, H. (2009). Handbook of foreign language communication and learning: Handbooks of applied linguistics 6. New York, N.Y.: Mouton de Gruyter, p. 352. 165 Professor of Education at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, USA, 1945–2011. 166 Pica, T., Kanagy, R., & Falodun, J. (1993). In: Rogers, T. (2009). The methodology of foreign language teaching: Methods, approaches, principles. In: Knapp, K., Seidlhofer, B., & Widdowson, H. (2009). Handbook of foreign language communication and learning: Handbooks of applied linguistics 6. New York, N.Y.: Mouton de Gruyter, p. 354. 167 De Angelis, B. (2017). L’azione didattica come prevenzione dell’esclusione: Un cantiere aperto sui metodi e sulle pratiche per la scuola di tutti. Milano: Franco Angeli, p. 110. 168 Rogers, T. (2009). The methodology of foreign language teaching: Methods, approaches, principles. In: Knapp, K., Seidlhofer, B., & Widdowson, H. (2009). Handbook of foreign language communication and learning: Handbooks of applied linguistics 6. New York, N.Y.: Mouton de Gruyter, p. 356.

1.1 First and Second Language Acquisition (SLA)

29

instance, because of significant difficulties in “selecting and sequencing materials which align content foci with language structures”169 and because of the little research “exploring simultaneous accommodation of content and language requirements.”170 As a general consideration, and following the reasoning of Hinkel, teachers need to take into account that no method is useful or beneficial in each and every teaching context. Methods become the subject of changing points of view of what is best for whom and fleeting fashions of methodological ideas that happen to dominate instructional objectives or mindsets.171 There is consequently some flexibility and open-mindedness required when approaching L2 teaching.

1.1.4

Research on Romance Languages as L2

The previous chapters worked on language acquisition in a general sense. The majority of literature on language acquisition is provided in English and based on the acquisition of the English language. Though language development appears to be similar around the world, as elaborated in the chapter above, there are slight differences in the acquisition between different groups of languages. This becomes apparent when comparing the order of acquisition of locative expressions in different languages. When subjects from Italy, Serbo-Croatia, and England between the ages of 2;0 and 4;8 were tested using an elicitation task, some differences became evident. Table 1.3 shows in which order the locative expressions were acquired and the percentage of subjects producing each. Therefore, 90% of all Native English subjects knew the correct meaning of “in,” 30% were familiar with “front” when it referred to another object, and 3% when it did not. Comparing the datasets of English and Italian Natives, the order is very similar: just BackRO and FrontRO , which refer to the word “back” and “front” in reference to the position of another object, are switched. The percentages of subjects seem very similar in the first four prepositions. The Italian children appear to know more locatives from scale point 5 onward, indicating that they learn said words earlier than their English peers. At the same age, six times as many Italian

169

Idem, p. 357. Idem. 171 Hinkel, E. (2005). Handbook of research in second language teaching and learning. Mahwah, N.J.: L. Erlbaum Associates, pp. 633–634. 170

30

1

Literature Review

children know the meaning of “front” without reference objects. When comparing English and Italian children to Serbo-Croatian ones, one notices changes in the acquisition order. While the same words still are learned very early on (e.g., in, on, beside, and under), Serbo-Croatian subjects acquired “in” after “on” and “under” after “beside.” There are consequently slight differences between languages, even if the macro-structure of the language acquisition process is rather uniform among all languages. Said differences likely derive from structural differences in the mother language.172 It seems, therefore, useful to have a closer look at the Italian language in order to better understand the L2 acquisition process of the children examined in the present study173 and to better assess and discuss the results of the language tests. Thus, the following chapter investigates the body of research that studies the acquisition of Italian explicitly. Table 1.3 Acquisition Order of Locative Expressions in Different Languages174 Scale Point

English

1

In

Italian

2

On

83%

On

88%

In

84%

3

Under

81%

Under

84%

Beside

82%

4

Beside

74%

Beside

77%

Under

72% 31%

90%

In

Serbo-Croatian 91%

On

88%

5

Between

49%

Between

57%

BackRO

6

FrontRO

30%

BackRO

42%

Between

26%

7

BackRO

21%

FrontRO

41%

FrontRO

19%

8

Back

14%

Back

23%

Back

16%

9

Front

3%

Front

18%

Front

12%

Gutman 0.93 coefficient of reproducibility

0.89

0.86

Number of subjects

74

90

86

BackRO and FrontRO = back and front are identified correctly in relation to a reference object 172

Johnston & Slobin (1979). In: Clark, E. (1986). The Acquisition of Romance, With Special Reference to French. Chichester: Chichester:Taylor and Francis. Kindle-Version, p. 8. 173 Chapter 2 and 3. 174 Excerpt from Idem, p. 9.

1.1 First and Second Language Acquisition (SLA)

31

In the current literature, Italian is often included in the Romance language category. Eve Clark175 does that, for example, in The Acquisition Process of Romance with Special Reference to French,176 though she makes reference to the other languages where needed. Romance languages are the languages that descend directly from variations of the Latin spoken in the diverse parts of the Roman Empire. French is considered part of Gallo-Romance, Spanish and Portuguese are IberoRomance, Rumanian is Balkan-Romance, and Italian is Italo-Romance.177 Clark’s focus on French is motivated by the more significant number of studies available for the French language, while “the data available on the other Romance languages appear to be rather sparser: for Italian, there are a few published diary sources that provide some general outlines of early development.”178 In general, there is much more research needed on L2 acquisition in Romance languages, as pointed out by Clark: French has been the best studied [of the Romance languages] to date, yet even there, there are many lacunae in the data available. For the other four languages, we know much less. […] And the data that are available on Italian […], for instance, are often not directly comparable […] to the more extensive data available for French. There is some documentation of the very early stages of acquisition for Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish, but studies of the later stages of acquisition, or of children over age 3 or 4, are a comparative rarity. […] The French case, of course, is the best documented, and hence offers plentiful clues to what one might expect in the other Romance languages. Yet even so, there are many unanswered questions.179

Newer publications confirm the still present lack of studies explicitly targeting Italian, like the conference proceedings Romance Linguistics Theory and Acquisition180 from 2003. Of 21 papers, only two deal with Italian, and of which one is a comparative paper comparing different Romance languages. The book Acquisition

175

Professor of Linguistics at Stanford University, USA. Clark, E. (1986). The Acquisition of Romance, With Special Reference to French. KindleVersion. Chichester: Taylor and Francis. 177 Elcock, W. D. The Romance languages. London: Faber & Faber, 1960, p. 3. 178 Clark, E. (1986). The Acquisition of Romance, With Special Reference to French. KindleVersion. Chichester: Taylor and Francis, p. 689. 179 Idem, p. 762. 180 Pérez Leroux, A., Roberge, Y., & Linguistic Symposium on Romance Languages. (2003). Romance linguistics theory and acquisition: Selected papers from the 32nd Linguistic Symposium on Romance Languages, April 2002 in Toronto, Amsterdam studies in the theory and history of linguistic science. Amsterdam—Philadelphia: J. Benjamins. 176

32

1

Literature Review

of Romance Languages181 from 2016 counts two publications on Italian, in a total of nine. Ernesto Macaro182 confirms this trend in a literature review conducted in 2011 about research on applied linguistics with reference to L2 Italian,183 while at the same time noting the considerate increase of growing interest in Italian as an L2 in universities all over the world.

1.1.5

Summary

As elaborated in this chapter, several handbooks and surveys note the multitude and great diversity of L2 learning theories in current research.184 Each tends to focus on different aspects of language learning, such as linguistics (e.g., learner grammar), cognition (language processing), or socialization. Accordingly, appropriate investigation methods are applied to the alignment: Each research tradition has developed its own cluster of specialized research procedures, ranging from the grammaticality judgment tests associated with early UG-inspired research, to the recordings of naturalistic language now used both by language socialization theorists and those interested in the role of input, or the online methodologies used by cognitive linguists.185 181

Guijarro Fuentes, P., Larrañaga, M., & Juan-Garau, M. (eds) (2016). Acquisition of romance languages: Old acquisition challenges and new explanations from a generative perspective. Boston—Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. 182 Emeritus Professor of Applied Linguistics and a Senior Research Fellow at Worcester College, University of Oxford, UK. 183 Macaro, E. (2010). Review of recent research (2000–2008) on applied linguistics and language teaching with specific reference to L2 Italian. Language Teaching, 43(2), 127–153. 184 VanPatten, B., & Williams, J. (eds) (2007). Theories in second language acquisition: an introduction. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum; Ellis, N. (2008). Usage-based and form-focused language acquisition. In: Robinson, P. and Ellis, N. (eds) (2008). Handbook of cognitive linguistics and second language acquisition. Abingdon: Routledge, 3–24; Ritchie, W., & Bhatia, T. (eds) (2009). The New Handbook of Second Language Acquisition. Bingley: Emerald Group; Atkinson, D. (2011). Alternative Approaches to Second Language Acquisition. Abingdon: Routledge; Gass, S., & Mackey, A. (2012). The Routledge handbook of second language acquisition. Abingdon: Routledge; Mitchell, R., Myles, F., & Marsden, E. (2013). Second Language Learning Theories. Abingdon: Taylor and Francis. Kindle-Version, p. 285. 185 Mitchell, R., Myles, F., & Marsden, E. (2013). Second Language Learning Theories. Abingdon: Taylor and Francis. Kindle-Version, p. 285.

1.2 Music Therapy

33

Synthesizing theories, which seek to cover all aspects of L2 acquisition in a single model, have gained only little support. Instead of a reduction and concentration of theories, “newer theoretical perspectives (such as skill acquisition theory or sociocultural theory) have flourished, without displacing established ones (such as UG)”.186 At the same time, there is a merging between aspects of specific theories of L2 acquisition, which manifests as an “increased awareness within particular traditions of other parallel research strands working on similar phenomena, and a willingness to ‘borrow’ particular constructs without grand theorizing.”187 This means that there is a strong sense of identity in the advocates of a specific theory, but also a general openness toward the explanation attempts of different approaches. Consequently, there are a lot of opinions out there, with some cross-references, but there is no inclusive theory on L2 acquisition. The linguistic tradition in Italy is very much influenced by international developments in the field. In terms of development, children tend to acquire certain aspects of language in the same order in every culture. This is likely attributed to progress in cognitive development: if a child develops cognitively, so does its conceptualization of the world and, subsequently, its language. Historically there has been some controversy as to how much L1 interferes with L2 acquisition. There is still debate on the subject, but it seems likely that L1 does interfere, even though there are remarkable parallels in the general course of language acquisition in both L1 and L2. Those similarities provide essential indications for language teachers in order to harvest the natural processes in the L2 learner to make instruction more effective. The major part of the literature on language acquisition is English-dominated. Italian-specific literature is comparably rare, and the language, therefore, is instead discussed under the umbrella of Romance languages. Since the literature indicates that linguistic development is similar throughout humanity, with some regional, language-specific differences, further research is still needed in order to understand said differences better.

1.2

Music Therapy

Different definitions of music therapy were elaborated within its development in the 20th century, and they tend to be strongly influenced by the context in which 186 187

Idem. Idem.

34

1

Literature Review

music therapy is applied. Thus, this chapter seeks to provide an overview of the most prominent definitions, outlining the current trends in music therapy. Since the present doctoral work focuses on the use of music therapy in a scholastic context, particular attention will be put on the use of music therapy in education, with special reference to inclusive education settings. The diffusion and practice of music therapy in Italy is investigated and compared to that of England and Germany.

1.2.1

Definition of Music Therapy

Music therapy is a profession and academic field that evolved during the second half of the 20th century. It is connected to many different fields, like neurorehabilitation, psychiatry, education, and special education. The areas of application in which music therapy is administered differ fundamentally. In consequence, the way music therapy is conducted varies as well, leading to a wide variety in definitions of music therapy. In order to give an overview of the different types of interpretation and to prove their justifications, this section of the thesis will compare the definitions of universal encyclopedias, music encyclopedias, music therapy organizations that represent music therapists on a national or international level, and according to varying approaches in music therapy. To broaden the scope and to include different music therapy traditions, the literature research is expanded to sources in English, Italian, and German language.

1.2.1.1 Definitions of Music Therapy in Universal Encyclopedias Three universal encyclopedias in English, Italian, and German—the Britannica (en), Treccani (it), and Brockhaus (de) —are consulted in order to compare their definitions of music therapy. The aim is to identify standard criteria in rather general literature. This is also the type of source that public institutions would supposedly turn to when searching for information on music therapy. Naturally, the number of encyclopedia entries and official associations with music therapy is enormous. In consequence, a selection must be picked out—including the most influential universal and specialized encyclopedias and officially recognized associations.

1.2 Music Therapy

35

The English encyclopedia Britannica is after Wikipedia, the largest traditional English-language encyclopedia,188 and defines music therapy as follows: Music therapy, clinical discipline in which music is used to address nonmusical goals. Therapists use music listening, songwriting, improvisation, and lyric analysis as means of fulfilling goals in movement, cognition, speech and language, and mental health. Music therapy is an allied health profession, delivering health services that are outside the scope of those traditionally provided by physicians and nurses. Because music is a familiar and powerful medium, it is conducive to application across the lifespan, from use in neonatal intensive care units to nursing homes and hospice facilities. Psychiatric hospitals, correctional institutions, and drug rehabilitation centres may also use music therapy. […]189

Britannica, therefore, provides information on music therapy’s objective (“to address nonmusical goals […] in movement, cognition, speech and language, and mental health”), as well as a selection of types of interventions (“music listening, songwriting, improvisation, and lyric analysis”). Music therapy is defined within the health care system as an allied health profession setting it aside from nursing, medicine, and pharmacy. Instead, practitioners are considered in the same row as medical technologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, radiographers, respiratory therapists, and speech-language pathologists.190 Indications for its implementation, in particular, music being “a familiar a powerful medium”, is mentioned, though left of a rather general nature. Examples of institutions in which music therapy might be used are referred to. The complete contribution in the Britannica treats historical development focusing mainly on a western perspective and Anglo-Saxon literature, clinical practice providing examples of disorders treated with music therapy and only a little information on music therapists’ training, and three approaches in music therapy (NordoffRobbins Music Therapy, Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT) and Guided Imagery and Music (GIM)). Music therapy in neonatal intensive care is also mentioned 188

Messner, M., & Di Staso, M. (2013). Wikipedia versus Encyclopedia Britannica: A longitudinal analysis to identify the impact of social media on the standards of knowledge. Mass Communication and Society, 16(4), 465–486. 189 Music Therapy (2017, August 31). Retrieved April 24, 2019, from www.britannica.com. 190 Edwards, J. (2016). Music Therapy: an evidence-based Allied Health Service Applicable through the Life Span. In: Edwards, J. (ed) (2016). The Oxford Handbook of Music Therapy, Oxford—New York: Oxford University Press, p. 418; What is Allied Health? Association of Schools of Allied Health Professionals (2014, March 31). Retrieved May 24, 2019, from web.archive.org/web/20140331224124/http://www.asa hp.org.

36

1

Literature Review

in this subsection, even though it might identify rather in the “clinical practice” section since there is no mention of a specifically for this area developed approach. In summary, Britannica defines music therapy through its objectives, examples of intervention types, position in the health system, areas of application, formal training, and a selection of approaches. The settings that are mentioned are rehabilitation, neurological, and psychiatry. There is no specific mention of educational settings, even though special educational environments might be concluded since it is referred to as a treatment of autism, and the very beginning of Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy was targeted towards “autistic children and children with developmental delay”191 in schools. This interpretation, however, requires substantial knowledge of music therapeutic approaches. An unknowing reader seeking to find information is therefore unlikely to understand that music therapy might be applied in scholastic contexts, too. The encyclopedia Treccani is a multi-volume universal encyclopedia in Italian language,192 and it provides definitions of music therapy in three subsections: the Enciclopedia online, the Dizionario di Medicina (2010), Lessico del XXI Secolo (2013). The Enciclopedia online presents a reduced definition of only three lines: Special method of psychotherapy, which seeks to exercise therapeutic influence on patients using various elements and types of music, different forms of musical reception and musical activity.193

This definition draws very carefully to psychotherapy by calling it a “special method of psychotherapy.” Intervention types are displayed broadly, indicating that music is applied both as an activity and receptively by listening to it. The Dizionario di Medicina (2010), on the other hand, provides a more elaborated article, including also information on history (“Cenni Storici”) and clinical applications (“Applicazioni Cliniche”): Use of music in the therapy of nervous and mental pathologies; m. can be passive (the patient listens) or active (the patient produces sounds), but the two techniques can be integrated into various ways. The numerous clinical observations of the last 191

What is Music Therapy? (2011). Retrieved May 24, 2019, from www.nordoff-robbins. org.uk. 192 Enciclopedia Treccani (2019, May 21). Retrieved May 24, 2019, from www.treccani.it. 193 Musicoterapia nell’Enciclopedia Treccani (2019, May 21). Retrieved May 24, 2019, from www.treccani.it. Original: Metodo speciale di psicoterapia, che cerca di esercitare un influsso terapeutico sui pazienti servendosi di vari elementi e tipi di musica, di diverse forme di ricezione musicale e di attività musicale.

1.2 Music Therapy

37

decades have confirmed that music positively influences neuropsychic functions, and the so-called ‘Mozart effect’, which consists in the attribution of non-musical abilities and in the improvement of spatial, linguistic and mathematical abilities after listening to Mozart’s music. […]194

This definition describes categories of intervention types, like active and receptive music therapy, even though the latter is named “passive”. This might be due to the fact that “passive” might be easier to understand than “receptive” in people without the knowledge of music interventions and music therapy. In terms of areas of application, only neurology and mental health-related fields get mentioned. There is a reference to the evidence-based nature of the profession (“osservazioni cliniche”). A prominent example chosen to underline the statement is the Mozart effect,195 which, however, proves to be controversial, as pointed out by Giannouli going so far as to call it “magical” and a “magic music excerpt” with reference to the musical piece to which the cognition-enhancing abilities are attributed: studies [indicate] that this specific music excerpt [first movement Mozart Sonata for two pianos in D major (KV 448)] does not necessarily have this magical influence on all cognitive abilities (e.g., on the overall Intelligence Quotient) in humans and on the behavior of animals.196

Furthermore, a meta-analysis investigating nearly 40 studies with over 3000 subjects found only small effect sizes in “samples exposed to any other musical stimulus and samples exposed to a non-musical stimulus or no stimulus at all yielded effects similar in strength […] [and] a negligible effect between the two

194

Musicoterapia in “Dizionario di Medicina” (2019, May 21). Retrieved May 24, 2019, from www.treccani.it. Original: Utilizzo della musica nella terapia di patologie nervose e mentali; la m. può essere passiva (il paziente ascolta) o attiva (il paziente produce suoni), ma le due tecniche possono in vari modi integrarsi. Le numerose osservazioni cliniche degli ultimi decenni hanno confermato che la musica influenza positivamente le funzioni neuropsichiche, ed è famoso il cosiddetto ‘effetto Mozart’, che consiste nel conferimento di abilità non musicali e nel miglioramento delle abilità spaziali, linguistiche, matematiche dopo l’ascolto della musica di Mozart. […]. 195 “Mozart effect”: The transient enhancement of performance on spatial tasks in standardized tests after exposure to the first movement of the Mozart sonata for two pianos in D major (KV 448) as published by Rauscher, Shaw, and Ky (1993). 196 Giannouli, V. (2017). Mozart Effect and Music Psychology: Recent Developments and Future Research. Problems of Psychology in the 21st Century, 11(1), 4–5.

38

1

Literature Review

music conditions”.197 The more profound finding, however, proves to be a “noticeably higher overall effect in studies performed by Rauscher and colleagues than in studies performed by other researchers, indicating systematically moderating effects of lab affiliation.”198 Consequently, there is only little evidence for a performance-enhancing effect of the Mozart Sonata. In the chapter “Cenni storici” (information on history), the development of the profession is broadly outlined, and under “Applicazioni Cliniche” (clinical applications), foremost neurological uses, but also psychiatric ones, are presented. The Lessico del XXI Secolo (2013) from the Eciclopedia Treccani, on the other hand, provides a more elaborate and in-depth approach to the definition of music therapy: Use of musical expression and/or individual musical elements—sound, rhythm, melody, and harmony—for therapeutic purposes, aimed at restoring, maintaining, and improving the mental and physical health of the individual. There are two fundamental procedures, which often result in a close relationship between them: an active one, consisting in making music, in the broadest sense, using musical instruments, objects, parts of the body; a receptive one, including listening to sound, rhythmic and musical messages. Active m. is a clinical procedure that, developing a non-verbal relationship between therapist and patient through body-sound-musical communication, tries to satisfy the physical and psychic needs of the patient himself. In these cases, the music therapist is also a musician who works within a team, usually made up of a psychiatrist, a clinical psychologist, and a social worker. Music teachers, who are also medically and psychologically trained, can teach patients to use different musical instruments, sometimes explicitly built for the pathology. Listening, or receptive m. involves listening to music that can arouse feelings and emotions, then used by the team of therapists to explore the unconscious world of patients, so as to give them a greater awareness of themselves and the world around them. In fact, listening m. stimulates the imagination and socialization and can help to relieve anxiety and aggression. M. is increasingly suggested as a support in cases of severe and complex mental and physical illnesses, such as psychiatric disorders (psychosis, schizophrenia, autism), or in disability and Down’s syndrome, but also in cases of coma and in cancer patients.199 197

Pietschnig, J., Voracek, M., & Formann, A. (2010). Mozart Effect-Shmozart Effect: A Meta-Analysis. Intelligence, 38(3), 314–323. 198 Idem. 199 Musicoterapia in “Lessico del XXI Secolo” (2019, May 21). Retrieved May 24, 2019, from www.treccani.it. Original: Uso dell’espressione musicale e/o dei singoli elementi musicali—suono, ritmo, melodia e armonia—a scopo terapeutico, volto al ristabilimento, mantenimento e miglioramento della salute mentale e fisica dell’individuo. Si distinguono due procedimenti fondamentali, che spesso risultano in stretto rapporto fra loro: uno attivo, consistente nel fare concretamente musica, nell’accezione più ampia, utilizzando strumenti musicali, oggetti, parti del corpo; uno recettivo, consistente nell’ascolto di messaggi sonori, ritmici e musicali.

1.2 Music Therapy

39

In particular, this definition affirms that musical expression and elements of musical activity are harvested to achieve therapeutically relevant effects. The article enters into detail about general approaches in music therapy, specifically active and receptive one. Though not mentioning formal recommendations for a music therapist’s training—which is to be expected, given that there is to this day no legislation regulating the profession of music therapy in Italy—the article emphasizes the psychological and medical qualifications of music therapists. Briefly, the importance of non-verbal relational aspects is mentioned, and its use in psychiatric contexts and in work with people with disabilities is highlighted. The Brockhaus is a multi-volume encyclopedia in the German language. It has an entry on music therapy, according to which it is. a psychotherapeutic treatment method that can have a positive influence on the mental and physical condition. It is used as part of a therapy designed to stimulate soul and spirit and to promote expressiveness. On a physical level, the specific vibration of music affects parameters such as blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rhythm, and the release of hormones. […] Music therapy is a practice-oriented method closely related to musicology. It is mostly based on psychotherapeutic approaches from behavioral therapy and Gestalt therapy. It is intended to give the patient the opportunity to understand himself and his environment better and to move more freely and effectively. It helps to express feelings and moods and to perceive them in others (emotional competence), to clarify behavior patterns, and release cramps. […] Forms: In passive (receptive) music therapy, patients listen to specially selected pieces of music; their experiences are then further processed in conversations or with other aids such as psychodrama. […] In active music therapy, the patients themselves produce music. […] Often the patient plays an easy-to-use instrument himself, which does not require any time-consuming learning. […] The scientific justification of music therapy is based on developmental and deep-psychological findings, according to which music serves as La m. attiva è un procedimento clinico che, sviluppando una relazione non verbale tra terapeuta e paziente attraverso la comunicazione corporeo-sonoro-musicale, cerca di soddisfare le necessità fisiche e psichiche del paziente stesso. In questi casi, il musicoterapeuta è anche un musicista che opera nell’ambito di un’équipe costituita, generalmente, da uno psichiatra, uno psicologo clinico e un assistente sociale. Insegnanti di musica, preparati anche dal punto di vista medico e psicologico, possono avviare i pazienti all’uso di diversi strumenti musicali, a volte costruiti appositamente a seconda della patologia. La m. d’ascolto, o recettiva, prevede invece l’ascolto di brani musicali che possono suscitare sentimenti ed emozioni, utilizzati poi dall’équipe di terapeuti per sondare il mondo inconscio dei pazienti, in modo da ridare loro una maggiore consapevolezza di sé e del mondo che li circonda. La m. d’ascolto, infatti, stimola l’immaginazione e la socializzazione e può aiutare a scaricare ansia e aggressività. La m. viene sempre più spesso proposta come sostegno nei casi di malattie mentali e fisiche anche gravi e complesse, come i disturbi psichiatrici (psicosi, schizofrenia, autismo), o nei problemi di handicap e nelle sindromi di Down, ma anche negli stati di coma e nei malati oncologici.

40

1

Literature Review

a pre-verbal medium that touches the earliest layers of personality and helps prenatally to prepare relationships with the social environment. From this, the later contact helps in confronting unhealthy relationships, to oneself and to others. In Germany, music therapy is taught at public or state-approved universities […] as well as at private educational institutions […]. The largest professional association is the Deutsche Musiktherapeutische Gesellschaft […].200

Brockhaus focuses strongly on the situation of music therapy in Germany, including a list of training facilities. It emphasizes that the effect of music is on mental and physical conditions, indicating a wide range of applications. The focus is, however, on psychotherapeutic approaches, primarily behavioral and Gestalt therapy. This might be connected to the fact that behavioral therapy is with over 50% of all applied psychotherapies in outpatients, the most common type of psychotherapy in Germany,201 and Gestalt therapy in literature is frequently connected to music therapy.202 Also, active and receptive categories of music therapy settings are explained, to which some fields of application are added. By mentioning music therapy research, the evidence-based foundation of music therapy is established. However, educational settings are not mentioned. In summary, the three encyclopedias discuss music therapy in various degrees of depth. All sources emphasize the role of music therapy in mental health and neurological or neuro-rehabilitative contexts. Its use in education and/or special education is not mentioned in any of the above sources. Music therapy’s aim to achieve therapeutic objectives that are not necessarily related to the abilities to perform on the instrument is commonly represented. Examples of intervention

200

Musiktherapie (2019, May 26). Retrieved May 26, 2019, from www.brockhaus.de. Multmeier, J. (2014). Ambulante psychotherapeutische Versorgung in Deutschland: eine Kohortenbetrachtung der KVB (engl.: Outpatient psychotherapeutic care in Germany: a cohort analysis by the KVB). Projekt Psychotherapie, 2, 12–22. 202 Wheeler, B. (1981). The relationship between music therapy and theories of psychotherapy. Music Therapy, 1(1), 9–16; Gold, C., Voracek, M., & Wigram, T. (2004). Effects of music therapy for children and adolescents with psychopathology: a meta-analysis. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45(6), 1054–1063; Hoffmann, P. (2010). Rhythmus als Zeit-Gestalt in Musik und Musiktherapie (engl.: Rhythm as Time Gestalt in Music and Music Therapy). Musiktherapeutische Umschau, 31(3), 192–211; Sanyal, S. et al. (2017). Gestalt Phenomenon in Music? A Neurocognitive Physics Study with EEG. Presented in International Conference on Creativity and Cognition in Art and Design, NIMHANS, Bangalore; 19–21 January. 201

1.2 Music Therapy

41

types and areas of application are frequent, while formal training and the position of music therapy in the health system are described only in those sources representing cultures in which music therapy is represented in the health system.

1.2.1.2 Definitions of Music Therapy in Music Encyclopedias The music encyclopedias investigated in this chapter include the English Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, the Italian Utet Dizionario Enciclopedico Universale della Musica e dei Musicisti (DEUMM), and the German Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart (MGG) (de). The Grove is an encyclopedic music lexicon that is considered one of the best available English reference works in musicology. It is the authoritative resource for music research “with over 52’000 articles written by nearly 9’000 scholars charting the diverse history and cultures of music around the globe”.203 Music therapy is included in the dictionary as follows: The purposeful use of musical stimuli, musical activity, and client-therapist interaction in music contexts to pursue therapeutic goals. […] Music therapy professionals serve a broad array of clients and patients in a variety of settings. Some music therapists work in mental health areas, some provide services for the developmentally disabled, while others practice in general hospitals, rehabilitation programs, geriatric settings, hospices, clinics for persons with visual and auditory disabilities, and schools and other educational settings. Some music therapists work as private practitioners. Often private practitioners work closely with psychologists, psychiatrists, and physicians who refer clients to them. In some cases, music therapists have joined other professionals such as occupational therapists, special educators, and recreational specialists to form group practices. These practices often operate clinics and provide services to nursing homes, sheltered workshops, and other healthcare agencies. Some music therapists work in business and community health centers where their work is preventative as well as remedial, and from which they become involved in a broad spectrum of community musical activities. Preparation for entry into the profession in the United States typically involves successful completion of a four-year college major in music therapy or its equivalent, and an internship in a clinical program approved by the AMTA. […]204

The Grove focuses on American approaches to music therapy, including legislative regulations in the USA, and cites the definition of music therapy from the AMTA, the American Music Therapy Association. Among psychiatric and 203

Grove Music (2019, May 26). Retrieved May 26, 2019, from www.oxfordmusiconline. com. 204 Music Therapy (2014, January 31). Retrieved May 26, 2019, from www.oxfordmusico nline.com.

42

1

Literature Review

neurological/neuro-rehabilitative approaches, the use of music therapy in special education is mentioned, and schools are listed among the fields of application. The article is very elaborate and includes a history of music therapy in the United States, characteristics of music to facilitate healing, the use of music therapy in clinical practice, and specialized techniques (Guided Imagery and Music, Neurologic Music Therapy, Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy) and music therapy research. Also, the adaption of music educational practices into music therapy, as the approaches of Kodály and Orff are presented, emphasizing the full range of methods in modern music therapy. The Dizionario enciclopedico universale della musica e dei musicisti (DEUMM) is an encyclopedia of music that was first published in 1983 and edited by Alberto Basso. It consists of two parts, a part of lexical definitions and one on biographies, for a total of 42,000 works. It defines music therapy as follows: It is a rather broad term that currently covers a wide area of experience in the application of music, according to different directions and in various areas, although not strictly therapeutic: clinical-psychiatric, psychoanalytical, pedagogical-social. In the first field of application, music, also in outpatient and hospital settings, can be both the main instrument and adjunct to treatment for neurosis and psychosis and not only motor disabilities, particularly in occupational therapies, and also anesthetic techniques. In the pedagogical field, the application is mainly preventive, with frequent use in the field of animation, particularly but not exclusively in schools. [...] Today, the panorama of interpretative guidelines is quite complex and not very unitary. It ranges from concepts radiated in the most remote tradition, such as that of the Swedish Pontvik [...] to a whole series of orientations that sometimes highlight the relevance of the artistic element [...].205

205

Germi, L. (1984). Musicoterapia, in: Basso, A. (ed.) (1984). Dizionario enciclopedico universale della musica e dei musicisti (DEUMM), Il lessico, 3, Torino: UTET, p. 304–305. Original: È un termine piuttosto lato in cui attualmente si fa rientrare una vasta area di esperienze di applicazione della musica, secondo diversi indirizzi e in vari settori, anche se non strettamente terapeutici: clinico-psichiatrico, psicoanalitico, pedagogico-sociale. Nel primo campo di applicazione la musica, anche in ambito ambulatoriale e ospedaliero, può essere sia strumento principale che coadiuvante di cura per nevrosi e psicosi e handicap non solo motori, particolarmente nelle terapie occupazionali, e anche di tecniche anestetiche. In campo pedagogico l’applicazione ha carattere soprattutto preventivo, con uso frequente nel settore dell’animazione, particolarmente ma non esclusivamente in ambito scolastico. […] Oggi il panorama degli indirizzi interpretativi si presenta abbastanza complesso e non molto unitario. Si va da concezioni radiate nella tradizione più remota, come quella dello svedese Pontvik […] a tutta una serie di orientamenti che mettono in luce talvolta la rilevanza dell’elemento artistico […].

1.2 Music Therapy

43

DEUMM mentions three areas of application: clinical-psychiatric, psychoanalytic, and educational-social, even though the educational aspects of music therapy are less prominent in the article than the psychologic or medical issues. The article is well researched, takes into account the international research situation at the time, but does not focus on a specific cultural group. Examples of clinical trials on heartbeat, respiration, and digestion,206 as well as psychoanalytic studies on associations produced by music listening, are cited—which, however, does not show up in the first paragraph outlining areas of application but only as examples in the middle of the article. Educational aspects enter in the form of Kodáy and Orff, which come into an educational point rather than a scholastic one. In terms of approaches in music therapy, the article mentions Benenzon, Orff, Alvin, Pontvik, and others. Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart (MGG) is regarded as the essential German-language standard work in musicology. It defines music therapy like this: In today’s music therapy, the concept of therapy is defined differently depending on the field of practice, human image, and method. […] The objectives [of music therapy] show the possibilities on the methodical level: on the one hand the spectrum from music psychotherapy to relaxation training with music as well as the creative handling of music is addressed. Secondly, it becomes clear that music therapy can be significant in the various areas of health care (prevention), targeted therapeutic measures, and aftercare (rehabilitation). The way in which objectives are dealt with varies greatly. For example, target catalogs are known from exercise-centered procedures which have a strong affinity to pedagogical learning processes.207

The MGG presents a broad definition of music therapy and tries to include its many factettes. Four areas of application are defined: in a clinical context, at schools, in outpatient therapy, and in private practice. It is a very elaborate article 206

Idem, p. 305. Musiktherapie (2016, November). Retrieved May 26, 2019, from www.mgg-online.com. Original: In der heutigen Musiktherapie wird der Therapiebegriff je nach Praxisfeld, Menschenbild und Methode unterschiedlich definiert. […] Diese Zielsetzungen zeigen die Möglichkeiten auf der methodischen Ebene: angesprochen wird hier zum einen das Spektrum von Musikpsychotherapie bis hin zum Entspannungstraining mit Musik sowie der kreative Umgang mit Musik. Zum zweiten wird deutlich, daß Musiktherapie in den verschiedenen Bereichen der Gesundheitsvorsorge (Prävention), -fürsorge (gezielte therapeutische Maßnahme) und -nachsorge (Rehabilitation) bedeutsam sein kann.Der Umgang mit den Zielsetzungen verläuft sehr unterschiedlich. So sind aus übungszentriert ausgerichteten Verfahren Zielkataloge bekannt, die eine starke Affinität zu pädagogischen Lernprozessen aufweisen.

207

44

1

Literature Review

that also treats the development of music therapy theory from the 1970s onwards, anthroposophic considerations, and music therapy organizations. Elements of its application, like the presence or absence of intentionality, are discussed. The discourse goes thus very much into detail. In summary, the encyclopedias and lexica specialized in music consider music therapy more in-depth than universal encyclopedias. Regarding their historical overviews, the music encyclopedia in English tends to focus on developments and trends and regulations from English-speaking countries. Furthermore, they tend to lean strongly on the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA), which regulates music therapy training and the recognition of professional music therapists in America. The Italian article in the DDEUM includes research from all over the world. The MGG, on the other hand, focuses on the official representation of music therapeutic activities in Germany, the Deutsche Musiktherapiegesellschaft (DMTG). In terms of field of application, the English, Italian and German articles mention the use of music therapy in an educational context. In this, the Italian article specifies that application in schools is foremost of a preventive character.208

1.2.1.3 Definitions by Public Music Therapy Organizations Since there is an enormous amount of organizations and associations dedicated to music therapy and its diffusion, a selection must be made in order not to exceed the frame of a doctoral thesis. Therefore, only official associations will be considered. The World Federation of Music Therapy (WFMT) has been included because it is the representation of the profession on a global level. It is an “international umbrella organization for the profession of music therapy, […] promote international collaborations among WFMT members and other related professional groups […] [and] promote the official recognition of music therapy as a profession by governmental or non-governmental agencies throughout all regions of the world”,209 which indicates that they do not only seek to spread information on music therapy, but they also operate on a political level and facilitate international research. According to a brief definition on their homepage, music therapy is. the professional use of music and its elements as an intervention in medical, educational, and everyday environments with individuals, groups, families, or communities 208

Germi, L. (1984). Musicoterapia, in: Basso, A. (ed.) (1984). Dizionario enciclopedico universale della musica e dei musicisti (DEUMM), Il lessico, 3, Torino: UTET, p. 304. 209 About WFMT (2011). Retrieved May 31, 2019, from www.wfmt.info.

1.2 Music Therapy

45

who seek to optimize their quality of life and improve their physical, social, communicative, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual health and wellbeing. Research, practice, education, and clinical training in music therapy are based on professional standards according to cultural, social, and political contexts.210

Additionally, there are Info Cards in different languages providing basic information on the profession, like “What are the benefits of music therapy?”. The material often refers to AMTA. For example, the Info Cards on “Where do Music Therapists work?” and “Who can benefit from Music Therapy?” both cite it.211 This underlines the importance of the American representation of music therapists worldwide. The American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) is one of the most important and influential organizations in the world. In fact, as mentioned above, it is cited by the music encyclopedia Grove212 and the WFMT.213 It defines music therapy as follows: Music Therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program. Music therapy interventions can be designed to: promote wellness, manage stress, alleviate pain, express feelings, enhance memory, improve communication, promote physical rehabilitation. Research in music therapy supports its effectiveness in a wide variety of healthcare and educational settings.214

This article highlights evidence-based approaches, giving music therapy a justification oriented towards conventional medical methods, and underlines its validity as a form of treatment. There is a wide range of areas of application, which touches on psychological, medical, rehabilitative, and educational fields. Unlike the previous definitions, the importance of a therapeutic relationship in music therapeutic work is emphasized, setting it apart from sole listening to music. The therapeutic effects develop not only through music but through the interpersonal connection music enables. Professional training is a critical element of this definition. 210

About WFMT (2011). Retrieved May 30, 2019, from www.wfmt.info. Info Cards (2011). Retrieved May 31, 2019, from www.wfmt.info. 212 Music Therapy (2014, January 31). Retrieved May 26, 2019, from www.oxfordmusico nline.com. 213 Info Cards (2011). Retrieved May 31, 2019, from www.wfmt.info. 214 What is music therapy? (2019, May 30). Retrieved May 30, 2019, from www.musicther apy.org. 211

46

1

Literature Review

European Music Therapy Confederation (EMTC) is a confederation of professional music therapy associations in Europe. There is no formal definition of music therapy to be found on their website by May 2019. A probable reason is that it is a website for music therapists and people who are already familiar with the profession. Instead of providing general information on music therapy, the EMTC focuses on practical information, such as the legislative situations, and facilitating communication between music therapists from all over Europe. In the United Kingdom, the British Association for Music Therapy (BAMT) is the professional body for music therapy, providing information, professional support, and training opportunities. It is one of the oldest societies dedicated to music therapy in Europe and was founded in 1959. According to them: Music plays an important role in our everyday lives. It can be exciting or calming, joyful or poignant, can stir memories and powerfully resonate with our feelings, helping us to express them and to communicate with others. Music therapy uses these qualities and the musical components of rhythm, melody and tonality to provide a means of relating within a therapeutic relationship. In music therapy, people work with a wide range of accessible instruments and their voices to create a musical language which reflects their emotional and physical condition; this enables them to build connections with their inner selves and with others around them. Music therapists support the client’s communications with a bespoke combination of improvised or pre-composed instrumental music and voice, either sung or spoken. Individual and group sessions are provided in many settings such as hospitals, schools, hospices and care homes, and the therapist’s approach is informed by different theoretical frameworks, depending on their training and the health needs which are to be met.215

Unlike the definitions treated before, the BAMT starts with the effect music has on everyday life and continues to explain how these effects may be harvested to serve therapeutic goals. Music helps in building a relationship between therapist and patient, creating a musical language in order to connect with oneself and others. Therefore, it is not the music itself that affects the healing or learning process. It instead serves to facilitate a therapeutic relationship through which therapeutic goals can be achieved. Italy knows four associations on music therapy that act on a national level, according to the EMTC:216 the Italian Professional Association of Music Therapy (AIM), the Italian Federation of Music therapists (FIM), the Italian Association Register of Music Therapists (AIREM) which is not to be found online, and the

215 216

What is Music Therapy? (2017). Retrieved May 31, 2019, from www.bamt.org. Italy EMTC (2019, May 27). Retrieved May 27, 2019, from www.emtc-eu.com/italy.

1.2 Music Therapy

47

Punto di Svolta Association that is offline by May 31, 2019. Its website www. mutpuntodisvolta.net is inaccessible. Following the definition of the WFMT, the AIM defines music therapy: In line with the description of the World Federation of Music Therapy, music therapy is the professional use of music and its elements by a qualified music therapist with individuals, groups, families or communities seeking to improve their quality of life and their physical, social, communicative, emotional, intellectual and spiritual condition. Research, practice, education, and training in music therapy are based on professional standards based on cultural, social, and political contexts. (WFMT, 2011) [...] The Music Therapist, defined by the [Italian] UNI 11592:2015 Standard is a trained professional who uses specific practices with reference to both individual and collective creative processes; he works by cooperating and dialoguing in multidisciplinary contexts and teams. Music therapy is therefore used in educational, preventive, rehabilitative, and clinical settings as an additional complimentary resource, on the instructions and under the responsibility of health personnel.217

This definition does not explicitly mention the use of music therapy in psychotherapeutic situations since it only refers to „ cultural, social and political contexts.” Unlike the previous Italian definitions, there is an emphasis on the legal basis that serves to legitimize music therapy as a treatment method in Italy. As indicated in the last phrase of the description, the responsibility ultimately lies with other professions. This suggests that, though having some regulation, music therapy is not yet to be considered an integral part of health care. The other Italian music therapy organization recognized by the EMTC, FIM, describes music therapy like this: Since music is the origin of art and language, music therapy can be considered a kind of “research” into the way each person communicates, even before the word is 217

AIEMME: La Musicoterapia (2019, May 30). Retrieved May 30, 2019, from www.aie mme.it. Original: In linea con la definizione della World Federation of Music Therapy, la musicoterapia è l’uso professionale della musica e dei suoi elementi da parte di un musicoterapeuta qualificato con individui, gruppi, famiglie o comunità che cercano di migliorare la loro qualità di vita e la loro condizione fisica, sociale, comunicativa, emotiva, intellettiva e spirituale. La ricerca, la pratica, l’educazione e la formazione in musicoterapia si basano su standard professionali in base a contesti culturali, sociali e politici. (WFMT, 2011) […] Il Musicoterapeuta definito dalla Norma UNI 11,592:2015 è un professionista formato che utilizza pratiche specifiche, attente ai processi creativi sia individuali sia collettivi; opera cooperando e dialogando in contesti ed équipe multidisciplinari. La Musicoterapia è pertanto impiegata nei contesti educative, preventive, riabilitative e clinici come risorsa complementare aggiuntiva, su indicazione e sotto la responsabilità di personale sanitario.

48

1

Literature Review

born. Men, in history and prehistory, for reasons of survival, have transformed the rhythms/sounds/noises of work into musical activities. Music therapy values singing, dance, and the expression of emotions, even the most terrible ones, in an attempt to survive. Screaming, venting, singing, beating, and jumping, are part of “making music” and are the expression of emotions in space and time; the shared feeling is communication. Music is cradling, delicacy, welcome, and listening. There could be many reasons for this.218

FIM bases its definition of music therapy on the idea that music is the foundation of art and language, and in a way of civilization itself. Music therapy is, therefore, intimately connected to communication in both: its verbal and nonverbal form. This definition emphasizes the ancient roots of music and deduces its value for survival by expressing an individual’s or a group’s emotional state, which is the basis for communication. FIM consequently focuses on expression and communication as key elements in music therapy. The BAG Musiktherapie is a union of music therapy associations in Germany. A definition of music therapy is presented on the website in the section Kasseler Thesen. The Kasseler Thesen, first published in 1998 and revised in 2010, serves as a shared professional policy approach to create the legal basis for the practice of music therapy. At the same time, they distinguish music therapy from other music-centered professions. The dynamics of the professional and associationpolitical debate on the development of the Theses of Kassel were decisively driven by the encounter of the historically grown East and West German music traditions in the 20th century. Music therapy is a practice-oriented discipline whose scientific foundations are closely interrelated with various fields of science, especially medicine, social sciences, psychology, musicology, and pedagogy. The term “music therapy” is a summary term for different concepts of music therapy, which, by their very nature, are to be characterized as psychotherapeutic, as contrasted with pharmacological and physical therapy. To define music therapy in more detail requires statements on the underlying concepts of 218

Federazione Italiana Musicoterapeuti—il pensiero (2019). Retrieved June 3, 2019, from www.musicoterapia.it/il-pensiero. Original: Essendo la musica l’origine delle Arti e dei Linguaggi, la musicoterapia può significare “ricerca” del modo di comunicare proprio di ogni persona, prima ancora che la parola nasca. Gli uomini, nella storia e nella preistoria, per questioni di sopravvivenza, hanno trasformato i ritmi/suoni/rumori del lavoro, in attività musicali. La musicoterapia da valore al canto, alla danza, all’espressione delle emozioni, anche di quelle più terribili, nel tentativo di sopravvivere. Il gridare, sfogare, cantare, picchiare, saltare, fanno parte del “fare musica”, e sono l’espressione nello spazio e nel tempo delle emozioni; l’espressione condivisa è comunicazione. La musica è cullamento, delicatezza, accoglienza, ascolto. I motivi potrebbero essere molteplici.

1.2 Music Therapy

49

psychotherapy and music. Based on a biopsychosocial model of illness, psychotherapy is a scientifically founded treatment with psychological means. It belongs to the field of health and social care and has an integrative function as such. Psychotherapy is based on a theoretical concept to be defined in each case, which contains statements on the image of man, on ethics, and on the understanding of illness. This results in a system of methods with which it can adapt to the therapeutic, rehabilitative and preventive areas of the health and social system. […] Music is sound created by human beings. As an acoustic, time-structuring event, it is an articulation of human experience with an expressive and communication function. […] In music therapy, music is the object and thus the point of reference for patient and therapist in the material world. The individual’s ability to perceive, experience, symbolize and relate can be developed through music therapy. The reception, production, and reproduction of music initiate intrapsychic and interpersonal processes and have both diagnostic and therapeutic functions. The musical material is suitable for activating resources and concretizing individually meaningful experiential contexts, which is taken as a starting point for further processing. Music-therapeutic methods follow depth-psychological, behavior-therapeutic, and learning-theoretical, systemic, anthroposophical and holistic-humanistic approaches. […] Music therapy is carried out in social and health care institutions. […] A prerequisite for the application of music therapy is syndromatological and therapy process-related music therapy diagnostics. […] In music therapy, specific documentation procedures are used for therapy evaluation and scientific research. The training of music therapists includes: • a focus on music-therapeutic self-awareness in relation to dealing with music, one’s own emotionality and interactional processes, • Theory and methodology of therapeutic music concepts […], • Music practice (therapeutic action with musical means), • supervised internships in the professional field.219

According to BAG, music therapy can be applied in several contexts, among which educational settings. In understanding music therapy as a blend of music and psychotherapy, both psychotherapy and music have to be defined carefully. The nature of music is considered deeply expressive and communicative, while the idea of psychotherapy in this context is based on the “bio-psycho-social model of illness [according to which] illness and health are the results of an interaction between biological, psychological, and social factors”220 as opposed to the “biomedical model of illness, which to this day remains the dominant healthcare model”221 in western countries. As a consequence, the requirements of a valid 219

Kasseler Thesen (2010). Retrieved May 31, 2019, from www.bag-musiktherapie.de Wade, D., & Halligan, P. (2017). The biopsychosocial model of illness: a model whose time has come. Clinical Rehabilitation, 8, 995–1004. 221 Idem. 220

50

1

Literature Review

music therapy training program are emphasized, including theoretical knowledge, practical training, and self-care. The Deutsche Musiktherapie Gesellschaft DMtG is the largest professional society representing music therapists in Germany. Their definition of music therapy is published in both German and English and is inspired by the Kasseler Thesen: Music therapy is the systematic use of music within a therapeutic relationship which aims at restoring, maintaining and furthering emotional, physical and mental health. Music therapy is a practice-oriented scientific discipline which is closely connected to other scientific disciplines, especially medicine, social sciences, psychology, musicology and pedagogy. “Music therapy” is an overarching term for different music therapy concepts, which are psychotherapeutic in nature, in contrast to pharmacological and physical therapies. Different music therapy methods are respectively based on different psychological, psychotherapeutic or philosophical traditions, such as depth psychology, behaviourism, systemic, anthroposophical or holistic-humanistic approaches.222

On an academic level, the DMtG not only connects music therapy to medicine, psychology, and education but also to musicology and social sciences. Musicology links to the musical roots of music therapy, while social sciences indicate an association with societal phenomena. Music therapy is practical in nature, which means that it is defined by its use in the field and not by theoretical considerations, and therefore oriented toward its application in diverse age and social groups. As the BAG, the definition of the DMtG is broadly linked to psychotherapy and can, however, connect to different perspectives in psychotherapy, such as behavioral, systemic, or humanistic. Relational aspects, especially the therapeutic relationship between therapist and patient facilitated or enabled through music, are considered essential in evoking changes in the patient’s behavior, thinking, or feeling.

1.2.1.4 Definitions by Music Therapy Approaches There is a wide range of approaches in music therapy that have developed in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. This chapter will, however, only focus on those approaches mentioned in the previously investigated definitions of music therapy because being present in the universal and music encyclopedias gives them some weight and attention among the other ones. These approaches are (1) the Guided Imagery with Music (GIM), or Bonny Method, which was mentioned 222

Deutsche Musiktherapeutische Gesellschaft: Definition (2019). Retrieved May 31, 2019, from www.musiktherapie.de.

1.2 Music Therapy

51

by Britannica, Grove, and WFMT, (2) the Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT), which got attention in Britannica and Grove, and (3) the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy (NRMT) which was cited in Britannica and Grove (Table 1.4). GIM is a “music-centered [and] consciousness-expanding therapy”223 developed in the 1970s by Helen Bonny. She worked on a project on the therapeutic effects of LSD initiated by the federal government of the USA. At first, she combined relaxation techniques and classical music to assist the research subjects while affected by the drug. Later, she conducted sessions without the drug, which proved equally efficient. In fact, music by itself could initiate profound effects on consciousness. Furthermore, Bonny discovered that helping a person enter into an expanded state of consciousness before listening to the music greatly enhanced the person’s responsiveness to the music, and in doing so, also gave the person greater access to his/her imaginal world. What she also discovered was that as a person listens to the music for an extended period, his/her consciousness continues to deepen, shift, and expand as a result.224

Based on these findings, she developed a method using classical music to stimulate the imagination and to send the patient on imaginary travels. Positive effects on the integration of mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual aspects of well-being have been documented.225 In the literature, GIM is rather perceived as a form of psychotherapy than a type of music therapy—even though it uses music as its primary agent. Keith Bruscia226 has worked for years on finding and comparing definitions of music therapy. He concludes that what determines whether GIM is being considered

223

Home—AMI (2019). Retrieved June 3, 2019, from www.ami-bonnymethod.org. Bonny (1999). In: Bruscia, K. (2012). Case Examples of Guided Imagery and Music, Gilsum: Barcelona Publishers, p. 15. 225 e.g.: Idem; Clark, M. (2017). Through the Looking Glass: Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy and the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music, Research Symposium Proceedings, 24th International Association for Music and Imagery Conference, June 14–17, 2017, 3–7; Papanikolaou, E. (2017). Short Guided Imagery and Music (GIM) in Active Treatment of Gynecologic Cancer: a Feasibility Study, Research Symposium Proceedings, 24th International Association for Music and Imagery Conference, June 14–17, 2017, 23–27; Zanchi, B., Bonfiglioli, L., Nicoletti, G., & Bitti, P. (2016). Guided Imagery and Music (GIM) as therapy and rehabilitation for cancer survivors. Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 25(1), 84–85. 226 Emeritus Professor of Music Therapy from Temple University in Philadelphia (USA). 224

52

1

Literature Review

music therapy or part of another modality depends on the weight given to music during the sessions: The shortest and most direct answer to this question is: it all depends upon how the music is used. Presently, there are myriad ways that music is conceived and used in GIM, some relying more on the actual music experience than others. How music is used may vary from one session to another, one client or population to another, and one practitioner to another. […] More specifically, sometimes the session, client, or practitioner focus and rely upon the music listening as the core experience in GIM, and sometimes the session, client, or practitioner focus and rely upon the imagery, the expanded state of consciousness, the verbal discourse, body work, or work done in other art modalities. Similarly, sometimes the actual change or transformation is causally linked to the music, and sometimes it is not. All of these variations in how music is used have significant implications for whether GIM belongs to the discipline of music therapy or another treatment modality.227

Therefore, what is regarded to be the element that brings the change for the patient defines how GIM is classified. If the listening part is treated as the primary agent that initiates a therapeutic process of transformation, it is music therapy; if another element, like the expanded state of consciousness, is interpreted as the main agent, it might not be considered music therapy. Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT) was developed in the 1990s, driven by new insights from research into music and neurosciences through modern research techniques, such as brain imaging. Based on the effects of music on therapeutic outcomes by the new body of neuroscientific research, a system of seven key elements, including language, executive function, and perception, has been designed, and the “clinical core of NMT [which] consists of 20 techniques that are defined by (1) the diagnostic treatment goal and (2) the role of the music—or mechanisms in the processes of music perception and music production—for achieving the treatment goal”228 was developed. In short, “music processing can engage, train, and re-train the non-musical brain and behavior function”229 which might

227

Bruscia, K. (2012). Case Examples of Guided Imagery and Music, Gilsum: Barcelona Publishers, p. 17. 228 Thaut, M., McIntosh, G., & Hoemberg, V. (2014). Neurologic Music Therapy: From Social Science to Neuroscience. In: Thaut, M., et al. (eds.) (2014). Handbook of Neurologic Music Therapy, New York: Oxford University Press, p. 14. 229 Idem, p. 3.

1.2 Music Therapy

53

lead to therapeutic change. Furthermore, NMT has six basic definitions that articulate the principles of NMT, which have been defined by Michael H. Thaut,230 and his colleagues Gerald C. McIntosh231 and Volker Hoemberg232 : 1. NMT is defined as the therapeutic application of music to cognitive, affective, sensory, language, and motor dysfunctions due to disease or injury to the human nervous system. 2. NMT is based on neuroscientific models of music perception and music production and the influence of music on changes in non-musical brain and behavior function. 3. Treatment techniques are standardized in terminology and application, and are applied as TMEs which are adaptable to a patient’s needs. 4. The treatment techniques are based on data from translational scientific research, and are directed towards non-musical therapeutic goals. 5. In addition to training in music and neurologic music therapy, practitioners are educated in the areas of neuroanatomy and physiology, neuropathology, medical terminology, and (re)habilitation of cognitive, motor, speech, and language functions. 6. NMT is interdisciplinary. Music therapists can meaningfully contribute to and enrich the effectiveness of treatment teams. Non-music therapists who are trained in other allied health professions can effectively adapt the principles and materials of NMT for use in their own certified practice.233 According to said basic definitions, music is applied to treat disease or injury to the human nervous system. It is based on neuroscientific models, according to which standardized and evidence-based treatment techniques were developed. In consequence, NMT training needs to transmit basic medical and neurological knowledge. Furthermore, this approach is open to interdisciplinary cooperation. Music therapists are supposed to enhance treatment teams, and members of other allied health professions are encouraged to adapt the principles and materials of

230

Professor of Music with cross appointments in Neuroscience and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Toronto. 231 Neurologist and neurorehabilitation specialist and medical director for the Center for Biomedical Research. 232 Head of Neurology in the SRH Health Center in Bad Wimpfen, Germany. 233 Idem, p. 14.

54

1

Literature Review

NMT in their own work. In summary, NMT standardizes music therapy interventions for a limited range of applications. It considers music, similar to a kind of medicine, with clear indications and counterindications. The third model of music therapy is one of the earliest, developed in the 20th century by Paul Nordoff234 and Clive Robbins235 : Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy (NRMT), also known as Creative Music Therapy. In fact, it is even “considered to be the original music-centered approach within music therapy practice traditions.”236 From the 1950s to the 1970s, they worked with children with developmental delays and autism in special schools. During this time, they realized that “engagement in music-making, when skillfully supported, enabled the children to go beyond what people assumed they could do, in terms of their capacities for expression and interaction.”237 Furthermore, NRMT is “firmly rooted in close observation and analysis of the details of musical communication and interaction that occur within sessions.”238 Therefore, it is centered not only around music-making but also around observation of the musical production with the objective to develop or enhance communication between therapist and patient. Music is considered innate and holds the capacity to create dialogue, express oneself, and socialize. In consequence, music therapy is needed to help those individuals with difficulties learning with and through music. Here, NRMT reflects the educational environment in which it was developed. Accordingly, the humanistic nature and music-based approach are defined as follows in the Oxford Handbook of Music Therapy: In clinical practice and research within Nordoff-Robbins music therapy, human beings and music itself are addressed in a naturalistic context of creative interaction. Therapists meet clients as equal partners in collaborative improvisation, adapting flexibly and sensitively to clients’ evolving participation. Therapists cultivate their own musical responsiveness so that they may engage clients as fully as possible in music-making, rather than imposing preconceived limits upon clients’—or their own—experience 234

American pianist and composer. British special educator. 236 Aigen, K. (2005). In: Guerrero, N., Marcus, D., & Turry, A. (2016) Poised in the Creative Now: Principles of Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy. In: Edwards, J. (ed) (2016). The Oxford Handbook of Music Therapy, Kindle Version. Oxford—New York: Oxford University Press, p. 482. 237 Kim, Y. (2004). The Early Beginnings of Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy. Journal of Music Therapy, 41(4), 321–339. 238 Guerrero, N., Marcus, D., & Turry, A. (2016) Poised in the Creative Now: Principles of Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy. In: Edwards, J. (ed) (2016). The Oxford Handbook of Music Therapy, Kindle Version. Oxford—New York: Oxford University Press, p. 483. 235

1.2 Music Therapy

55

of the expressive and dynamic potentials of music. It is by generating and studying creative musical experiences of significant depth and scope that practitioners of this approach come to understand the ways in which music may contribute to human development, healing, and well-being. […] The unique essential characteristic of the approach remains embedded—that musical structures in and of themselves are harnessed in improvisation-based practice that is rooted in music-centered theory. […] Just as music holds qualities of both support and challenge for potential clinical encounters, the approach itself brings together the highest ideals of art and science.239

1.2.1.5 Conclusion When comparing the definitions given previously, it is evident that there are some crucial similarities (Table 1.4). For example, the sources will consistently stress the non-musical objective: learning an instrument is not the objective of music therapy. This is an essential point because it distinguishes music therapy from music education: while music education aims to teach musical knowledge, such as instrumental performance skills, music therapy targets non-musical objectives, such as well-being, communication skills, social competence, or language skills. As a secondary effect, a patient still might gain some competence on the instrument during music therapy sessions, and music education might better not-instrument-related problems. For example, instrumental instruction can lead coincidentally to an improvement in verbal expression; music therapy, on the other hand, is purposefully applied in order to improve verbal expression, and the interventions are designed for this. So if a musical or non-musical outcome is desired, it is recommended to use the respective services. Music is consequently the means, not the goal, of the music therapy intervention. While medical or psychotherapeutic settings are mentioned in almost all the sources, educational settings are generally less present. In fact, none of the universal encyclopedias mentions scholastic contexts as a field of music therapy application, while the music encyclopedias and national and international organizations tend to reference at least special education. Music therapy associations tend to generally include schools, not just special educational settings, in their definitions of music therapy. This might be motivated by their objective to promote, disseminate and inform about music therapy in as many contexts as possible. Regarding Italian and non-Italian sources, a difference is to be expected because the Italian school system does not divide between educational and special educational settings since all schools are obligated to include children with disabilities. In Italy, this is regulated by Law 104 of 1992 (“Framework Law for 239

Idem. pp. 491–492.

56

1

Literature Review

the assistance, social integration and the rights of the disabled”) and Law 170 of 2010, which guarantees the right to education to students with specific learning disabilities (SLD); additionally, there is the law for accessibility of information and communication technology (ICT).240 As a result, every child with disabilities is. guaranteed a specialized tutorial and educational teacher, in addition to the class teacher. An individual education plan is drawn up for each learner with disabilities. It is prepared jointly by specialist clinicians and teachers, with the family’s collaboration. This plan contains the ‘life project’ of the person with disabilities, with actions ranging from school, to work and social rights.241

It is therefore expected and verified by the analysis of music therapy definitions, that the Italian sources do not distinguish between special education and education contexts when mentioning schools as fields of application for music therapy. Formal training and the profession’s position within the respective health system are notably little mentioned in the Italian sources: neither Treccani nor DDEUM or FIM notes them. Only AIM, which is based on the definition of AMTA, deals with this topic. This might be due to the fact that there is, to this date, no legislation specifically targeting music therapy in Italy. While formal training is highlighted in the German sources, the position in the health system is not. This might be caused by the fact that it is regulated by the Heilpraktikergesetzt,242 due to which it has an in-between standing between the health profession and alternative medicine. Since there is no uniform regulation on an international level, the international organizations do not deepen questions on music therapy’s position in the health system and mention the importance of professional training without going into further detail. Approaches are rarely mentioned. Only two sources, the English Britannica and Grove, write about the specific strategies of GIM, NMT, and NRMT. The WFMT merely refers to GIM. When comparing English, Italian, and German country representations, there are only slight differences between Italian and English sources because AIM draws heavily from the definition of the AMTA, and so does the WFMT. This 240

European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education (2016). Country Policy Review and Analysis: Italy, CPRA-Italy, Brussels—Odense: European Agency, p. 3. 241 Idem. 242 Law „Heilpraktikergesetz über die berufsmäßige Ausübung der Heilkunde ohne Bestallung“ (HeilprG), 1939, Febuary 17.

1.2 Music Therapy

57

emphasizes the weight AMTA has on music therapy on a global level, as it is cited and based on frequently. FIM, the other Italian music therapy organization, however, took another approach by putting music therapy into a musical and spiritual tradition and thus closer to NRMT. Both the German associations pulled from the Kasseler Thesen, and it is therefore expected to be similar. Table 1.4 provides an overview of the aspects mentioned above. The three approaches are very different in nature, even though they are all considered music therapy. GIM is closely related to psychotherapy, so far that it is sometimes not even considered music therapy. It uses music in a receptive way in order to access underlying and unconscious processes in a patient. In contrast, NMT focuses exclusively on addressing neurological and functional problems through music-based, standardized techniques. NRMT, on the other hand, uses music-making as a natural resource in order to form a relationship between therapist and patient, which helps to further self-expression, communication, and interaction. They all have in common that they use music. Their objectives, however, are different. As pointed out by Bruscia, music therapy is defined by the method (music) rather than by its outcomes (e.g., healing, behavior change). In other words, music therapy does not become another discipline because it leads to psychotherapeutic, spiritual, educational, or medical outcomes. This is not always the case. Psychotherapy, for example, is determined by the psychological nature of its outcomes rather than by the methods used to achieve them. Similarly, medicine and education are set by the specificity of their outcomes (health, acquisition of knowledge) rather than the diversity of methods to reach them. In consequence, music therapy does not become a form of medicine when the objective is medical, and it does not become counseling when a verbal discussion is utilized after listening to or playing music.243 Therein seems to lay the difficulty of defining music therapy and the elements of it that have a therapeutic effect. As a consequence, music therapy can be interpreted as a method of psychotherapy, a standardized neuro-rehabilitative intervention, a facilitator of communication244 , or, to add another example, a phenomenon between culture and nature that affects the individual physiologically:

243

Bruscia, K. (2012). Case Examples of Guided Imagery and Music, Gilsum: Barcelona Publishers, p. 16. 244 chapter “1.2.1.4 Definitions by Music Therapy Approaches”, p. 18.

✓

✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ – ✓ ✓

✓

✓

–

✓

✓

Treccani – (XXI Sec.)

–

NRMT, NMT, GIM

–

–

GIM

–

–

–

–

Brockhaus

Grove

DDEUM

MGG

WFMT

EMTC

AMTA

BAMT

AIM

– ✓ ✓ ✓

–

✓

✓

✓

–

✓

✓

✓

Treccani – (medicina)

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

–

–

–

–

–

✓

✓

✓

–

–

–

–

✓

–

–

–

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

–

✓

✓

–

✓

✓

–

–

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓✓

✓

✓

✓

(continued)

1

✓

–

✓

✓

✓

✓

–

✓

Treccani (online)

✓

–

NRMT, NMT, GIM

Britannica

✓

Approaches Active-receptive Neurological, Psycho-therapeutical Educa-tional Position Formal Non-musical Medical Settings Settings in the training objectives Settings health system

–

Source

Table 1.4 Summary of elements in music therapy definitions

58 Literature Review

–

–

–

BAG

DMtG

–

–

–

– ✓ ✓

– ✓ ✓

✓

✓

– –

–

– –

✓

–

✓

✓

✓

Approaches Active-receptive Neurological, Psycho-therapeutical Educa-tional Position Formal Non-musical Medical Settings Settings in the training objectives Settings health system

FIM

Source

Table 1.4 (continued)

1.2 Music Therapy 59

60

1

Literature Review

Music as a cultural phenomenon can be an expression of the environment, influencing the education of the individual, his relationships, his personality. As a natural acoustic event, which involves the mind, emotions, body, music can also consist of sound stimuli that affect or otherwise affect physiological life.245

According to Bruscia, music therapy is part of the dialectic between art, science, and the human being, which contributes to the difficulty of defining it246 : art is associated with individuality and subjectivity; science seeks objectivity, universality, and replicability; humanity, instead, draws from interpersonal, relational processes in different contexts such as community, society, and culture. In music therapy, these three elements are linked: art focuses on interpersonal and socio-cultural processes, while science is revived by art and humanized by the relationship between therapist and patient. The interpersonal process is stimulated and completed by art and guided by science; it gives and receives the form from the social, economic, political, and cultural factors that contextualize human life. Consequently, music therapy must be conceived in such a way as to include all the differences and all the diversity proposed by the three elements while at the same time preserving its own unity. Music therapy is, therefore, heavily dependent on the context in which it is applied. Under this pretext, it is logical that most associations would try to avoid mentioning specific approaches in music therapy in order to remain more transparent and relatable to a variety of currents in music therapy. However, already in the representations of the different sources, there is some emphasis. Some sources focus more on relational aspects of music therapy, communication, or spiritual ones. In any case, music therapy—especially since it is a comparably young profession—is not easy to outline, given its vast area and richness of different fields and types of application. It is a logical consequence that definitions seek to remain vague enough to include as many types of interventions that use music to achieve a therapeutic aim as possible.

245

De Angelis, B. (1991). Linguaggi non verbali e musicoterapia. In: De Anna, L. (ed) (1991). La scuola e i disabili, Roma: L’Ed, 183–189. Original: La musica come fenomeno culturale può essere espressione dell’ambiente, influire sull’educazione dell’individuo, sulla sua vita di relazione, sulla sua personalità. Come fenomeno naturale di tipo acustico, che coinvolge la mente, le emozioni, il corpo, la musica può inoltre consistere di stimoli sonori che influenzano o comunque condizionano la vita fisiologica. 246 Bruscia, K. (2014). Defining Music Therapy, Gilsum: Barcelona Publishers.

1.2 Music Therapy

1.2.2

61

Settings and Application of Music Therapy

A multitude of factors must be considered when planning a music therapy intervention due to the many areas of application, as discussed previously, in order to serve the needs of the patients and, in case, their family members. The present chapter describes and explains the most commonly debated elements of music therapy interventions: active and receptive music therapy, individual and group music therapy, and choice of instruments.

1.2.2.1 Active and Receptive Music Therapy Active music therapy is a collective term for “all types of music therapy in which the patient himself is involved in acting with an instrument or voice.”247 The patient plays instruments or sings and may be accompanied by the music therapist. The focus is not necessarily on melodious sound in the sense of a technically flawless sound, as is the case with music educational processes. Instead, the music or the sound should be an expression of individual emotional experience. It is, therefore, possible, for example, that patients prefer a brittle, impure sound as an expression of a state of mind to a beautiful, well-formed sound. Rhythm can be used as a structuring element. Also, here, no virtuosity is intentional. The exercising, experience-oriented component in the therapeutic context is critical. The methods in active music therapy can be varied and contain many different instruments. A particular form is functional music therapy, in which physical functions such as fine and gross motor skills are to be strengthened with musical means such as drums or harps. Reflection about what is heard and played and the emotions and sensations caused by it can be a powerful intervention as well. In receptive music therapy, the patient does not produce the music but concentrates on perceiving it. Listening and reflection on what has been heard, as well as any sensations triggered by the music, are at the center of attention. Receptive music therapy might be applied, for example, when a person is not able to play an instrument or when no active participation is necessary for the course of relaxation or mindfulness exercises. The music therapist plays music or musical elements depending on the therapy goal, situational circumstances, and preferences of the patient.

247

Eschen, J. (2009), Aktive Musiktherapie. In: Decker-Voigt, H. H., Weymann, E. (eds.) (2009). Lexikon Musiktherapie, Göttingen: Hogrefe, p. 9.

62

1

Literature Review

1.2.2.2 Individual and Group Settings Individual settings in music therapy are conducted one-to-one between the therapist and a patient. This allows for an intimate space in which the therapeutic relationship can develop and therapeutic processes can progress. In a therapeutic context, an “individual setting [may be] preferred due to lower social demands and reduced stress in case of high irritability and sensory-perceptual sensitivity.”248 The patient can, therefore, focus intensively on her- or himself, giving way to intense reflection on one’s inner processes and dynamics. Music therapy in groups demands more social and communication skills. At the same time, group sessions hold other types of resources, such as identification, bonding, and finding strength in the cohesion of a group. In fact, as pointed out by Heidi Ahonen,249 and with reference to the German-British psychoanalyst Siegmund Heinrich Foulkes: In a group setting, it is typical that one client’s image becomes a group image as well and may articulate something about the developmental stage of the entire group. It may allow everyone to grasp something deeper. This means the collective unconscious level of the group has activated.250

The individual, therefore, becomes part of a group and is able to grow and develop with and within the group. But at the same time, one does not fully emerge in the group but remains an individual. In other words, the group “allows differentiation but still retains a distinguishing wholeness.”251 Consequently, a group-based approach does further both the development of the individual and that of the entire group.

248

Bergmann, T. (2015). Music Therapy for People with Autism Sprectrum Disorder. In: Edwards, J. (2015). The Oxford Handbook of Music Therapy, Kindle Version, New York— Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 194. 249 Professor of Music Therapy at the Wilfrid Laurier University and Director of the Manfred and Penny Conrad Institute for Music Therapy Research in Canada. 250 Foulkes, S. H. (1990). Access to unconscious processes in the group analytic group. In: Ahonen, H. (2015). Adult Trauma Work in Music Therapy. In: Edwards, J. (2015). The Oxford Handbook of Music Therapy, kindle version, New York—Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 277. 251 Pines, M. (1998). What should a psychotherapist know? In: M. Pines (ed.), Circular Reflections. London: Jessica Kingsely Publishers; Ahonen, H. (2015). Adult Trauma Work in Music Therapy. In: Edwards, J. (2015). The Oxford Handbook of Music Therapy, Kindle Version, New York—Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 287.

1.2 Music Therapy

63

Group and individual settings are among the most popular ways of differentiation, as they are essential in terms of organization and everyday working life. There are, however, approaches that go beyond one-to-one or group therapy. Community Music Therapy, for example, combines individual and group settings with the community in order to help the patients to participate in society, as explained by Bruscia in 1998: In Community Music Therapy, the therapist works with clients in traditional individual or group music therapy settings, while also working with the community. The purpose is twofold: to prepare the client to participate in community functions and become a valued member of the community; and to prepare the community to accept and embrace the clients by helping its members understand and interact with the clients.252

In conclusion, the most critical point of distinguishment between individual and group approaches are the dynamics that are harnessed. In a one-to-one situation, the patient can explore and develop the relationship with oneself, one’s inner dynamics, emotions, thoughts, and behavior. Group settings allow experiencing relational aspects, group dynamics, personal and collective growth in a safe environment. Both have their own value and must be selected according to the therapy goal, abilities, and needs of the patient.

1.2.2.3 Choice of Instruments Musical instruments are used to produce music in both active and receptive music therapy, as well as individual and group settings. In active music therapy, the patient and therapist need them to produce sounds and communicate; in receptive music therapy, they are the tool through which the therapist enables the patient to access their inner processes. In a broad sense, even a CD player might be considered an instrument, given that it is utilized to present the patient with auditory input. Musical instruments are to the music therapist, what is the conversation to a psychotherapist: a tool to get in contact with the patient and a source of change. The choice of instrument has long been and is still discussed among music therapists. Juliette Alvin,253 for example, believed that the choice of instrument must reflect the patient’s cognitive abilities, possibilities to move the body, musical abilities, and personal taste in order to bring a sense of pleasure and achievement to her/him. In particular, she said during a reading at the Saskatchewan Hospital in Weyburn, Canada, in October 1960: 252

Bruscia, K. (1998a). Defining Music Therapy. (2nd ed.). Gilsum: Barcelona Publishers, p. 237. 253 French-British cellist, viola da gamba player, and pioneering music therapist.

64

1

Literature Review

The patient must achieve some satisfaction through the manipulation of the instrument. For this reason, the instrument must be one the patient likes and must not be too infantile or too difficult for the patient on the level at which he is functioning.254

Tony Wigram255 and Amalia Oldfield256 state that Alvin considered the musical instrument to be a “safe intermediary object.”257 In other words, it is a nonthreatening way to engage with others and, therefore, a communication device to build a relationship between patient and therapist that may generalize to other people, like family members or teachers. Simultaneously, it may reduce the stress of a patient induced by direct communication or contact. Additionally, the choice of instrument may reveal important information on the patient’s conscious and unconscious processes within therapy. As pointed out by Wigram: The way of playing can represent aspects of personality and character. The way of playing can represent aspects of musical history, preference, and cultural background. The way of playing can represent the influence of pathology. The way of playing and body language or posture can represent mood, intentionality, communicability, expressivity, awareness, perception, and motor coordination. In fact, using this simple play rule of ‘explore the instrument, see what it sounds like’ will result in the client revealing something of how they feel, without it being a demand (or a pressure).258

Tríona McCaffrey259 adds that the instrument enables the patient to make a “connection […] with reality through the physical process of playing instruments; 254

Alvin, J., (1960). Paper read to the staff of Saskatchewan Hospital, Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Canada. in: Schneider, E., Boxberger, R., & Sears, W. (eds.). (1961) Tenth Book of Proceedings of the National Association for Music Therapy, papers from the Eleventh Annual Conference, San Francisco, California, 64–65. 255 Tony Wigram (1953–2011) was among others Professor and Head of PhD Studies in Music Therapy at the University of Aalborg, Denmark, Honorary Research Fellow in the Faculty of Music at the University of Melbourne, Australia. 256 Professor of Music Therapy in Anglia-Ruskin University in England. 257 Alvin, J. (1977). The musical instrument as an intermediary object. British Journal of Music Therapy, 8(2), 7–12; Wigram, Tony, et al. (2002). A Comprehensive Guide to Music Therapy: Theory, Clinical Practice, Research and Training, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2002, p. 132; Oldfield, A., & Janjua, F. (2006). Interactive Music Therapy—A Positive Approach, London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, p. 24. 258 Wigram, T. (2004). Improvisation: Methods and Techniques for Music Therapy Clinicians, Educators, and Students, London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, p. 185. 259 Lecturer at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance and at the University of Limerick, Ireland.

1.2 Music Therapy

65

firmly rooted within the present moment”.260 The instrument consequently can be an aid to get and remain in the present moment, which has shown to have positive effects on self-regulated behavior, positive emotional state, and stress levels.261 In a collection of reports by music therapy patients, a patient named Helen describes her experience of being rooted in the present while affronting the past through her flute as intensely emotional: Having so many of my feelings from my childhood—my flute was also from my childhood and was an instrument that could trigger old feelings—was a very emotional experience for me. My flute was emotion for me; it connected me to the past and at the same time, cemented me down in the present.262

The choice of the instrument is, therefore, important to aid the patient’s wellbeing and safe-feeling. But also, different aspects of the choice and manipulation of an instrument may contain a therapeutic value. Furthermore, it is a tool to help patients root themselves in reality. However, not only the patient’s choice of instrument is of major importance, but also the therapists ought to pay attention to the instruments they choose. Wigram states that there are many different perspectives as to how and which instrument a music therapist should choose to support the patient’s process: There has been, and continues to be, a lack of agreement on what the instrument of choice should be for the improvisational music therapist. This varies not only according to the model and client population for which it was developed, but also on whether the work is done in an individual or group setting. Should the therapist improvise on the piano (or equivalent harmonic instrument), the therapist’s own instrument (Alvin played cello, Priestley played violin), or on simple percussion? And accordingly, on what instruments should all improvisational music therapists be taught to improvise

260

McCaffrey, T. (2015). Music Therapy in Mental Health Care for Adults. In: Edwards, J. (2015). The Oxford Handbook of Music Therapy, Kindle Version, New York—Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 253. 261 Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2003). The benefits of being present: mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of personality and social psychology, 84(4), 822–848. 262 Bowe, H., Brown Mudge, M., & Frisch, A. (1999). When words are not enough. In: Hibben, J. (ed) (1999). Inside Music Therapy: Client Experiences, Phoenixville: Barcelona Publishers, p. 27.

66

1

Literature Review

musically and clinically? Obviously, much also depends on what instrument the therapist in training already knows how to play, not to mention differences in their potential for mastering the clinical instrument of choice.263

The therapist’s training and preparation at an instrument must be considered, given that he/she should be able to pay close attention to the patient while playing. This is in line with Oldfield’s observation that “music therapists appear to be using their first instrument in their work.”264 The choice of instrument is a complicated task that has effects on the whole patent’s experience and therapy outcomes. It is, therefore, to be considered carefully and attentively and with the therapeutic goal and patient’s biography in mind.

1.2.3

Music Therapy in Educational Settings

1.2.3.1 Definition of Educational Settings The following chapter explores the use of music therapy in education. First, the term “educational setting” is briefly defined, and differences between educational settings in different countries are outlined. Possibilities and limitations of music therapy interventions are then discussed for special, general, and inclusive education. Educational settings include all places that offer educational services to students, like kindergartens, schools, conservatories, and universities, as well as general, special, and inclusive education. Educational settings can, therefore, have many forms. Jill Adler,265 for example, identified in her work as a researcher three educational contexts in which students with English as their L1 or L2 are exposed in varying degrees to English or other languages as their teaching language and community language in South Africa. In the first one. English is the only language of instruction; the teachers are mostly monolingual English speakers; L1 and L2 English learners are taught in the same classes; there is

263

Wigram, T. (2004). Improvisation: Methods and Techniques for Music Therapy Clinicians, Educators, and Students, London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, p. 14–15. 264 Oldfield, A. (2018). The music therapist’s own instrument. Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 27(5), 337–338. 265 South African Professor of Mathematics at the University of the Witwatersrand and President of the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction.

1.2 Music Therapy

67

little or no support for the learners’ home languages at school; and the schools are generally well resourced.266

The other two settings include. town-ship schools […], where both English and home language are used for instruction; teachers are multilingual; there are only L2 English learners in the classes; there is school and community support for both home language and English although the schools may not be as well-resourced as the suburban schools, and […] rural schools […], where both English and the learners’ home language are used for instructional purposes, possibly with greater use of home language; teachers are bilingual/multilingual; there are only L2 English learners in classes; the learners have limited access to English outside school; and schools are poorly resourced.267

Thus, educational settings define the circumstances in which a person learns something. Said circumstances can vary immensely—even in the same school system. As seen in the example above, teachers’ and students’ language skills may vary, and so might the language of instruction and school funding. Students can be taught in their L2, which would have an effect on their understanding of school matters. Educational settings may differ profoundly according to the regulations of a country’s school system. Special education, for example, can be treated very differently according to a country’s school system. In Europe, there are three approaches to inclusion policies to be identified: one-directional, generally inserting people with disabilities into the regular educational system […]; multi-directional, inserting disabled people into a plurality of regular and differentiated services […]; bidirectional [sic], with the generalized insertion of disabled students into schools or special classes.268

266

Adler, J. (2006). In: Morrow, N., Jordaan, H., & Fridjhon, P. (2005). The effects of educational context on the understanding of linguistic concepts in English and isiZulu by Grade 7 learners. South African Journal of Education, 25(3), 164–169. 267 Idem. 268 Andreozzi, P., & Pietrocarlo, A. (2017). Educational Inclusion and Organisation. In: Dovigo, F. (2017). Special Educational Needs and Inclusive Practices: An International Perspective, Rotterdam—Boston—Taipei: Sense Publishers, p. 122.

68

1

Literature Review

A study by EURYDICE269 specifies that countries following a one-directional approach tend to integrate almost all students into mainstream education based on a wide variety of school-centered services. Examples are Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Sweden, Iceland, Norway, and Cyprus. The countries following a multidirectional approach provide a plurality of services between two school systems: ordinary and differentiated. Examples include Denmark, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Austria, Finland, England, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, and Slovenia. In the bi-directional category, there are two separate education systems: individual schools and classes for people with disability and ordinary or mainstream schooling. Switzerland and Belgium are examples of bi-directional school systems. Other countries, like Germany or the Netherlands, are more difficult to categorize because they were classified as bi-directional but are currently moving towards a multi-directional system.270

1.2.3.2 General Considerations on Education and Therapy This chapter makes general considerations on music therapy as a therapeutic discipline in an educational context. The following chapters reflect more in detail on country-specific considerations (1.2.3.3, 1.2.3.4, 1.2.3.5). Music therapy, by definition, is a medical-therapeutic intervention—and, therefore, not educational in nature. In other words, while therapy seeks to improve a person’s health and well-being, education aims to help the student increase their level of knowledge in some field. The means might even be similar. In music therapy, music is used to improve an individual’s happiness; in music education, music is used to improve musical knowledge and expertise. This does not exclude that music education can lead to feeling happy; a patient might learn how to play an instrument in music therapy. Instead, it is the approach that differs and that leads to the choices of intervention. For example, a student who is attracted to a piece of music. In music education, the teacher might continue offering similar pieces of music to play in order to keep up the motivation; in music therapy, the therapist might inquire why and how the piece has said effect and what it reveals about the patient’s motivations.271 In order to fully implement music therapy in educational settings, the roles of music education and music therapy must be 269

Network of 42 national units based in all 38 countries, with the task to explain how education systems are organized in Europe. 270 Meijer, C., Soriano, V., & Watkins, A. (2004). L’integrazione dei disabili in Europa, Middelfart, DK: I Quaderni di Eurydice N. 23, pp. 14–15. 271 Since music therapy is currently rather connected to medical literature, the term patient or client is prevalent in literature. This term is, however, not appropriate for the educational context.

1.2 Music Therapy

69

clearly defined.272 In detail, the goals of educational interventions are strictly following a pre-organized curriculum and are valid for all the members in the class; the therapeutic setting defines its objectives individually and according to each one’s needs. The time frame in which certain matters must be learned or developmental steps must be achieved is limited and universally set, as opposed to therapy, where steps in learning can be reached at an individual pace. The procedure itself in education is ruled by prepared, structured lessons to guide, encourage and challenge the students to learn skills in some matters, such as English or Mathematics. Therapy, on the other hand, is less structured and allows more for an open space, in which both therapist and patient explore together and find meaning in the process. Rules and values in education are predetermined and must be accepted as a given, while they are agreed upon in the union of child and therapist. In consequence, they are open to being broken or revised if necessary. In educational settings, mistakes are to be avoided, and if they happen are supposed to be a means to learn the correct way of doing it. A therapeutic approach, however, integrates mistakes into the being in order to be able to present oneself with all one’s strengths and weaknesses. Table 1.5 illustrates the main differences between both professions. In conclusion, the concept of education proves to be less flexible and characterized by precepts that serve the welfare of the whole class. Therapy is a sharp contrast to school by allowing for freedom and individual development. For outsiders, the distinction may sometimes be difficult as they see a person playing with the children in both music lessons and music therapy. The difference is more conceptual than methodical: in music lessons, a specific knowledge (skills on the instrument, knowledge of a piece of music) is imparted, while in music therapy, experiences are made. Emotions are expressed and interpreted, new ways of communication are explored and experienced, and these are then carried into everyday life. Music therapy is consequently not a teaching method. It is not meant to leave the children with knowledge on a school matter, but with knowledge on their own person. Music therapy is therefore not to be considered within the school curriculum, which includes math, English, or history lessons. Instead, it might be an addition to the daily school routine, aiming toward improving transversal skill sets,273 like social skills or communication-related issues, that are not typically 272

Heye, A. (2018). Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der Musiktherapie in (musik-) pädagogischen Institutionen. In: Jordan, A. et al. (eds) (2018). Musiktherapie in pädagogischen Settings: Impulse aus Praxis, Theorie und Forschung, Muenster: Waxmann, p. 31. 273 Transversal skills (2014, July 24). Retrieved January 13, 2020, from www.unevoc.une sco.org.

70

1

Literature Review

Table 1.5 Comparing Education and Therapy274 Education

Therapy

Goals and objectives

Neutral, following the curriculum

Therapy goals: individually tailored, agreed upon beforehand

Time frame

A fixed time frame for the acquisition of specific skills

Integral atmosphere: developmental steps at an individual pace

Procedure

Prepared lessons: guiding, structuring, challenging, and encouraging

Open space: accompanying, exploring, and finding meaning together

Rules and values

Rules are given and must be followed

Relative: jointly worked out, may be broken or revised

Handling mistakes

Right and wrong as objective measures. Learning through mistakes and avoiding errors

Expression beyond right and wrong, showing oneself with one’s mistakes, uncertainties, and fears

primarily targeted by school lessons. As a Spanish study on music therapy in school emphasizes, music therapy is usually administered in the context of special educational needs and with children labeled as “difficult to manage.”275 A meta-analysis from 2009 evaluates the main areas in which music therapy is administered in schools: Within mainstream schools, children with mild emotional, behavioral or social problems were found to be the main recipients of music therapy. One of the main aims of music therapy within this category is to address behavior within the classroom. This is particularly prevalent in research from the USA. Another prominent area of work is in the integration of children with special educational needs. This is particularly prevalent in Germany and Italy, where government strategies focus upon the integration of children with special educational needs into mainstream schools. Interestingly, although the UK has similar policies in place, none of the UK papers in this area refer to integration as a specific aim of the music therapy intervention. A large body of research pertains to work with refugees by Australian music therapists. The UK has a large refugee population, yet the only published work found with refugee children 274 Lutz-Hochreutener, S. (2018). Musiktherapie im schulischen Kontext. In: Jordan, A. et al. (eds) (2018). Musiktherapie in pädagogischen Settings: Impulse aus Praxis, Theorie und Forschung, Muenster: Waxmann, p. 23. 275 Brotons, M. (2001). Music Therapy in the School System in Spain: A Pilot Project. Bulletin on the Council for Research in Music Education, 148, 19–30.

1.2 Music Therapy

71

in the UK took place outside a school setting (…). Other areas in focus within mainstream schools include work with children with diagnosed emotional and/or behavioral problems, children deemed to be ‘at risk’, bereaved children and deprived children.276

The focus of the application is consequently not on the learning process itself but rather on behavioral or social problems in at-risk populations. In terms of national differences in the focus of music therapy research, the report notes that studies from the USA tend to address behavioral challenges in children at school. Music therapy in the process of inclusion or integration is treated in studies from Germany and Italy. Australian studies often target refugee children at school. The information is, however, limited to studies until 2009. A revised and up-to-date meta-analysis for the years from 2009 onwards might be an important work to evaluate the use of music therapy in more recent research.

1.2.3.3 Music Therapy in Educational Settings in Italy Italy is an example of a one-directional school system: all children, including those with a disability, visit the same schools and participate in the same lessons. There are two types of teachers employed in the Italian inclusive classroom: the class teacher (insegnante curricolare) and the support teacher (insegnante di sostegno). The class teacher leads the lessons and is responsible for every single student of a class: the Ministerial Decree of the 8th August 2002 states that the teaching interventions directed towards the whole class “must involve the entire teaching staff, and must overcome the logic—unfortunately, widespread and recurrent—of delegating the problem of integration solely to the support teacher.”277 The figure of the support teacher is a specialized teacher that was established on the basis of Presidential Decree No 970 from 1975: [The support teacher] may be assigned to normal schools for individualized interventions of an integrative nature in favor of the generality of the students, and in particular, of those who have specific learning difficulties.278

276

Carr, C., & Wigram, T. (2009). Music Therapy with Children and Adolescents in Mainstream Schools: A Systematic Review. British Journal of Music Therapy, 23(1), 3–18. 277 Archivio dell’area Istruzione, Dipartimento per lo sviluppo dell’istruzione: Nota 8 agosto 2002 (August 8, 2002). Retrieved June 21, 2019, from www.archivio.pubblica.istruzione.it. 278 Decreto Presidente Repubblica 31 ottobre 1975, n. 970: Norme in materia di scuole aventi particolari finalità (1975, October 31). Retrieved July 10, from www.edscuola.it/archivio.

72

1

Literature Review

Two years later, Law 517 from 1977279 specifies that the figure of the support teacher is assigned to the class in which a person with a disability is placed in order to implement “forms of integration in favor of disabled students”280 and “to carry out individualized interventions in relation to the needs of the individual students.”281 The establishment of the figure of the support teacher follows the development of the Italian school system towards a one-directional one. As outlined in the country report for Italy by the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education, the integration of students with disabilities started with Law 118 in 1971,282 which states that disabled students must be taught in ordinary schools, with the exception of the more serious ones, among which were considered the blind, the deaf and the intellective ones. This coincides with the development of music therapy in Italy, which started in 1973 with its official introduction at the National Bologna Conference and the foundation of the Italian Association of Music Therapy Studies in 1975.283 Only a few years later, in 1977, special classes for students with disabilities were abolished.284 At that point, there were still some sections in rehabilitation centers that were exclusively dedicated to children with disabilities. These, however, are closely connected to hospitals, and the students attended temporarily according to their period of hospitalization.285 Around the same time, the music therapy profession made a huge step forward in 1981 when the first training course in Assisi was established, and the contact with prominent representatives of music therapy in Europe and the USA increased. Among them were: Alvin, Benenzon, Bruscia, Bunt, Lecourt, Nordoff and Robbins, Priestley, and Wigram.286

279

Legge 4 agosto 1977, n. 517, art. 9: Norme sulla valutazione degli alunni e sull’abolizione degli esami di riparazione nonché altre norme di modifica dell’ordinamento scolastico (1977, August 4). Retrieved June 21, 2019, from www.archivio.pubblica.istruzione.it. 280 Idem. 281 Idem. 282 Legge 30 marzo 1971, n. 118, art. 28: Conversione in legge del D.L. 30 gennaio 1971, n. 5 e nuove norme in favore dei mutilati ed invalidi civili (1971, March 30). Retrieved July 10, 2019, from www.edscuola.it/archivio. 283 Scarlata, E. (2015). Italy: Country report on professional recognition of music therapy. Approaches: Music Therapy & Special Music Education, 7(1), 161–162. 284 European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education (2016). Country Policy Review and Analysis: Italy. Odense: European Agency, p. 3. 285 Idem. 286 Scarlata, E. (2015). Italy: Country report on professional recognition of music therapy. Approaches: Music Therapy & Special Music Education, 7(1), 161–162.

1.2 Music Therapy

73

As the next step to inclusion, Law 280 from 1982287 limits the headcount between support teachers and students with disabilities to the ratio of 1 to 4 in nursery, primary, and secondary schools. In 1987, the Constitutional Court issued sentence no. 215,288 which recognized the full and unconditional right of all disabled students to attend high school, requiring the implementation of services to support generalized school integration. Hereafter, two laws were enacted that constitute the framework for the rights of people with special educational needs: Law 104 of 1992,289 a framework law for the assistance, social integration, and the rights of the disabled, and Law 170 of 2010290 to guarantee the right to education for students with specific learning disabilities. During this time, several new music therapy associations were formed in Italy: the Italian Federation of Music Therapy (1998), the Italian Association of Professional Music Therapists (2002), and the Italian Association of Register of Music Therapists (2003), and the Association Punto di Svolta.291 By now, the principle of inclusion is protected by the Italian Constitution. Schools welcome children with special educational needs by implementing specific activities and educational interventions. In Italy, every child with disabilities is guaranteed a specialized tutorial and support teacher, in addition to the class teacher. An individual education plan prepared by clinicians, teachers, and the family is drawn up for each learner with disabilities to support the student’s “life project,” which includes school, work, and social rights.292 As seen above, the establishment of the profession of music therapy and the development of the Italian school system toward a more inclusive environment happened parallelly. 287

Legge 20 Maggio 1982, n. 270, art. 12: Revisione della disciplina del reclutamento del personale docente della scuola materna, elementare, secondaria ed artistica, ristrutturazione degli organici, adozione di misure idonee ad evitare la formazione di precariato e sistemazione del personale precario esistente (1982, May 20). Retrieved July 10, 2019, from www.uni roma3.it/uffici. 288 Sentenza 3–8 Giugno 1987, n. 215: Giudizio di Legittimità Costituzionale in via Incidentale (1987, June 17). Retrieved July 10, 2019, from www.cortecostituzionale.it. 289 Legge 5 Febbraio 1992, n. 104: Legge-quadro per l’assistenza, l’integrazione sociale e i diritti delle persone handicappate (1992, February 17). Retrieved July 10, 2019, from www. normattiva.it. 290 Legge 8 Ottobre 2010, n. 170: Nuove norme in materia di disturbi specifici di apprendimento in ambito scolastico (2010, October 18). Retrieved July 10, 2019, from www.istruzion e.it. 291 Scarlata, E. (2015). Italy: Country report on professional recognition of music therapy. Approaches: Music Therapy & Special Music Education, 7(1), 161–162. 292 European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education (2016). Country Policy Review and Analysis: Italy. Odense: European Agency, p. 3.

74

1

Literature Review

The school system in Italy emphasizes its one-directional inclusive approach, and consequently, the Italian literature on music therapy in educational settings focuses on it. At the same time, special educational needs are not only limited to disability but also include specific developmental disorders and socioeconomic, linguistic, and cultural disadvantages as defined by the Ministero dell’Istruzione dell’Università e della Ricerca293 (MIUR) with reference to the guidelines outlined by the OECD in 2005.294 In practice, when music therapy is administered to classes in Italy, it is probable that one or more students with special educational needs will participate in the lessons. According to the students’ individual abilities, a support teacher accompanies them. This needs to be considered when planning group music therapy interventions with classes. To mention a few examples, a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder might need a place to retreat when the noise around her/him might become overwhelming, or one with a motor disability might need help to perform the tasks of playing instruments. Barbara De Angelis,295 for example, elaborated on the issue of music therapy in the Italian school system in 1988 when she advocated the potential of music-based interventions for school children.296 Basic research in the 1990s on non-verbal communication in music-making in combination with physiological aspects of music-perception297 is investigated in terms of their beneficial effects in educational and didactic contexts.298 Reflecting on the growing interest in inclusive music-based practices, De Angelis works on the importance of music therapy in the development of a person’s identity and its implications for the lives of people with disabilities.299 In more recent publications, she advocates for improving

293

MIUR (2012b; 2013a; 2013b). In: Chiappetta Cajola, L., & Rizzo, A. (2016). Didattica inclusiva e musicoterapia. Proposte operative in ottica ICF-CY e EBE, Milano: Franco Angeli, p. 44. 294 OCSE (2005). In: Chiappetta Cajola, L., & Rizzo, A. (2016). Didattica inclusiva e musicoterapia. Proposte operative in ottica ICF-CY e EBE, Milano: Franco Angeli, p. 44. 295 Professor at Roma Tre University, Italy. 296 De Angelis, B. (1988). Musicoterapia. Riforma della Scuola, Roma: Editori Riuniti, p. 85. 297 De Angelis, B. (1991). Linguaggi non verbali e musicoterapia. In: De Anna, L. (ed) (1991). La scuola e i disabili, Roma: L’Ed, p. 183. 298 De Angelis, B. (1992). La musicoterapia in ambito scolastico. In: De Anna, L. (ed) (1992). Il Diritto Allo Studio, Roma: L’ed, p. 18. 299 De Angelis, B. (2004). La musicoterapia e lo sviluppo della persona. In: Favorini, A. (ed), Musicoterapia e danzaterapia: Disabilità ed esperienze di integrazione scolastica, Milano: Franco Angeli, p. 43.

1.2 Music Therapy

75

the quality and expanding the supply of music education in public education.300 Furthermore, she emphasizes the potential of connecting music therapy to performing arts in order to create a dialogue between people with and without disability in a playful environment—with a particular interest in education toward the expression of emotion.301 Currently, her research interests in music therapy tend towards its motivational aspects, showing how music can help children with autism spectrum disorder get more motivated in engaging with the other members of the class.302 In conclusion, the central themes of De Angelis’ work develop around a culture of listening (educazione all’ascolto) and the fostering of emotional learning. In the publications Musicoterapia per l’integrazione303 and Didattica inclusiva e musicoterapia,304 Lucia Chiappetta Cajola305 et al. mention the immense potential of music-based interventions on inclusive processes in the classroom: Within the curriculum, in fact, music therapy favors the construction of a space/time in which everyone can feel included, precisely because it is based on the application of methodologies that are consistent with rigorous theoretical frameworks and at the same time, constantly adapted according to the principles of individualization and personalization, through the creative richness of the discipline itself. ‘Diversity as a value,’ which is often only mentioned as a principle, finds in music therapy as an example of an ideal context to be able to be realized and shared.306

In other words, they affirm music therapy’s potential to create a safe space within a music therapy session due to music’s ability to transmit information that can 300

De Angelis, B. (2010). L’educazione musicale nell’età postunitaria. In: Covato, C., Venzo, M. (eds) (2010). Scuola e itinerari formativi dallo Stato pontificio a Roma capitale. L’istruzione secondaria, Milano: Edizioni Unicopli, p. 309. 301 De Angelis, B., & Botes, P. (2016). Incontriamoci musicando. In: Dovigo, F. (eds) (2016). Nessuno Escluso: Trasformare l’educazione e l’apprendimento per realizzare l’educazione inclusiva, Proceedings, Bergamo: University Bergamo Press, p. 265. 302 De Angelis, B. (2017). Sostenere la motivazione degli alunni autistici. Un progetto di didattica inclusiva con la musicoterapia. Italian Journal of Special Education for Inclusion, 2, 151–162. 303 Chiappetta Cajola, L., et al. (2008). Musicoterapia per l’integrazione strategie didattiche e strumenti valutativi, Milano: Franco Angeli. 304 Chiappetta Cajola, L., & Rizzo, A. (2016). Didattica inclusiva e musicoterapia. Proposte operative in ottica ICF-CY e EBE, Milano: Franco Angeli. 305 Professor at Roma Tre University, Italy. 306 Chiappetta Cajola, L. (2016). Musica e musicoterapia per la didattica inclusiva. In: Idem, p. 46.

76

1

Literature Review

be perceived and produced non-verbally.307 Following this approach, Chiappetta Cajola draws a lot from the methodology by Rolando Benenzon308 , which uses a body-sound non-verbal approach to develop and reinforce a relationship between a therapist and a patient (or a group of patients).309 The objective is to build up the patient’s wellbeing and the enforcement of the self by using a cathartic course through Sound Identity (ISO), which is characterized by energies based on sound and movement that characterize each human.310 Connecting these principles to the inclusive classroom, Chiappetta Cajola, Pecoraro, and Rizzo connect this to the dimension of empowerment, from which all the children—not only those with disability—can profit: The music therapeutic treatment for the promotion of the health of the school population consists of an intervention that is based mainly on the principle of self-empowerment and the creation of competent communities [...]. The empowering promoted by music therapy aims to activate resources and skills, increasing in individual students and groups, large and small, the ability to use their positive qualities [...].311

This effect is to be observed on both an individual and a group level and, in consequence, allows for both individual growth and group building. Both are important to build and maintain an inclusive classroom. Chiappetta Cajola et al. emphasize the importance of music-based interventions in mixed classes. However, they also mention the problem of the current legislative situation of music therapy in Italy: it is not sufficiently covered from a legislative standpoint and it is therefore not possible yet to exhaustively guarantee a sufficient quality of music

307

Rizzo, A. (2016). L’apporto della musicoterapia all’organizzazione didattica. In: Idem, pp. 114–115. 308 Argentinian psychotherapist, musician and pioneer in music therapy. 309 In the school context, the term “patient” is rather controversial, as music therapy is not used clinically. Thus, Cajola and Rizzo, for example, use the term “student” instead. Since Benenzon’s work focuses on clinical work, the term “patient” will be used in this section when referring to him. 310 Rizzo, A. (2016). L’apporto della musicoterapia all’organizzazione didattica. In: Idem, pp. 114–117; Benenzon, R. (2004). La parte dimenticata della personalità: Nuove tecniche per la musicoterapia, Roma: Phoenix. 311 Chiappetta Cajola, L., Pecoraro, P., & Rizzo, A. (2008). Musicoterapia per l’integrazione: Strategie didattiche e strumenti valutativi, Milano: Franco Angeli, pp. 94–95.

1.2 Music Therapy

77

therapy interventions.312 Other authors, such as Felice Corona,313 also elaborate on the integrative capabilities of music therapy in inclusive contexts. He and his team investigate the potential of both active and receptive music therapy based on the approach by Benenzon on inclusion in children with autism. They put particular attention on music’s ability to stimulate both rational and emotional intelligence in order to create creative dialogues by connecting both hemispheres of the brain.314 An example of inserting musical characteristics into education presents Marina Santi.315 She finds Jazz music an inspiration to adapt teaching methods: Exploring the metaphor of Jazz in educational discourse and supporting the auspices of Jazz in educational practice means accepting a major challenge to educational theory, in that the whole paradigm within which teaching and learning processes are understood and proposed needs to be rethought. It also involves directing them towards the aims recognized by UNESCO in 2011 as to the virtues of Jazz, which in history has promoted peaceful societies, empowered intercultural dialogue, guaranteed gender equality, and reinforced a spirit of innovation. Indeed, considering Jazz as a concrete educational resource and framework could lead towards a new pedagogy for freedom.316

Also, this perspective highlights the inclusive potential of musically influenced educational approaches, in which “improvisation [is considered] as a core process of experiencing and producing Jazz.”317 Furthermore, they seek to elaborate on how jazz-related processes might enrich the teaching–learning process in class. This involves dialogical teaching, a polyphonic form of teaching which leads to an increased focus on the. priorities and logistics of the agents involved in the processes. When priority is given to equality, equality reveals its full potential only within the relationship between participants and context. Equality is declined with reciprocity of distance and proximity, 312

Chiappetta Cajola, L., et al. (2008). Musicoterapia per l’integrazione strategie didattiche e strumenti valutativi, Milano: Franco Angeli, p. 45. 313 Professor at University Telematica Pegaso, Italy. 314 Corona, F., et al. (2012) Music therapy a special mediator for the school integration. Journal of Education, 2(1), 36–40. 315 Professor in Teaching Methods and Special Education at the University of Padova, Italy. 316 Santi, M. (2016). Education as Jazz: A Framework to escape the Monologue of Teaching and Learning. In: Santi, M., & Zorzi, E. (2016). Education as Jazz: Interdisciplinary Sketches on a New Metaphor. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, p. 5. 317 Idem.

78

1

Literature Review

not only with respect to classmates or lecturers, but to tools, activities, situations and subject matter as well.318

In another publication, Eleonora Zorzi,319 Donatella Camedda,320 and Marina Santi discuss interactions of the inclusive perspective and musical improvisation. Based on the similarities between both elements, they identified the. ‘revolutionary’ potential to think about education in human development in a new way, both for pragmatic aspects and pedagogical ones. This rationale polyphony delineates an “open profile” for educational professionals, a profile emerged and elaborated upon the theoretical and dialogical analysis conducted on data gathered in almost three years of research in the both inclusion and improvisation fields, finally merged into a new pedagogical paradigm.321

These Italian researchers seek to incorporate the principles of music-making into teaching interventions, to move away from frontal and teacher-centric lessons and toward a more democratic and harmonious dynamic between the students and the teacher. Though this approach is not connected to music therapy, it illustrates the pursuit of embracing the inclusive potential of music-making in the classroom. In summary, there is an interest in music therapy within the academic community, who see its value and seek to implement it in schools. However, it is a big problem that the profession is not yet fully recognized in Italy. As stated in the country report for Italy commissioned by the EMTC: In January 2013, the Italian government approved Law 4/2013 that recognizes the existence of new professions […], such as music therapy. This means that professionals can be recognized by belonging to a professional association and/or self-regulated […] [and] a UNI working group [from the Italian Institute of Regulation] of professional associations of arts therapies started, [which] has defined the requirements, skills, modes of pursuit and communication to the service-user about professional arts therapists. […] A second aspect covered by Law 4/2013 concerns the registration of music therapists in professional associations. The Law has stated that these associations must have a clear code of conduct, which includes: transparency in activities and structure; observation of professional ethics; an appropriate organizational structure

318

Idem, p. 10. Lecturer at Università degli Studi di Padova, Italy. 320 Researcher at University of Edinburgh, UK. 321 Zorzi E., Camedda, D., & Santi, M. (2019). Tra improvvisazione e inclusione: il profilo polifonico delle professioni educative. Italian Journal of Special Education for Inclusion, 7(1), 91–100. 319

1.2 Music Therapy

79

and a qualified scientific committee within the association; clear access to an information point for the consumers and monitoring of its members in continuing professional development. Only associations with these characteristics are able to register themselves with the Ministry of Economic Development, as specified under Law 4/2013. This registration for the professional associations that deal with therapeutic disciplines within music therapy can only exist if approved by the Ministry of Health.322

In other words, there is no law directly regulating music therapy in Italy. However, since 2013 it has been recognized as a new profession that operates under the regulations of Norm UNI 11,592 titles “Unregulated professional activities: Professional figures working in the field of therapeutic arts—Requirements of knowledge, ability and competence,”323 which have been found through a consensus process of professionals already working in the field. Thus, music therapy in Italy is not currently attempting to lean politically and legislatively on the profession of psychotherapy, as is the case in Austria, for example, where the Law on Music Therapy324 is based on the Law on Psychotherapy.325 In Germany, too, associations emphasize the psychotherapeutic nature of music therapy.326 In Italy, however, music therapy is referred to under the umbrella term of art therapy.

1.2.3.4 Music Therapy in Educational Settings in England England has a long tradition of using music therapy in special education settings. Historically, music therapy is closely related to education, in particular, special education. In fact, Alan Solomon327 found evidence of the use of music in special education through the nineteenth century when treating “retarded speech development and impaired hearing.”328 Several pioneers of music therapy in the 20th century, such as Juliette Alvin,329 Paul Nordoff and Clive Robbins, have 322

Scarlata, E. (2015). Italy: Country report on professional recognition of music therapy. Approaches: Music Therapy & Special Music Education, 7(1), 161–162. 323 FAQ: AIM (2018, November). Retrieved July 20, 2019, from www.aiemme.it. 324 MuthG, BGBl. I Nr. 93/2008. 325 Geretsegger, M. (2012). Music therapy in Austria. Proceedings of Bridging Nations and Ideas, 2012 World Music Therapy Association Presidential Reports at the Seoul Summit Meeting, Seoul, Korea, 43–53. 326 Deutsche Musiktherapeutische Gesellschaft: Definition (2019). Retrieved July 20, 2019, from www.musiktherapie.de. 327 Professor Emeriti, and Adjunct Instructor for Music Therapy and Music Psychology at Potsdam State University of New York, USA. 328 Solomon, A. (1980). Music in special education before 1930: Hearing and speech development. Journal of Research in Music Education, 28(4), 236–242. 329 French-British cellist and pioneer of music therapy.

80

1

Literature Review

started their work in special schools with children with disability and autism spectrum disorders. The first book dedicated to this population, Music Therapy for the Handicapped Child,330 appeared in 1965. As indicated by a book review of the same year, “to find a text which focuses exclusively on music for handicapped children is unprecedented.”331 Music is herein described as an “aid to maturation,”332 and theoretical concepts are described as well as their application during therapy. In fact, only a few months after its publication, Music Therapy for the Handicapped Child, was considered “a collateral, if not a basic, text.”333 In the same year, another important book on music therapy in educational contexts was published: Music Therapy for Handicapped Children334 by Nordoff and Robbins. They describe 12 categories of rhythmic responses to piano music that they observed in their students, among them complete rhythmic freedom, chaoticcreative beating, or responses to musical idioms.335 These books, describing the authors’ experiences with music for children with disability, were the beginning of modern music therapy in education. Alvin went on to further develop music therapy interventions, publish two other books,336 and establish training courses and an association dedicated to music therapy.337 Centers of Nordoff-Robbins music therapy opened, among others, in the USA (1975), Australia (1984), Germany (1985), and Japan (1995).338 Historically, music therapy in educational settings begins with a strictly special educational touch. In terms of theory building, Tommy Hayes339 deduces music’s high effect in work with children with special needs from the fact that hearing and producing music is “part of early life, especially in the period before speech develops when 330

Alvin, J. (1965). Music for the Handicapped Child. London: Oxford University Press. Sears, M. (1965). Music for the Handicapped Child: Book Review, Journal of Music Therapy, 2(4), 137. 332 Idem. 333 Idem. 334 Nordoff, P., & Robbins, C. (1965). Music Therapy for Handicapped Children, Blauvelt— New York: Rudolf Steiner Publications. 335 Sears, M. (1965). Music Therapy for Handicapped Children: Book Review, Journal of Music Therapy, 2(4), 137. 336 Alvin, J. (1966). Music Therapy, London: John Baker; Alvin, J. (1978). Music for the Autistic Child, New York—Oxford: Oxford University Press. 337 Darnley-Smith, R. (2012). What is the Music of Music Therapy? An Enquiry into the Aesthetics of Clinical Improvisation, (Thesis). Durham: University of Durham, pp. 57–63. 338 History: Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy (2019). Retrieved July 19, 2019, from www. steinhardt.nyu.edu. 339 Music Therapist in Clare, Ireland. 331

1.2 Music Therapy

81

the vocalizations of the infant are scaffolded by the parent or caregiver in what is increasingly understood to be a highly musical way.”340 This point of view is commonly shared when working with parents and children under the age of three, where music is established and used as a communication device in order to build a relationship and enable communication.341 For instance, Colwyn Trevarthen342 calls the “action that newborns perform with their mother in their non-verbal ‘conversations’ or musical games as a ‘communicative musicality narrative.’”.343 In consequence, music is to be considered a means of communication between parent and pre-verbal child, to which the child tends to react strongly.344 These considerations also apply to music therapy with people with disabilities who are non-verbal. For example, singing “can stimulate the speech of […] children [with a disability]; many teachers and therapists have often heard them attempt to sing words they usually do not or cannot speak”.345 This means that when working with pre-verbal children and adults, music therapists harvest the effects of music that are rooted very early in infancy to enable creative interactions and help the 340

Hayes, T. (2015). Music Therapy in the context of the Special School. In: Edwards, J. (2015). The Oxford Handbook of Music Therapy, kindle version, New York—Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 178. 341 Arculus, C. (2013). Musical Communication with Two Year Olds. Pitt, J., & Retra, J. (eds.) (2013). Proceedings of the 6 th Conference of the European Network of Music Educators and Researchers of Young Children, July 17–20 2013, The Hague (The Netherlands), 172–180; Dionyssiou, Z. (2013). Analyzing reactions of toddlers in music concerts designed for a six month to three years old audience. Pitt, J., & Retra, J. (eds.) (2013). Proceedings of the 6 th Conference of the European Network of Music Educators and Researchers of Young Children, July 17–20 2013, The Hague (The Netherlands), 52–64. 342 Professor Emeritus of Child Psychology and Psychobiology at the University of Edinburgh. 343 Trevarthen, C. (1999). In: Barriga, M., & Rodrigues, H. (eds) (2013). Spotlights on Musical Development in Infancy: A Description of Infant Rhythmic Motor Behaviours in group music Sessions. In: Pitt, J., & Retra, J. (eds.) (2013). Proceedings of the 6 th Conference of the European Network of Music Educators and Researchers of Young Children, July 17–20 2013, The Hague (The Netherlands), 32–42. 344 Ielmini, M. (2013). Children of 0–3 years and parents: Musical Communication as the favoured discovery and meeting channel. In: Pitt, J., & Retra, J. (eds.) (2013). Proceedings of the 6 th Conference of the European Network of Music Educators and Researchers of Young Children, July 17–20 2013, The Hague (The Netherlands), 108–116; Trevarthen, C. (1999). Musicality and the intrinsic motive pulse: Evidence from human psychobiology and infant communication. Musicae Scientiae (Special Issue), 155–215. 345 Nordoff, P., & Robbins, C. (2006). Music Therapy in Special Education, second edition, Gilsum: Barcelona Publishers, p. 21.

82

1

Literature Review

patient acquire new responses and behaviors. This way, music therapy uncovers the “creative and communicative capacity in the child that is often not evident in other settings.”346 Music therapy interventions prove to be increasingly popular in special education. For instance, in 2015, “music-based therapies form about twelve percent of all autism interventions and 45 percent of alternate treatment strategies used within school settings”.347 The methodological approaches of music therapy in special education have been continuously refined through the work of Leslie Bunt348 and Amelia Oldfield.349 Today, music therapy is used in British kindergartens, primary and special schools. This is primarily due to the work and effort of the music therapists Helen Odell-Miller,350 Leslie Bunt, and Tony Wigram,351 thanks to whom music therapy is since 1997 registered “Council for Professions Supplementary to Medicine” and is now listed in the government agency “Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).”352 Music therapy could since then be established in the special school system and become a part of the curriculum of children with disabilities: There has been extensive work convincing LEAs [Local Education Authorities] of the value of music therapy for children and young people within the special school system and more recently in mainstream settings, particularly in the area of crisis intervention. In some authorities, music therapy has become part of a child’s Statement of Special Educational Needs. It can be seen to help a child access the curriculum, for example 346

McFerran, K., & Shanahan, E. (2011). Music therapy practice in special education and children’s hospice: A systematic comparison of two music therapists’ strategies with three preadolescent boys. Music Therapy Perspectives, 29(2), 103–111. 347 Bergmann, T. (2015). Music Therapy for People with Autism Spectrum Disorder. In: Edwards, J. (ed) (2015). The Oxford Handbook of Music Therapy, Kindle Version, New York—Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 194. 348 Professor in music therapy at the University of the West of England, UK; e.g.: Bunt, L. (1994). An art beyond words, London: Routledge. 349 Professor in Music Therapy at Anglia Ruskin’s Cambridge Institute for Music Therapy Research (CIMTR), UK; e.g.: Oldfield, A. (2006). Interactive music therapy: a positive approach, London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. 350 Professor of Music Therapy, Director of the Cambridge Institute for Music Therapy Research (CIMTR), UK. 351 Professor and Head of PhD Studies in Music Therapy at the University of Aalborg, Denmark, 1953–2011. 352 Derrington, P. (2018). Musiktherapie in Schulen in Großbritannien: Fokus auf Inklusion. In: Jordan, A. et al. (eds.) (2018). Musiktherapie in paedagogischen Settings: Impulse aus Praxis, Theorie und Forschung, Muenster: Waxmann, p. 117.

1.2 Music Therapy

83

listening skills, attention, motivation, classroom management with children exhibiting particular behavioral problems.353

A systematic review from 2009 by Catherine Carr354 and Tony Wigram investigates the use of music therapy in mainstream schools in the UK and abroad. It shows that “work is already being done with children in mainstream settings,”355 and the first results suggest that music therapy might be employed “to meet the social, emotional and behavioral needs of children, as well as supporting the development of their cognitive abilities.”356 The review shows at the same time that there is still a lack of research on music therapy in mainstream schools. Further research is needed in order to draw meaningful conclusions. In the book Music Therapy in Schools357 of 2012, edited by Jo Tomlinson,358 Philippa Derrington359 and Amelia Oldfield, British approaches and research have been summarized chronologically for the first time. In the wake of increasingly inclusive British schools since the 1990s,360 children formerly taught at special schools are more and more taking part in regular schooling. This means that students with special educational needs do not have access to expert help, as is commonly the case at special needs schools—this applies in particular to music therapy support. A possible solution might be the implementation of music therapy in mainstream schools as both individual sessions (special education interventions) and group sessions (inclusion within the classroom). In fact, music therapists, following a community music therapy approach—according to which music therapy is not only administered to the individual or a group but the

353

Bunt, L., & Hoskyns, S. (2002). Setting the Scene. In: Leslie Bunt, et al. (eds) (2002). The Handbook of Music Therapy, London—New York: Routledge, pp. 16–17. 354 Researcher at Queen Mary, University of London and East London NHS Foundation Trust, UK. 355 Carr, C., & Wigram, T. (2009). Music Therapy with Children and Adolescents in Mainstream Schools: A Systematic Review. British Journal of Music Therapy, 23(1), 3–18. 356 Idem. 357 Tomlinson, J., Derrington, P., & Oldfield, A. (2012). Music Therapy in Schools: Working with Children of All Ages in Mainstream and Special Education, London: Jessica Kingsley. 358 Music therapist in schools in Cambridgeshire, UK. 359 Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader in Music Therapy, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, Scottland. 360 DfES (2001). Inclusive schooling: Children with Special Educational Needs, London: Department for Education and Skills.

84

1

Literature Review

whole community—advocate for music therapy, especially in inclusive settings in mainstream schools.361 The Oxford Handbook of Music Therapy362 from 2015 is one of the most recognized manuals on music therapy in the English language. Its chapter on music therapy in special education mentions five goals: communication goals, social goals, emotional goals, cognitive and physical goals. Communication goals include working out ways to connect patients and music therapists, especially pre-verbal individuals. For patients who are able to use language, music therapy might be used to augment vocabulary or improve articulation. Social goals can be targeted in group sessions, in which each child might get a moment to shine while the other members of the group might either listen or provide accompaniment. Emotional goals can be addressed by focusing on the patient’s sentiments and feelings. The building of a therapeutic relationship is essential to this process, given that the therapist is often perceived differently than the teacher by children with disabilities. Cognitive goals might be reached by combining music therapy with the PECS system of communication to improve, for example, object recognition, and physical goals, like coordination, can be targeted by playing drums or shakers.363 General education is treated less comprehensively than special education in the Oxford Handbook of Music Therapy. It notes, however, that when applying music therapy in public education, the classroom structure of modern schooling has to be taken into account. Since school classes are by definition a group of children or adolescents of the same age group, group settings prevail while individual settings are somewhat rare, as pointed out by Thomas Bergmann364 for the Oxford Handbook of Music Therapy: “in education, the group setting prevails; in this context, music, and movement interventions are mostly components of superordinate, exercise-based concepts.”365 In consequence, work on turn-taking, social skills, and empathy is prevalent, and structured music interventions are favored over free improvisation due to the relative difficulty of 361

Rickson, D., & McFerran, K. (2014). Creating music cultures in the schools: A perspective from community music therapy, Illinois: Barcelona Publishers. 362 Edwards, J. (ed) (2015). The Oxford Handbook of Music Therapy, kindle version, New York—Oxford: Oxford University Press. 363 Hayes, T. (2015). Music Therapy in the context of the Special School. In: Edwards, J. (2015). The Oxford Handbook of Music Therapy, kindle version, New York—Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 179–181. 364 Lecturer at the Center for Music Therapy at Berlin University of Arts, Germany. 365 Bergmann, T. (2015). Music Therapy for People with Autism Spectrum Disorder. In: Edwards, J. (ed) (2015). The Oxford Handbook of Music Therapy, kindle version, New York—Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 194.

1.2 Music Therapy

85

keeping a large group of up to 30 children both engaged and under control. This has consequences for the choice of instruments, as written in the standard work on Music Therapy by music therapy pioneer Tony Wigram: In individual therapy, the clients are typically offered a limited channel for their musical material, mainly the cymbal and drum, together with a strong encouragement to use their voice. In group work other instruments are involved—pitched percussion, reed horns, wind instruments and various string instruments.366

This indicates that the choice of instruments tends toward instruments that sound harmonically together, such as pentatonic instruments or percussion. On a practical note, wind instruments such as ocarinas or flutes require disinfection after each use, which can be impractical when working with several classes each day. Inclusive education is not mentioned in the handbook. In summary, in the UK, music therapy in educational settings evolved from a profession firmly rooted in special education to one which is nowadays more and more moving toward mainstream education. This development is fueled by the growing need to include children with disabilities in general education. Since it is expected that the trend toward inclusion is going to increase rather than decrease367 also, the demand for suitable interventions—like music therapy—is expected to rise.

1.2.3.5 Music Therapy in Educational Settings in German-Speaking Countries German-speaking countries in Europe are Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Though connected by language, they do have quite different situations for music therapy. Austria established a law on music therapy in 2008, which. is an essential basis for the profession and has brought a lot of improvements, but it has not yet solved some essential problems. For example, music therapy services in private practice are not funded or subsidized by health insurance yet […]. Music therapy 366

Wigram, T., et al. (2002). A Comprehensive Guide to Music Therapy: Theory, Clinical Practice, Research and Training, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, p. 127. 367 Ferguson, D. (2008). International Trends in Inclusive Education: The Continuing Challenge to Teach Each One and Everyone. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 23(2), 109–120; Florian, L. (2008). Inclusion: Special or inclusive education: future trends. British Journal of Special Education, 35(4), 202–208; Minou, T. (2011). New trends in education of children with disabilities. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 15, 1955–1959.

86

1

Literature Review

organizations in Austria are therefore currently engaged in joint efforts to find ways of obtaining public funding for services provided by freelance music therapists.368

In Germany, music therapy is not yet fully regulated by law; it is not recognized as an official health profession that is financed by health insurance, nor is the title ‘music therapist’ protected.369 As a result, the payment of music therapists may vary. Music therapists need to complete an examination to be allowed to perform “alternative out-patient treatment of emotional disorders,” which is sometimes already included in the training courses at university.370 In Switzerland, music therapy is not yet a registered health profession. The first music therapy training was established in 1980, and the national bilingual Swiss Music Therapy Association (SFMT/ASMT: Schweizerischer Fachverband für Musiktherapie /Association Suisse de Musicothérapie) was founded one year later.371 Since the organization to this day operates only in German and French, but not in Switzerland’s third national language, Italian, the country is considered closer to the German-speaking countries than Italy. There are three standard works of music therapy in educational settings in German-language literature. These are Musiktherapie in der Schule372 (engl.: music therapy at school) from 2005 by Rosemarie Tuepker373 et al., and its update published 13 years later Musiktherapie in pädagogischen Settings374 (engl.: music therapy in pedagogical settings) by Anne-Katrin Jordan.375 Musiktherapie als Fördermaßnahme in der Schule376 (engl.: music therapy as method of support in schools) is oriented toward the intercultural perspective by Eric Pfeifer.377 368

Böhm-Öppinger, S. (2015). Austria: Country report on professional recognition of music therapy. Approaches: Music Therapy and Special Music Education, 7(1), 133–134. 369 Voigt, M. (2015). Germany: Country report on professional recognition of music therapy. Approaches: Music Therapy and Special Music Education, 7(1), 151–152. 370 Idem. 371 Kandé-Staehelin, B. (2015). Switzerland: Country report on professional recognition of music therapy. Approaches: Music Therapy and Special Music Education, 7(1), 185–186. 372 Tüpker, R., et al. (eds) (2005). Musiktherapie in der Schule, Wiesbaden: Reichert. 373 Professor for music therapy at the University Muenster, Germany. 374 Jordan, A., et al. (2018). Musiktherapie in pädagogischen Settings: Impulse aus Praxis, Theorie und Forschung, Muenster: Waxmann. 375 Researcher at the University Bremen, Germany. 376 Pfeifer, E. (2014). Musiktherapie als Fördermaßnahme in der Schule: Eine Studie zum Zusammenhang von Fremdheitserfahrung, Integration und Prävention in Schulklassen, Wiesbaden: Reichert. 377 Professor at the Katholischen Hochschule Freiburg, Germany.

1.2 Music Therapy

87

They report an increase in music therapy in school settings associated with the increasing integrative and inclusive approach in education: The development of the pedagogical concept of integration and inclusion before the background of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which came into force in 2008, has led to the fact that music therapy in German-speaking Europe is increasingly also being used in regular and music schools—not yet across the board, especially in music schools, but constantly growing.378

Following the UN Convention of 2008,379 the demand for music therapy increased in special education, mainstream education, and music schools. This might be due to the fact that music therapy enables students with disabilities to express themselves, especially if they are not yet able to speak. This allows, in consequence, for a playful environment in which both children with and without disabilities con get in touch with each other, learn to perceive and interpret the other’s needs, and develop empathy skills in the long run. In other words, music has the capacity to include, to forward important group processes, and to help develop mutual understanding, communication, connectedness, and sensibility towards the needs of one’s peers as well as the possibility to express one’s own emotional, intellectual or even spiritual needs. However, the schools in German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) offer comparably little music therapy when put side by side with other countries, like Great Britain, Norway, or Israel.380 Historically, in German-speaking countries, the roots of modern music therapy in educational settings do not emerge from psychotherapeutic techniques but from improvisational approaches in music pedagogy; it developed parallel with modern psychotherapy for some time before they united some common approaches in modern music therapy.381 An important person in this context was the music

378

Lutz-Hochreutener, S. (2018). Musiktherapie im schulischen Kontext. In: Jordan, A. et al. (eds.) (2018). Musiktherapie in pädagogischen Settings: Impulse aus Praxis, Theorie und Forschung, Muenster: Waxmann, p. 18. 379 UN General Assembly, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: resolution/adopted by the General Assembly, A/RES/61/106 (2007, January 24). Retrieved July 15, 2019, from www.refworld.org. 380 Pfeifer, E., et al. (2018). Resümierende Gedanken. In: Jordan, A. et al. (eds.) (2018). Musiktherapie in paedagogischen Settings: Impulse aus Praxis, Theorie und Forschung, Muenster: Waxmann, p. 213. 381 Schmidt, H, & Timmermann, T. (2019). Was kann Musiktherapie in der Schule leisten?. Musik und Gesundsein, 20, 3–8.

88

1

Literature Review

teacher Heinrich Jacoby,382 who had a lasting influence on music therapy. He was a German music teacher, who had to leave the country during the rise of the Nazis, and went to Switzerland. He, therefore, influenced music education not only in Germany but also in Switzerland and its close neighbor Austria. In his books Jenseits von Begabt und Unbegabt 383 (engl.: Beyond Talented and Untalented) and Jenseits von Musikalisch und Unmusikalisch384 (engl.: Beyond Musical and Nonmusical) he advocates a modern music pedagogy that is strongly motivated by cultural therapy. He was friends with psychologists and psychoanalysts. Among them was Alfred Adler,385 who already in the 1930s considered it necessary for artists, psychotherapists, educators, and pastors to work together.386 Growing under this influence, Jacoby pleaded for a combination of instrumental expression and therapy. Later Viennese physicians and psychotherapists like Erwin Ringel,387 Andreas Rett,388 Hans Strotzka389 , and then Peter Gathmann390 were able to integrate these approaches into the first Austrian music therapy training in Vienna, established in 1959.391 In their legacy, Alfred Schmölz392 defined music therapy as a “creative, emotional and social-communicative field of practice and experience”.393 He concludes that the best way of speaking to clients

382

German Musician and music teacher, 1889–1964. Jacoby, H. (1984). Jenseits von ‚Begabt‘ und ‚Unbegabt‘. Hamburg: Christians. 384 Jacoby, H. (1984). Jenseits von ‚Musikalisch‘ und ‚Unmusikalisch‘. Hamburg: Christians. 385 Austrian doctor, psychotherapist and founder of the school of individual psychology. 386 Linke (1977). In: Schmidt, H, & Timmermann, T. (2019). Was kann Musiktherapie in der Schule leisten?. Musik und Gesundsein, 20, 3–8. 387 Specialist in psychiatry, neurology and suicide research, 1921–1994. 388 Austrian neurologist and author, 1924–1997. 389 Austrian doctor, deep psychologist and psychotherapist, 1917–1994. 390 Professor at the Psychiatrischen Universitätsklinik Wien, Austria. 391 Schmidt, H, & Timmermann, T. (2019). Was kann Musiktherapie in der Schule leisten?. Musik und Gesundsein, 20, 3–8; Böhm-Öppinger, S. (2015). Austria: Country report on professional recognition of music therapy. Approaches: Music Therapy and Special Music Education, 7(1), 133–134; Schmoelz, A. (1982). Musiktherapie: Forschung und Methoden einer aufstrebenden alten Disziplin unter besonderer Beruecksichtigung der Wiener Schule fuer Musiktherapie. Der Sprachheilpädagoge, 14(3), 3–23. 392 Head of the Viennese music therapy education at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, Austria, 1921–1995. 393 Gathmann, P., & Schmölz, A. (1991). In: Schmidt, H, & Timmermann, T. (2019). Was kann Musiktherapie in der Schule leisten?. Musik und Gesundsein, 20, 3–8. 383

1.2 Music Therapy

89

is to talk about trial treatment, experimental action, experiment, or simply trying it out.394 Gertrud Orff is a pioneer of German music therapy with children, and she defines her approach to music therapy as multisensory therapy.395 She indicates that all senses should be equally touched by the music. Orff music therapy is used for mental, physical, and sensory disabilities but also for behavioral, developmental, and communication disorders. Sound, rhythm, melody, language, and movement are used to compensate for deficits in one sense by promoting another.396 This theory is in line with the idea of overlying neural networks in music and language perception and production, as described by neurologist Aniruddh Patel.397 In Orff’s legacy, Karin Schumacher398 uses and combines music, movement, and language games in her music therapeutic treatment of children with autism. According to her, however, games and exercises should not only improve perception and compensation but, above all, enable relationships and dialogue.399 The history of Germany tends to be more complicated because the country had been divided after the second world war into the communist East part (German Democratic Republic) with close relations to Russia, and the West part (Federal Republic of Germany) connected to the USA. In East Germany, Christoph Schwabe400 was a central figure in the development of music therapy methods in psychiatry401 , and the first training courses were established in the 1970s. In West Germany, Maria Schüppel402 developed Anthroposophical Music Therapy, and music therapy became used in psychiatry and special school programs. Johannes 394

Timmermann, T. (2004). Tiefenpsychologisch orientierte Musiktherapie: Bausteine für eine Lehre. Wiesbaden: Reichert, p. 25. 395 Orff, G. (1985). Die Orff-Musiktherapie. Frankfurt am Main: Fischer. 396 Schmidt, H, & Timmermann, T. (2019). Was kann Musiktherapie in der Schule leisten?. Musik und Gesundsein, 20, 3–8. 397 Patel, A. (2011). Why would musical training benefit the neural encoding of speech? The OPERA hypothesis. Frontiers in Psychology, 2, 142; Patel, A. (2012). The OPERA hypothesis: Assumptions and clarifications. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1252(1), 124–128. 398 German music therapist. 399 Schumacher, K. (1994). Musiktherapie mit autistischen Kindern. Musik-, Bewegungs- und Sprachspiele zur Integration gestörter Sinneswahrnehmung. Stuttgart: Fischer; Leitzke, I., & Schumacher, K. (2001). Musiktherapie und Schule. Einblicke in die musiktherapeutische Arbeit in der Schule—Ein Praxisbericht. Musik in der Schule, 3, 21–25. 400 German music therapists, musician and painter. 401 Voigt (2010). In: Voigt, M. (2015). Germany: Country report on professional recognition of music therapy. Approaches: Music Therapy and Special Music Education, 7(1), 151–152. 402 German music therapist, 1923–2011.

90

1

Literature Review

T. Eschen,403 who studied with Mary Priestly in London, brought Analytic Music Therapy to Germany. In 1978, music therapists from Great Britain started training the first generation of West German university educators in music therapy, and courses in music therapy were established in Heidelberg and Hamburg. Among the most common methods in Germany is Schwabe’s method of music therapy, Developmental Music Therapy according to Gertrud Orff, Anthroposophical Music Therapy, Integrative Music Therapy, and Fritz Perls’ Gestalt Therapy. After German unification, in which the East and West parts of Germany united into the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kassel Conference of Music Therapy created a consensus for defining the foundations of music therapy: the Kasseler Thesen from 1998. The Federal Association of Music Therapy, Deutsche Musiktherapiegesellschaft (DMtG), developed out of the second Kassel Conference in 2005.404 In German-speaking countries, music therapy has its roots in music education and got later connected to psychotherapeutic approaches. The development of music therapy was strongly influenced by the political situation in central Europe during the 20th century. This led to a wide range of approaches and methods that are still in use to this day. More recent developments—like the growing interest in scholastic inclusion—make music therapy more interesting for educational settings outside music schools and special schools.

1.2.4

Summary

In summary, all the countries investigated in this review are at different points in the recognition process: while music therapy is well established in some countries, like England and Austria, others are still in the process of getting there. Especially Italian music therapy seems to be in an identity crisis, which is supported by two facts: (1) In the country report from 2015, there are solely references to non-Italian music therapists, which opens the question of which original music therapy work is done in Italy and to which traditions (psychotherapeutic, educational) they connect, and (2) the definitions in the music therapy associations either cite one of the most prominent music therapy organizations (AIM) or take on a completely different route, by connecting music therapy to archaic, evolutionary aspects rather than current trends (FIM).

403 404

German music therapist. Idem.

1.3 Music and Language Acquisition

91

In general, the different traditions in music therapy developed separately, but there is also room for exchange, as illustrated by the opening of the NordoffRobbins center of music therapy in Germany in 1985. It is only under the influence of said exchange that a living, breathing environment of development and growth for the profession could happen. Scholastic inclusion seems to bring the profession forward as a whole since it has already been shown to be a useful tool for better, more in-depth communication and learning. A combination of the decades of experience with questions on inclusion from the Italian school system and the rich pool of methodological work from English or German-speaking countries might prove fruitful.

1.3

Music and Language Acquisition

This chapter investigates the links between language and music. Elements of both are confronted and discussed, outlining current research trends. First linguistic and musical sound systems are confronted with particular attention to pitch and timbre. Then follows an investigation of the nature of melody, rhythm, and syntax, carefully outlining differences and similarities in music and language. Then musical and speech-related aspects of communication, especially those of building an emotional connection, are explored. Finally, the question of how music can help in the therapeutic processes of language acquisition, development, and rehabilitation is elaborated.

1.3.1

Linguistic and Musical Sound Systems

As Patel points out, systems of both pitch and timbre are two common properties in musical cultures—not only in Western music but also in other cultures. Pitch means the “position of a single sound in the complete range of sound. Sounds are higher or lower in pitch according to the frequency of vibration of the sound waves producing them”.405 It is, in fact, the most common form of organizing musical elements. In fact, music cultures around the world organize their tones within an octave, which serves as “reference points in the creation of musical patterns”.406 The structures resulting from that organization are called scales. They 405

Pitch: Music (2019, June 11). Retrieved August 7, 2019, from www.britannica.com. Patel, A. (2008). Music, Language, and the Brain. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 15.

406

92

1

Literature Review

contain 5 to 7 unevenly distributed tones within an octave. Rarely all the distances between the notes are equal; instead, they differ between one to several semitones. In European music, scales tend to irregularly alternate half- and whole tones. For example, the major scale consists of three whole tones followed by a halftone, and then again three whole tones and a halftone. According to Patel, this “property of uniqueness may help listeners maintain a sense of where they are in relation to the first tone of the scale, a property that would help the first tone to act as a perceptual anchor point or tonal center.”407 The musical scale evolves around a fundamental tone at its core, meaning that “most cultures favor scale patterns that promote a sense of orientation with respect to a tonal center”.408 Carol Krumhansl409 hypothesizes that the perception of a tonal center might “serve as the basis for appreciating and remembering more complex and subtle structural features”.410 In speech, pitch means “the relative highness or lowness of a tone as perceived by the ear, which depends on the number of vibrations per second produced by the vocal cords”.411 Its definition is very similar to pitch in music; it differs, however, in use and variance. In spoken language, pitch indicates the modulation of the voice, which is “richly structured and conveys a variety of linguistic, attitudinal, and emotional information”.412 Patel emphasizes that some aspects of pitch variation are universal. For example, wide pitch ranges are interpreted as happiness, reflecting an elevated level of arousal. Still, differences in pitch range through emotional expression are neither produced nor perceived in a distinct, definite fashion; instead, they vary continuously, reflecting a variable affective state.413 Other languages give more significance to pitch than others. As an example, in Mandarin, changes in the pitch can alter the entire meaning of a word.414

407

Idem, p. 20. Idem, p. 21. 409 Professor of Music Psychology at Cornell University, USA. 410 Krumhansl, C. (1990). Cognitive Foundations of Musical Pitch. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 262. 411 Pitch: Speech (1998, July 20). Retrieved August 7, 2019, from www.britannica.com. 412 Hart et al. (1990). In: Patel, A. (2008). Music, Language, and the Brain. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 40. 413 Patel, A. (2008). Music, Language, and the Brain. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 40. 414 Morett, L., & Chang, L. (2015). Emphasising Sound and Meaning: Pitch Gestures Enhance Mandarin Lexical Tone Acquisition. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience, 30(3), 1–7. 408

1.3 Music and Language Acquisition

93

Pitch in speech serves, therefore, not only to communicate emotions but, in some languages, also to transmit fundamental information on the definition of a word. Timbre is another factor present in both music and speech. In music, timbre is “the characteristic tone color of an instrument or voice, arising from reinforcement by individual singers or instruments of different harmonics […] of a fundamental pitch”.415 As elaborated by Stephen McAdams416 and Bruno Giordano,417 timbre has two broad characteristics that play a part in the perception of music: Firstly, it is a “multifarious set of abstract sensory attributes,”418 like brightness, nasality, and richness of a sound, and secondly, it is one of the “primary perceptual vehicles for the recognition, identification, and tracking over time of a sound source.”419 It serves, therefore, to distinguish instruments or voices from one another and to follow them over the course of a musical piece. In consequence, it is “from an aesthetic standpoint […] arguably as important as pitch as a perceptual feature of music”,420 though less essential in organizing melodic progression. Language, on the other hand, is fundamentally a system of organized timbral contrasts. As Patel explains, “there is no question that the primary dimension for organized sound contrasts in language is timbre”.421 To illustrate this statement, he proposes a thought experiment: Imagine asking a speaker of a language to listen to computer-synthesized monologue in which all sentences are rendered on a monotone. For speakers of nontone languages such as English, such speech would still be highly intelligible, […]. For speakers of tone languages, there may be a loss of intelligibility, but it is unlikely that intelligibility would drop to zero […]. Now conduct the converse experiment: Allow the pitch of the synthesized sentences to vary normally but replace all phonemes with one timbre, say the vowel /a/. Intelligibility would be reduced to zero for all languages, irrespective of whether they were tone languages or not.422 415

Timbre: Sound (2018, July 20). Retrieved August 7, 2019, from www.britannica.com. Professor of Music Research at McGill University, Canada. 417 Marie Curie Fellow at the Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Scotland. 418 Mc Adams, S., & Giordano, B. (2016). The perception of Musical Timbre. In: Hallam, S., Cross, I., & Thaut, M. (2016). Music Psychology. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 113. 419 Idem. 420 Patel, A. (2008). Music, Language, and the Brain. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 28. 421 Idem, p. 50. 422 Idem, pp. 50–51. 416

94

1

Literature Review

This experiment shows that, after removing the pitch from a sample of spoken language, the content is still comprehensible. Not so if timbre is taken away. Subsequently, timbre is fundamental to understanding speech, while pitch is not. Synoptically, “music uses pitch in ways that speech does not, and speech organizes timbre to a degree seldom seen in music”.423 In other words, pitch is essential for music systems but not for speech, and timbre is fundamental for understanding speech but not as much in music. However, Patel shows that underlying these dissimilarities; there are connections in cognitive and neural processing: Most notably, in both domains the mind interacts with one particular aspect of sound (pitch in music, and timbre in speech) to create a perceptually discretized system. Importantly, this perceptual discretization is not an automatic byproduct of human auditory perception. […] Although music and speech differ in the primary acoustic feature used for sound category formation, it appears that the mechanisms that create and maintain learned sound categories in the two domains may have a substantial degree of overlap.424

Thus, both systems are connected on a deeper level since they draw from the same processes in the brain.

1.3.2

Melodic Elements of Speech and Music

The Britannica defines melody as the “aesthetic product of a given succession of pitches in musical time, implying rhythmically ordered movement from pitch to pitch.”425 This definition, however, only treats melody as a musical phenomenon and does not include its use in linguistics, in which the term itself has been occupied since the late 18th century.426 When linguists talk about melody, they address organized pitch patterns in speech. Patel, therefore, suggests defining melody as “an organized sequence of pitches that conveys a wide variety of information to a listener.”427 This definition relies on aesthetic and 423

Idem, p. 86. Idem. 425 Melody: Music (2017, September 8). Retrieved August 7, 2019, from www.britannica. com. 426 Steele, J. (1779). In: Patel, A. (2008). Music, Language, and the Brain. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 182. 427 Patel, A. (2008). Music, Language, and the Brain. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 182. 424

1.3 Music and Language Acquisition

95

music-centered considerations but is more neutral in its wording and therefore allows for broader applicability in both domains. Melody in music and in language differ in essential points, namely pitchinterval categories, regular beat, and a tonal center.428 Regarding the first point, the difference between two pitches is called an interval. The distances between different pitches tend to be larger and more varied in music than in speech. For instance, in music, the interval of the fifth or sixth is not uncommon. The famous children’s song Twinkle, Twinkle, or Halleluja by Haendel starts with a fifth, and the Mozart-Aria Dies Bildnis ist Bezaubernd Schön in The Magic Flute begins with a sixth. In speech, however, pitch intervals tend to be smaller and less pronounced.429 Secondly, regular beats are typical in musical cultures, but more flexible in language. Secondly, the tonal center is essential in music because it defines the tonality of a piece of music. It outlines the fundamental tone of a piece of music from which the scale ascends or descends and on which it begins and ends. It is flexible insofar that the tonality can change within the course of a musical composition; a sonata from the Classical period would typically change key within the exposition in the first third of the work, to later return and finish in the original tonality. A tonal center is not only to be found in western music. Tonal centers are conventional in musical melodies of different cultures across the world.430 In language, however, a tonal center is less common, even if people tend to match their pitches while speaking or reading together.431 There is a difference between tonal (e.g., Mandarin) and non-tonal languages (e.g., Italian, English): in tonal languages, changes in pitch direction occur more frequently, and pitch intervals are more pronounced compared to non-tonal language cultures.432 Lastly, at the same time, there are some notable similarities in structure 428

Idem, p. 238. Robledo, J., et al. (2016). Music intervals in speech: Psychological disposition modulates ratio precision among interlocutors’ nonlocal f0 production in real-time dyadic conversation. Psychology of Music, 44(6), 1404–1418. 430 Kessler, E., Hansen, C., & Shepard, R. (1984). Tonal schemata in the perception of music in Bali and the West. Music Perception, 2, 131–165; Lantz, M., Kim, J., & Cuddy, L. (2014). Perception of a tonal hierarchy derived from Korean music. Psychology of Music, 42(4), 580–598; Stevens, C. (2012). Music Perception and Cognition: A Review of Recent Cross-Cultural Research. Topics in Cognitive Science, 4(4), 653–667. 431 Kim, M., & Nam, H. (2009). Pitch accommodation in synchronous speech. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 125(4), 2575. 432 Sundararajan, J., Lake, J., & Purves, D. (2011). Co-Variation of Tonality in the Music and Speech of Different Cultures. PLoS One, 6(5), 20,160. 429

96

1

Literature Review

and processing. In terms of structure, pitch patterning in a composer’s native language has been shown to reflect in her/his instrumental music.433 Thus, language habits seem to have an effect on aesthetic considerations in music. There is, consequently, a vital part of both similarities and differences when comparing musical and speech melody. Patel states that from the perspective of neuropsychological research, “melodic contours in speech and music may be processed in an overlapping way in the brain”.434 Arianna LaCroix435 and her team conducted a meta-analysis and compared brain networks activated by a listening-to-speech- and a listening-to-music-condition. They found overlapping resources in Broca’s area. If the participants were given a specific task during both conditions, the affected areas of the brain changed, indicating that the activated brain structures in both listening tasks are context-dependent.436

1.3.3

Linking Rhythm in Speech and Music

Rhythm, in a broad sense, involves the “placement of sounds in time. In its most general sense, rhythm […] is an ordered alternation of contrasting elements”.437 In reference to the musical rhythm, it is defined by a regularly timed beat, a perceptually steady pulse “to which one can synchronize with periodic movements such as taps or footfalls.”438 Additionally, the rhythm seems to be closely related to movement, as shown by Thaut in his studies on motor control.439 From a cultural perspective, most of the research is done with reference to western music. A

433

Patel, A. D., Iversen, J. R., & Rosenberg, J. C. (2006). Comparing the rhythm and melody of speech and music: The case of British English and French. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 119, 3034–3047. 434 Patel, A. (2008). Music, Language, and the Brain. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 238. 435 Assistant Professor of Neuro Biology at Arizona State University, USA. 436 Lacroix, A., Diaz, A., & Rogalsky, C. (2015). The relationship between the neural computations for speech and music perception is context-dependent: An activation likelihood estimate study. Frontiers in Psychology, 6(1138), 1–19. 437 Rhythm (2017, August 31). Retrieved August 8, 2019, from www.britannica.com. 438 Patel, A. (2008). Music, Language, and the Brain. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 97. 439 Keyton, G., & Thaut, M. (2008). Rhythm-driven Optimization of Motor Control. In: Thaut, M. (2008). Rhythm, music, and the brain scientific foundations and clinical applications. New York: Routledge, 85–112.

1.3 Music and Language Acquisition

97

regular beat and grouping of events around this beat are also typical in other cultures, which “suggests that these aspects reflect widespread cognitive proclivities of the human mind.”440 From this point of view, Patel has collected remarkable facts on the perception of beat from research in music cognition441 : – The range for beat perception is between 1 beat per 1,2 sec and 1 beat per 200ms; both slower and faster beats cannot be perceived as such. – People gravitate toward tapping in their own individual beat tempo, but they still feel synchronized when doubling or halving the tapping rate. – Beat perception is robust to moderate tempo fluctuations (e.g., if a beat is gradually accelerated, it is always recognized as the same beat); – Beat perception is not merely a passive response of the auditory system to physical periodicity in sound. It also involves cultural influences that may relate to a person’s knowledge of musical structure. – The perception of a beat remains stable when confronted with unrelated events (e.g., missing beats, events at non-beat locations). – Beat perception is a complex phenomenon with sophisticated cognitive and neural underpinnings: there is a mental model of time in which periodic temporal expectancies play a key role. – Humans are the only known species to synchronize spontaneously to the beat of music. Rhythm in speech is affronted in three different approaches. The first is typological and deals with rhythmic variances in different languages. For example, Kenneth Pike442 categorized languages into either stress-timed or syllable-timed. In a stress-timed language, the stressed syllables are positioned at roughly regular intervals; unstressed syllables are shortened to fit into the rhythm. Examples of stress-timed languages are English, Arabic, and Thai. In syllable-timed ones, each syllable takes about the same amount of time. Syllable-timed languages, like French, Hindi, and Yoruba.443 The second approach is theoretical and investigates the principles of the rhythmic shape of words and utterances in a language. It uses “formalized rules

440

Patel, A. (2008). Music, Language, and the Brain. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 98–99. 441 Idem, pp. 100–102. 442 American linguist and anthropologist, 1912–2000. 443 Pike (1945). In: Idem, pp. 100–102.

98

1

Literature Review

and representations to derive the observed rhythmic patterning of utterances.”444 Thirdly, there is a perceptual approach that investigates the impact of rhythm on the perception of ordinary speech, like the effects of rhythmic predictability in speech perception.445 In summary, rhythm in music and language are similar in the grouping structure: both have similar ways of grouping their elements together to form higher units, such as phrases or musical periods.446 A significant difference is temporal periodicity,447 which is a chief characteristic in musical rhythm but nearly nonexistent in speech. It seems, therefore, that rhythm in music serves to organize the information transmitted by music, while linguistic rhythm derives from a multitude of phonological events,448 or as Patel puts it: “A key idea that motivates this research is that linguistic rhythm is the product of a variety of interacting phonological phenomena, and not an organizing principle, unlike the case of music.”449

1.3.4

Syntax: Structure in Language and Music

Syntax is defined as “the arrangement of words in sentences, clauses, and phrases, and the study of the formation of sentences and the relationship of their component parts”.450 It plays an essential part in Chomsky’s Aspects of the Theory of Syntax and his later Extended Standard Theory. These theories proposed that the mind of the human infant is endowed with a “format” of a possible grammar […], a method of constructing grammars based on the linguistic data to which the child is exposed, and a device that evaluates the relative simplicity of constructed grammars. The child’s mind constructs a number of possible grammars 444

Idem, p. 118. Idem. 446 Idem, p. 177. 447 “events that repeat regularly in time (e.g., each Tuesday), and temporal periodicity is their temporal periodic pattern of repetition. A pattern is periodic if it can be represented by specifying a finite portion of it, and the duration of each repetition.”. Temporal Periodicity (2009). Retrieved August 8, 2019, from www. link.springer.com. 448 Ding, N., et al. (2017). Temporal modulations in speech and music. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 81, 181–187. 449 Patel, A. (2008). Music, Language, and the Brain. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 177. 450 Syntax (2016, April 14). Retrieved August 9, 2019, from www.britannica.com. 445

1.3 Music and Language Acquisition

99

that are consistent with the linguistic data and then selects the grammar with the fewest rules or primitives.451

In other words, the ability to acquire grammar is innate in everybody. By listening to the language—or languages –in their surroundings, children form several possible grammar rules that might apply to the speech they absorb. Their innate device of evaluation then selects the simplest as the most possible grammar. The child then starts producing syllables, words, or utterings that follow these identified grammar rules. Leonard Bernstein452 was deeply influenced by Chomsky’s idea of syntax and started searching for connections between linguistic and musical grammar. He expected to find musical analogies for linguistic categories, like nouns, verbs, or prepositions—which music, however, does not have.453 Nevertheless, his ideas went on to inspire the branch of cognitive neuroscience that seeks to understand underlying neurological processes of language, in particular, their distinct and overlapping areas in the brain. The syntax is considered to be the meaningful structure in speech. Analogously, musical syntax refers to the elements that give meaning to music. The musical features that can be regarded as meaningful in music are plentiful and organized on several levels. They include aspects like scales, chords, keys, melodic, and harmonic progression, which in symbiosis create music’s multi-leveled structure. Patel concludes three critical features of musical syntax454 : 1. The syntax allows music to achieve perceptual coherence. 2. Different elements interact on several levels. 3. Tonal syntax affects the relationship between its acquisition during development and its application during perception. In other words, music’s grammar is fundamental to perceiving music as a coherent whole. Without it, it would be understood as a noise. The different elements of music interact with each other in the sense that each component is embedded in the framework of the others. For example, a harmonic progression leads to the 451

Noam Chomsky (2019, July 19). Retrieved August 9, 2019, from www.britannica.com. American composer, conductor, author, music lecturer, and pianist, 1918–1990. 453 Bernstein (1976). In: Lerdahl, F. (2013). Musical Syntax and Its Relation to Linguistic Syntax. In: Arbib, M. (2013). Language, Music, and the Brain. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, p. 260. 454 Patel, A. (2008). Music, Language, and the Brain. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 261–262. 452

100

1

Literature Review

perception of a melody. It is, therefore, not possible to call one single element as such “music”, but only united with other elements, it becomes music. Finally, general rules for tonal syntax are acquired—similarly to language—in childhood and remain until adulthood. When comparing musical to linguistic syntax, some key differences emerge. The first difference between music and language is syntactic ambiguity. The cognitive system seeks to avoid syntactic ambiguity to arrive at a “single structural analysis for a sentence”.455 An example is a sentence like “The woman entered the car with the keys.” It is ambiguous because “the keys” might either serve as a modifier for the woman or the car. In fact, there are three possible interpretations of the sentence: It might be that (1) the woman is in possession of keys when she enters the car, (2) the woman might use the keys to enter the car, or (3) the car might have some keys attached when the woman enters it. However, most individuals will interpret the sentence in a specific, context-dependent way. Music is a lot more flexible toward syntactic ambiguity. As Krumhansl wrote: “a chord may be heard simultaneously in its multiple roles in different keys, with the effect that modulations between closely related keys are easily assimilated. The role of a chord need never be disambiguated”.456 For example, the C major chord can be tonic in C major, dominant in F major and F minor, or tonic parallel in A minor. Secondly, syntactic trees of musical and linguistic sentences vary. In language, they are constituents (Figure 1.3). For example, a noun in combination with a determiner is called a noun phrase. If a verb is added, it is a sentence, and so on. Musical syntactic trees are not. The musical tree in Figure 1.4 is a prolongation reduction of a Bach Chorale, indicating an increase in tension through right-branching and a decrease in tension through left-branching. As seen by the number and distribution of the branches, local tensing and relaxing motions are embedded in larger-scale ones. Thirdly, long-distance dependencies are more accessible in language than in music. In the example of Figure 1.3, there is a whole sentence included between the noun (girl) and the verb (opened). In normal language use, a construction like this can be easily perceived and followed. This is not the case in similar structures in music. For example, if one or several tension-relax pairs in Figure 1.4 are cut out, the piece could no longer be recognized, and the relation between the first 455

Idem, p. 264. Krumhansl, C. (1992). Internal representations for music perception and performance. In: Jones, M., & Holleran, S. (eds) (1992). Cognitive Bases of Musical Communication. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, p. 198.

456

1.3 Music and Language Acquisition

101

Figure 1.3 Syntactic Tree of an English Sentence457

and 4th note is lost due to the missing parts in between. In order for a piece of music to be recognized, all the elements must remain together in a certain order, or as Patel puts it: “a particular sequence of notes or chords does not constrain perceived dependencies to the same degree as a particular sequence of words, suggesting that words have more intricate syntactic features built into them than do notes or chords.”458 Similarities between the two domains include that syntactic information is organized on multiple levels.459 Language is built up from morphemes that are combined into words, which are used to form phrases and sentences, which are then combined into a discourse. The musical organization follows similar rules: frequencies create tones, which are combined into chords, and chord progressions. Furthermore, both share the capacity for recursive syntactic structure.460 Also, linguistic phrases can be embedded within other phrases, creating secondary 457

Patel, A. (2008). Music, Language, and the Brain. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 254. S = sentence; NP = noun phrase, VP = verb phrase, S  = sentence modifier [relative clause], N = noun; V = verb; Det = determiner; Rel-Pro = relative pronoun. Within the clause, the relative pronoun “who” is referred to as a filler and is interpreted as the actor for the verb “kissed.” This relationship is identified by the presence of a coindexed empty element e i in the subject position of the relative clause. 458 Patel, A. (2008). Music, Language, and the Brain. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 263. 459 Idem, p. 264. 460 Idem, p. 265.

102

1

Literature Review

Figure 1.4 Syntactic Tree (or: prolongation reduction)461

phrases. For example, in Figure 1.3, the noun phrase “the boy” is integrated into the phrase “the girl who kissed the boy”. As seen in the example in Figure 1.4, small patterns of tension-relaxation are embedded in larger ones. As in the previous aspects of music and language, there is a series of both similarities and differences. Some elements of syntax seem to be specific to either speech or music, while others are shared. The following Table 1.6, based on the work of Fred Lerdahl,462 summarizes the current state of the art on musical, linguistic, and shared structures from a perspective of music cognition. Exclusively musical constructions consist of pitches and structures built from them, like intervals, scales, and, in further extension, melodies. Further going, counterpoint is the parallel movement of two tunes, and harmony means the vertical interaction of pitches in a chord progression. Those structures are music-specific, and so 461 Lerdahl (2001). In: Patel, A. (2008). Music, Language, and the Brain. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 257. right branching indicates an increase in tension; left branching a decrease in tension. 462 Professor of Musical Composition at Columbia University, USA.

1.3 Music and Language Acquisition

103

Table 1.6 Organization of musical and linguistic structures463 Exclusively musical structures

Shared structures

Exclusively linguistic structures

Fixed pitches, intervals, scales

Durational patterns

Lexicon (word meaning and parts of speech)

Harmony

Grouping (prosodic hierarchy)

Semantic structures (truth conditions, reference, entailment)

Counterpoint

Stress (psychoacoustic salience)

Syntactic units

Tonality

Metric grids*

Phonological distinctive features (and other phonological structures)

Pitch prolongations

Contour

Tonal tension and attraction

Recurrent sound patterns*

* Common features in music, but which in language appear primarily in poetry, not in normal speech

is tonality, the system that unites scales and harmonies into a meaningful unity that centers around a fundamental tone. Pitch prolongation is the process through which a pitch or sound is still perceived, even when not sounding physically, and the relationship between tension and relaxation between two or more elements of music are also inherently music-specific. On the language-specific side is the fact of having one specific, relatively unambiguous meaning for a particular word and relations between semantic structures. So is the building of syntactic units within phrases and sentences, like phases within other phrases, and distinctive phonological features that are referenced in this thesis under the term linguistic timbre. Both domains share the use of durational patterns and the grouping of their information in hierarchies. Universal aspects in both language and music are, for instance, stresses that put emphasis on one part of a word or phrase, metric grids which “represent relative syllabic stress,”464 common elements of

463

Lerdahl, F. (2013). Musical Syntax and Its Relation to Linguistic Syntax. In: Arbib, M. (2013). Language, Music, and the Brain. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, p. 272. 464 Lerdahl, F. (2013). Musical Syntax and Its Relation to Linguistic Syntax. In: Arbib, M. (2013). Language, Music, and the Brain. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press p. 261.

104

1

Literature Review

contour—namely the “shape of the melody line or pattern of ups and downs in pitch”465 —and repeated patterns of sound, as found in rhythm (Table 1.6).

1.3.5

Communication: Transfer of Linguistic and Emotional Meaning

Communication is “the exchange of meanings between individuals through a common system of symbols.”466 These meanings can be either linguistic or emotional. Several models of communication, like linear and dynamic models, concern themselves with the nature of those exchanges of information. The linear model was designed in the 1940s by two mathematicians: Claude Shannon467 and Warren Weaver.468 Messages are supposed to travel along a path built up by five elements in linear order: an information source, a transmitter, a channel, a receiver, and a destination.469 The model of Shannon and Weaver is simplistic in nature, which might be useful in technical and mathematical contexts. Nevertheless, other kinds of communication, like artistic or persuasive communication, require higher levels of emotional or creative quality, for instance. Those profit from more dynamic models. An example is a model by Arthur Berger470 (Figure 1.5), which puts the medium in the center. A medium might be a film, radio, or a book, which communicates equally with the audience (receiver), the art (the message to be transmitted), the artist (the creator or sender), and the America (or the society in which the art is created and perceived).471 This model indicates that artists communicate with the audience solely through their work, and the audience gives feedback through their reaction to the medium. Society and art are also connected only through the medium, indicating that art is only

465

Stevens, C., & Keller, P., & Tyler, M. (2013). Tonal language background and detecting pitch contour in spoken and musical items. Psychology of Music, 41, 59–74. 466 Communiction (2019, February 8). Retrieved August 9, 2019, from www.britannica.com. 467 American mathematician and electrical engineer, 1916–2001. 468 American mathematician, 1894–1978. 469 Shannon, C., & Weaver, W. (1998). The Mathematical Theory of Communication. Urbana Chicago: University of Illinois Press, pp. 33–35. 470 Professor Emeritus in Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts at San Francisco State University. 471 Berger, A. (2006). 50 Ways to Understand Communication: A Guided Tour of Key Ideas and Theorists in Communication, Media, and Culture, Lanham, MA: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, pp. 45–47.

1.3 Music and Language Acquisition

105

then created within a community if there is a medium; art itself, conceived as a message, requires the medium to communicate with society. Figure 1.5 Artistic Communication by Arthur Berger472

These are more models that seek to describe the complex phenomena of communication, but the two examples mentioned above indicate how different the idea of communication itself can be. It depends on the context and the background of the authors. For example, Shannon and Weaver were mathematicians and applied their technical ideas to the communication process. That model might work well in situations in which simplistic or functional information is supposed to be transmitted—like information on troop movements in the Second World War. If a more complex and intentionally ambiguous artistic message is to be transferred, also the model needs to become more complex. The case of communicating emotions is particularly multifaceted because they can be expressed both verbally and nonverbally. The ability to effectively convey an emotion requires the ability to first reflect on them before identifying them adequately before choosing the suitable word or phrasing—which is a time-consuming process.473 A lot of emotional content is transmitted non-verbally through mimic, gestures, tone, and melody of the voice. In fact, during a conversation, only 7% of information is perceived through words; 38% is understood through the tone of the voice, and 55% through body language.474 Additionally, it seems that some emotions, like fear, or sadness, are recognized faster and from shorter audio sample sizes than others.475 This indicates a high sensitivity towards non-verbal cues for the emotional state of a conversation partner during communication. 472

Idem, p. 46. Wang, X., Shangguan, C., & Lu, J. (2019). Time course of emotion effects during emotion-label and emotion-laden word processing. Neuroscience Letters, 699, 1–7. 474 Mehrabian, A., & Ferris, S. (1967). Inference of Attitudes from Nonverbal Communication in Two Channels. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 31(3), 248–252. 475 Pell, M., Kotz, S., & Rustichini, A. (2011). On the Time Course of Vocal Emotion Recognition: Recognizing Emotions in Speech. PLoS ONE, 6(11), e27256. 473

106

1

Literature Review

The expression of emotional content, verbal or non-verbal, is common ground for music and speech. In fact, perhaps their “common cognitive origins […] lie in their efficacy for emotional expression, unlike semantic or syntactic aspects of language (and music)”.476 In fact, the acoustic code underlying both speech and music for expressing emotion on a neurological level is shared: Music performers communicate emotions to listeners by exploiting an acoustic code that derives from innate brain programs for vocal expression of emotions. In this sense, at least, music may really be a form of heightened speech that transforms feelings into an ‘audible landscape.’477

The most common theories on music’s ability to evoke emotions since the 1950s try to explain how “music could stimulate varied and subtle affective experiences by violating learned expectancies, or by mimicking other forms of social interaction.”478 Recent research by Marcus Pearce479 and Andrea Halpern480 indicates that there might be an age effect on musical perception: We found support for a type of positivity effect, in that older people found happy music somewhat less happy than did younger people, but found sad music much less sad than did younger people. Older people also rated fearful music more positively than did younger people.481

The question of how music evokes emotions is, therefore, very complex—which makes theory-building difficult. Nevertheless, Patrik Juslin482 elaborated on the BRECVEM model as a system to explain why and how music evokes emotions. BRECVEM stands for seven emotional processes through musical experiences483 : 476

Bhatara, A., Laukka, P., & Levitin, D. (2014). Expression of emotion in music and vocal communication: Introduction to the research topic. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 5–6. 477 Juslin, P., & Laukka, P. (2003). Communication of emotions in vocal expression and music performance: Different channels, same code? Psychological Bulletin, 129(5), 770– 814. 478 Meyer (1956). In: Eflaig, N., & Large, E. (2014). Dynamic Musical Communication of Core Affect. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 91–102. 479 Professor for Electronic Engineering at Queen Mary University of London, UK. 480 Professor for Psychology at Bucknell University, USA. 481 Pearce, M., & Halpern, A. (2015). Age-related patterns in emotions evoked by music. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 9(3), 248–253. 482 Professor for Psychology and Emotion Psychology at the Uppsala University, Sweden. 483 Juslin, P. (2013). From Everyday Emotions to Aesthetic Emotions: Towards a Unified Theory of Musical Emotions. Physics of Life Reviews, 10(3), 235–366.

1.3 Music and Language Acquisition

107

1. Brain stem reflex: an emotion is induced because one or more fundamental acoustic characteristics of a music piece are perceived by the brain stem to signal an urgent event that requires immediate attention, like dissonant or sudden sounds. 2. Rhythmic entrainment: an external rhythm influences internal bodily rhythms in the listener, like heart rate. Then, the latter rhythm regulates and ultimately ‘locks in’ to a joint periodicity. 3. Evaluative conditioning: when following a behavioral approach, emotion is induced by a piece of music simply because this stimulus has often been paired with other positive or negative stimuli. 4. Emotional contagion: the listener understands the emotional expression of the music and then ‘mimics’ this expression internally. 5. Visual imagery: the listener conjures up inner images (e.g., of a beautiful landscape) while listening to the music. 6. Episodic memory: music evokes personal memories of an event in the listener’s life. 7. Musical expectancy: specific features of music violate, delay, or confirm the listener’s expectations about the continuation of the music. Based on these processes, Juslin theorizes that music might have such a substantial impact on humans, not despite but because it is so similar to language: I would like to submit that one unique aspect of the musical experience is that it […] resembles listening to a language for which we can understand the (semi)syntax, but not the semantics484

This would mean that music is perceived as a language but without a clear understanding of the words. Therefore, the brain—seeking to understand what is said, remains in a light state of arousal, trying to figure out the linguistic meaning. Still, this interpretation has the problem that people do not tend to be very attentive when confronted with a language that they do not understand. Undoubtedly, music and language have a potent emotional compound that the brain is hardwired to perceive. Yet, it is a complex phenomenon to theorize on.

484

Idem.

108

1.3.6

1

Literature Review

Musical Training as Entrainment for Developing Language Skills

It is a core interest of music therapy research to figure out how the effects of music and its similarities to language can be harvested in therapeutic settings. Importantly, music has a measurable impact on the human brain: the brain of people who grew up making music differs significantly from that of non-musicians. For example, Christian Gaser485 and Gottfried Schlaug486 found differences in the gray matter between professional musicians, amateur musicians, and non-musicians. These differences are “either part of a motor learning and skill acquisition network or they are part of a network that may play a crucial role in translating musical notation into complicated motor commands.”487 They conclude two possible reasons: either individuals with a specific brain structure tend to become musicians, or music-making changes the neuroanatomy.488 Other research indicates that even short-term music training results in structural and functional changes in adults,489 suggesting that the neurological effects are indeed caused by music-making. These effects are, however, not limited to solely music-related tasks. When Gabriella Musacchia490 and her team conducted a study on musicians’ abilities to process speech and music, they found that “musical training impacts neural mechanisms beyond those specific to music processing.”491 This means that not only does musical training have effects on the brain regions underlying music-related skills, but also on others. Additionally, Steven Holochwost492 and his team found that music education positively influences executive functions and academic success in schoolchildren over the course

485

Associate Professor for Computational Neuroscience and Neuroimaging at Jena University, Germany. 486 Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, USA. 487 Gaser, C., & Schlaug, G. (2003). Gray matter differences between musicians and nonmusicians. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 999(1), 514–517. 488 Idem. 489 Della Bella, S. (2016). Music and Brain Plasticity. In: Hallam, S., Cross, I, & Thaut, M. (eds) (2016). The Oxford Handbook of Music Psychology. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 330. 490 Assistant Professor of Audiology at the University of the Pacific, USA. 491 Musacchia, G., Sams, M., Skoe, E., & Kraus, N. (2007). Musicians have enhanced subcortical auditory and audiovisual processing of speech and music. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104(40), 15,894–15,898. 492 Principal and Director of Research for Youth & Families at WolfBrown, USA.

1.3 Music and Language Acquisition

109

of one year.493 In summary, there is a strong implication for using music-based therapies to treat neurological disorders and to support learning in general. Patel’s OPERA hypothesis reflects the idea that musical activity might entrain the brain to learn languages. It is built up by five elements that explain this mechanism494 : 1. Overlap: some brain networks that process acoustic features in music and speech overlap. 2. Precision: these shared networks must be more precise when processing music than language. 3. Emotion: musical activities provoke positive emotion, which facilitates learning processes. 4. Repetition: musical activities tend to be practiced regularly and therefore repeated frequently. 5. Attention: actively making music is associated with musical activities that engage this network. Patel specifies that. when these conditions are met neural plasticity drives the networks in question to function with higher precision than needed for ordinary speech communication. Yet since speech shares these networks with music, speech processing benefits.495

The implications for music-based interventions, such as music therapy, are extensive. For example, Thaut, a key figure in neurologic music therapy, built his rational scientific mediating model (RSMM) as a theoretical model and “transformational framework”496 around the idea that overlaps of musical and non-musical brain areas and processes might lead to therapeutic effects in a patient. The RSMM has four steps: musical response models, parallel nonmusical response models, mediating models, and clinical research models. In a musical response model, “neurobiological and behavioral processes underlying music perception and performance in the areas of cognition, motor control, and 493

Holochwost, S., et al. (2017). Music education, academic achievement, and executive functions. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity,and the Arts, 11(2), 147–166. 494 Patel, A. (2011). Why would musical training benefit the neural encoding of speech? The OPERA hypothesis. Frontiers in Psychology, 2(142), 1–14. 495 Idem. 496 Thaut, M. (2005). Rhythm, Music, and the Brain: scientific foundations and clinical applications. New York: Routledge, p. 116.

110

1

Literature Review

speech/language”497 are investigated. In other words, the foundations of musical behavior are examined. The parallel non-musical response model explores processes that are not music-related. Mediating models search for effects music has on non-musical behavior. Finally, clinical response models extract information that can be used in therapy.498 On the basis of the RSMM, Thaut developed 20 techniques for clinical application, eight of which were for speech and language.499 They are specifically designed for certain conditions. For example, Melodic Intonation Therapy (MIT) is designed for patients with left-sided stokes that have an impact on the speech-related brain areas Broca’s and Wernicke’s. In this type of stroke, the patent’s ability to speak is impaired, while the ability to sing tends to be intact. Singing-based exercises are therefore applied to help the patient regain their abilities to speak.500 Another example is Developmental Speech and Language Training through Music (DSLM), which is designed for children with developmental speech and language delays. Those developmental delays can differ individually: some children might not be verbal at all, and others may have a mild delay in their linguistic skill set. Thaut’s therapeutic applications reflect this: Therapeutic music experiences in DSLM may range from simply singing or playing music to a severely developmentally disabled child, connecting sounds or actions with words to elicit some auditory and physical response, to complex exercises of writing songs, initiating vocalizations through singing, or learning numbers and shapes through performance exercises on musical instruments.501

Music therapy in language development is consequently a highly sophisticated method that uses the brain’s innate musical abilities and the fact that those abilities are interconnected with other areas of cognitive functioning in order to restore, support, or develop linguistic and communicative skills.

497

Thaut, M., McIntosh, G, & Hoemberg, V. (2014). Neurologic Music Therapy: From Social Science to Neuroscience. In: Thaut, M., Hoemberg, V., & Abiru, M. (eds) (2014). Handbook of Neurologic Music Therapy. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 16. 498 Thaut, M. (2005). Rhythm, Music, and the Brain: scientific foundations and clinical applications. New York: Routledge, pp. 116–119. 499 Idem, pp. 166–177. 500 Idem, pp. 166–168. 501 Idem, pp. 174–175.

1.4 Migrant Populations in Rome

1.3.7

111

Summary

In summary, there is a series of neurologic overlaps between language and music, in addition to language- and music-specific areas. These overlaps concern minimal and basic elements, such as pitch and timbre perception, aspects of melody and rhythm, but also more complex characteristics of syntax and even further emotional communication. Both domains are closely related on several levels, and these connections are harvested by music therapists to help patients who have problems understanding and producing language.

1.4

Migrant Populations in Rome

1.4.1

Statistics on Migrant Populations in Rome

Rome is the capital of both Italy and the Lazio region and one of the biggest cities in the country, and it shares its name with the Municipality of Rome (Comune di Roma Capitale). The Metropolitan City502 of Rome Capital (Città Metropolitana di Roma Capitale) is an area of local government in the Lazio region. It supersedes the Province of Rome. The Metropolitan City of Rome has an estimated population of 4.234.019 in 2019,503 of which 2.872.800504 people live within the city limits. Figure 1.6 illustrates the boundaries of Rome. Of the 2.872.800505 people living within the city limits, 385.559 (13,42%) have foreign citizenship, which is among the highest absolute numbers of nonItalian residents in Italian cities.506 Regarding proportion, however, the L’Aquila Province in the Abruzzo Region has the highest percentages of residents with foreign citizenship, ranging from 16,2% to 21,74%, depending on the Municipality. The absolute numbers of the inhabitants in these communities, however, 502

As regulated by the laws legge 142/1990 (Reform of local authorities) and legge 56/2014, a metropolitan city includes a large city, like Rome, and the area and smaller towns surrounding it. Apart from Rome City, 121 other municipalities (comuni) in the suburbs belong to the Metropolitan City of Rome. 503 Rome Population 2019 (2018, December 6). Retrieved March 29, 2019, from worldpopulationreview.com. 504 I 100 Comuni con più cittadini stranieri residenti (per popolazione) (2018, January 1). Retrieved April 1, 2019, from www.comuniverso.it. 505 I 100 Comuni con più cittadini stranieri residenti (per popolazione) (2018, January 1). Retrieved April 1, 2019, from www.comuniverso.it. 506 Idem.

112

1

Literature Review

Figure 1.6 Map of the Metropolitan City of Rome507

are rather small, ranging from total quantities of 437 to 4611 in 2018.508 When comparing the population of non-Italians in Rome (Figure 1.7) with that in all of Italy (Figure 1.8), the curves are very similar. Most of the foreign population is between their late twenties and early fifties, with a peak between 36 and 40 years of age. The number of children in the first decade of their lives is comparatively high, although not as pronounced as the 20–50 age group. The analysis of the distribution of foreign citizens in the 15 municipalities of Rome shows that the non-Italian population is distributed somewhat differently within the areas of the capital. It ranges from a minimum of 13’210 citizens in Municipality VIII to a maximum of 45,014 in Municipality I. The highest concentrations of foreigners are recorded in Municipality I (45’014), Municipality VI (43’377), and V (38’984), which accommodate more than a third of the total

507

Capotorti, G., et al. (2019). Biodiversity and ecosystem services in urban green infrastructure planning: A case study from the metropolitan area of Rome. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 37, 87–96. 508 Comuni con più cittadini stranieri residenti—primi cinque Comuni per regione (in %) (2018, January 1). Retrieved April 1, 2019, from www.comuniverso.it.

1.4 Migrant Populations in Rome

113

Populaon with foreign cizenship in Rome 12000 10000 8000 6000 4000 2000 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 100+

0

Male

Female

Male + Female

Figure 1.7 Migrant population in Rome by age509

Populaon with foreign cizenship in Italy

0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 100+

140000 120000 100000 80000 60000 40000 20000 0

Male

Female

Male+Female

Figure 1.8 Migrant population in Italy by age510

population with citizenship different than Italian residing in the capital.511 However, when looking at the proportion of residents with foreign citizenship within the overall population in each municipality, the municipalities with the highest 509

Based on the data from: Popolazione straniera residente al 1° gennaio per età e sesso (2018, January 1). Retrieved March 29, 2019, from demo.istat.it. 510 Idem. 511 Città metropolitana di Rome Capitale (2016). Primo Rapporto Statistico sull’area metropolitana romana. Roma: SISTAN Sistema Statistico Nazionale, p. 62.

114

1

Literature Review

incidence of foreigners compared to the number of residents are Municipality I (24,1%), Municipality XV (18,2%), Municipality VI (16.9%), Municipality V (15,8%) and Municipality XIII (13,7%).512 Figure 1.9 illustrates the distribution of the Roman population by foreign citizenship.

Figure 1.9 Rome’s Foreign Population in Percent513

An analysis of the distribution of registered non-Italians by country of origin identifies Romanian, Philippine, Chinese, and Bengalese citizenship as the most common ones in the capital. Circa 25% of Romanians live in Municipalities VI, X, and XV. 35% of Filipinos reside in Municipalities II, XV, and XIV, while the Bangladeshi community (52%) and the Chinese community (58%) are mostly concentrated in Municipalities I, V, and VI. 23% of Indians live in Municipalities I and V, while Peruvians seem to prefer Municipalities XV and VII.

512 513

Idem. Analisi e dati statistici (no date). Retrieved April 5, 2019, from www.comune.roma.it.

1.4 Migrant Populations in Rome

115

22% of Ukrainians inhabit Municipalities I and VII. People with Polish citizenship reach the highest peak (14%) in Municipality X (14%) and XIV (10%). In Municipalities V, VI, and XI, about 43% of Egyptians in Rome are living.514

1.4.2

Children with Foreign Citizenship in the Italian School System in Rome

In Rome, almost 40’000 children with foreign citizenship are registered within the Italian school system (Table 1.7).515 In total, most children with a migrant background are in elementary school (36%) and high school (24%), less in Middle School (21%) and Kindergarten (19%). They are distributed unevenly in the Municipalities in Rome. The most substantial number of children with foreign passports are situated in Municipality VI (13%), Municipality V (12%), and Municipality I (10%). Municipality VI has most of its migrant child population in elementary school (46%), some in middle school (24%) and kindergarten (22%), and relatively few in high school (8%). Municipality V is similar in the distribution of children per school type, with 38% in elementary school, 25% in kindergarten, 21% in middle school, and 16% in high school. Municipality I differs insofar that most students go to high school (51%), followed by elementary school (22%), middle school (14%), and kindergarten (13%).516 Table 1.7 shows the elaboration of the numbers of children and adolescents with migrant backgrounds by the Ufficio di statistica di Roma Capitale for the school year 2015/2016, from which the percentages above have been calculated. In 2015 a survey on the integration of second generations immigrants517 in Italy was conducted by ISTAT.518 It was co-financed by the European Union and the Ministry of the Interior under the European Fund for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals (EIF) and found out that 23.5% of foreign students in 514

Città metropolitana di Rome Capitale (2016). Primo Rapporto Statistico sull’area metropolitana romana. Roma: SISTAN Sistema Statistico Nazionale, p. 63. 515 Elaborazioni Ufficio di statistica di Roma Capitale su dati Sistema Informativo Mesis— Rendiconto 2015 e Ministero dell’Istruzione (no date). Retrieved April 9, 2019, from www. comune.roma.it. 516 Idem. 517 With the second generation, mostly in plural form (second generations), it is usual to understand in the sciences and social policies the generation constituted by the children of immigrants. 518 L’integrazione scolastica e sociale delle seconde generazioni (2016, March 15). Retrieved April 13, 2018, from www.istat.it.

116

1

Literature Review

Italy arrived before the age of 6, 26.2% were 6 to 10 years when coming to Italy and 19.9% were older. Of these students born abroad, 49% are in the school class corresponding to their age, 39% are downgraded by one, and 12% by at least two years. In fact, 27.3% of foreign students declared that they had to repeat one or more school years. This affected, in particular, those born abroad (31%), while the repetition rate for those born in Italy is closer to that of the Italians (18.7% and 14.3%, respectively). Having to repeat a class is consequently more frequent in students with migrant backgrounds. This might be a problem for inclusion practices when these children are confronted with classmates considerably younger than them. Table 1.7 Foreign students in the various levels of education for the municipality of Rome (school year 2015–2016)519 Municipality

Kindergarten (3–6 years)

Elementary School (6–11 years)

Middle School (11–14 years)

High School (14–19 years)

Total

I

505

826

543

1’912

3’786

II

292

629

400

366

1’687

III

356

664

397

394

1’811

IV

353

545

338

479

1’715

V

1’240

1’844

1’042

809

4’935

VI

1’192

2’303

1’121

420

5’036

VII

603

1’098

660

1’198

3’559

VIII

236

339

219

692

1’486

IX

343

668

385

251

1’647

X

394

895

542

612

2’443

XI

408

763

482

159

1’812

XII

284

515

244

376

1’419

XIII

496

823

505

448

2’272

XIV

513

852

407

763

2’535

XV

579

1’166

745

532

3’022

Total

7’794

13’930

8’030

9’411

39’165

519

Based on the data from: Elaborazioni Ufficio di statistica di Roma Capitale su dati Sistema Informativo Mesis—Rendiconto 2015 e Ministero dell’Istruzione (no date). Retrieved April 9, 2019, from www.comune.roma.it.

1.4 Migrant Populations in Rome

117

The same study investigates the social life of children and adolescents with migration backgrounds, showing that 21.6% of immigrant students in secondary school do not frequent schoolmates outside school hours, compared to 9.3% of native students. Additionally, 13,8% of non-Italian students declare that they frequent only other foreign students, either of their own or of different nationalities.520 When questioning the teachers in multicultural schools on the subject, they generally report a good level of school integration in children with a migrant background, but they mention problems related to language gaps. Furthermore, they declare experience frequently difficult situations and the desire to change the methods of their teaching.521 In summary, students with migrant backgrounds are more likely to struggle in class and to repeat classes; teachers—though tendentially reporting a pleasant inclusive environment—mention the need for ulterior training for working with migrant children.

1.4.3

Language Skills in Italy’s and Rome’s Migrant Populations

Regarding language skills within Italy’s immigrant population, the Italian National Institute for Statistics, Istituto Nazionale di Statistica (ISTAT), reported a total of 6,9% of the population aged six and over (circa 4 million individuals) predominantly speak a non-Italian language at home for the year 2015. As seen in Figure 1.10, the amount of households in which a non-Italian language is primarily spoken increased steadily from 0,6% in 1987/88 to 6,9% in 2015.522 The number has thus increased by a factor of ten in less than thirty years. There is, therefore, a trend towards more households that use a foreign language in everyday conversations. On the other hand, homes in which only Italian is spoken increased slightly, while those in which only dialect is spoken decreased steadily since 1987/88 and the households in which both Italian and a dialect are spoken regularly increased until 2000 to remain steady between 2000 and 2015.523 Additionally, data on the diffusion of languages in Italy show that the spread of non-Italian languages and Italian dialects in the family context is rising in the age group of 25–34: over the course of the last 18 years, this number nearly 520

Idem. Idem. 522 The usage of Italian language, dialects and other languages in Italy. (2017, December 27), Retrieved February 6, 2018, from www.istat.it. 523 Idem. 521

118

1

Literature Review

Figure 1.10 Language primarily spoken within the family home by people aged 6 and over524

tripled from 3,7% in 2000, 8,4% in 2006 to the current 12,1%.525 In this age group, there is a trend to use non-Italian language at home. Considering that the mean age of mothers with foreign citizenship giving birth in Rome in 2017 is 33,9 years, which falls into the 25–34 range mentioned above, it is likely that children born to these mothers learn their mother’s language es their native language. This is consistent with data from the OECD, according to which in all the member countries, “63% of first-generation immigrant students and 38% of second-generation immigrant students speak a language at home that is different from the language in which the PISA526 test”.527 To complicate matters, the older children are at their first contact with another language, the more prominent the language barrier.528 In concrete terms this means that children might arrive at

524

Idem. Idem. 526 The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a worldwide study by the OECD to evaluate educational systems. 527 Schleicher, A. (2015). Helping immigrant students to succeed at school—and beyond. Paris: OECD, p. 10. 528 Idem, p. 11. 525

1.4 Migrant Populations in Rome

119

school in first grade with little to no knowledge of Italian,529 and they would get in contact with the Italian language mostly at school or in kindergarten. This holds a significant threat to inclusion policies in Italian schools because, according to the OECD report from 2018, “socio-economic disadvantage and language barriers are two of the greatest obstacles to the successful integration of students with an immigrant background.”530 Still, children with migrant backgrounds have to deal with more than just language barriers in their new home countries. Instead, the variety of obstacles to overcome are various: “many immigrant or mixedheritage students must overcome the adversities associated with displacement, socio-economic disadvantage, language barrier and the difficulty of forging a new identity all at the same time.”531

1.4.4

Summary

The demographic changes observed in the last decades show a trend towards less-developed Italian language skills in migrant child populations. According to OECD recommendations, it is necessary to get the children in contact with the Italian language as early in life as possible532 and to provide their parents with information on schooling options for their children533 in order to help them develop sufficient language skills when entering school. There are programs to improve “literacy and Italian as a second language through courses and workshops for students of non-Italian citizenship or language,”534 to “increase

529

La popolazione di Roma: Struttura e dinamica demografica (2017). Retrieved April 9, 2019, from www.comune.roma.it. 530 OECD (2018). The resilience of students with an immigration background: Factors that shape well-being. Paris: OECD Publishing, p. 14. 531 Idem, p. 3. 532 Schleicher, A. (2015). Helping immigrant students to succeed at school—and beyond. Paris: OECD, p. 10. 533 Idem, p. 8. 534 Law 107/2015. In: Camera dei Deputati Servizio Studi XVIII Legislatura: L’integrazione scolastica dei minori stranieri (2019, May 15). Retrieved August 20, 2019, from www.cam era.it.

120

1

Literature Review

teachers’ skills in managing multilingual […] classes”,535 and to “provide teachers with specific skills in teaching Italian as a second language.”536 In 2017, for example, a project on multicultural education aimed at 1000 school directors and 10,000 teachers got financed with 4 million Euro, as highlighted in MIUR note 2239 of April 2017.537 Still, there is an enormous need for interventions to help children with few language skills in Italian improve the teaching language.

535

Idem. Idem. 537 Idem. Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca (2017, April 28). Retrieved August 20, 2019, from www.istruzioneveneto.it. 536

2

Methodology

This chapter outlines the methodology of the study conducted in this thesis. The study’s objective is to get insight into the processes within music therapy in classes with students with mixed levels of language skills in order to improve music therapy interventions for scholastic inclusion. This chapter presents the timeline in which the project has been set and explains the study design in detail. Then the sample, the music therapy intervention, the linguistic test, and the evaluation of the children’s behavior in music therapy and regular school lessons are described, and the choices on why to use them are motivated. In the end, the planned analyses are outlined.

2.1

Timeline

The doctoral project follows the three-year course of the doctorate and is divided into three parts. In the first year (November 2016—October 2017), an extensive literature search is carried out, as methodological preparation of music therapy interventions and the linguistic test is selected. Furthermore, suitable schools are identified, and classes to participate in the project are recruited. The second year is dedicated to the practical-experimental part of the project, which takes place from February to June 2018. Music therapy is administered, and observational data from all the six participating classes are collected. The third year (July 2018—October 2019) is dedicated to the analysis of the data and the writing of the thesis.

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2022 S. I. Haering, The Impact of Music Therapy on Children in a Multicultural Elementary School, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-39330-4_2

121

122

2.2

2

Methodology

Study Design

The study design follows a within-subject design. All the participants of the study go through both an experimental (E) and a control condition (C). The children are not split into groups, but each child has at some point music therapy (E) and regular lessons (C). Half of the classes start with E, and the other half with C. Figure 2.1 illustrates the structure of the study design: three classes first pass the E and switch to C after six weeks. The other three classes start with C, respectively. The decision as to who starts with music therapy is randomly assigned.

Figure 2.1 Study Design

In E, the whole class receives active group music therapy interventions. The interventions are recorded on video,1 which is then used to evaluate the children’s behavior during music therapy using 5-step Likert scales. In C, the same 5-step Likert scales are used to evaluate their behavior during class activities. The schedule for both E and C is intended to be at the same time of the week. For example, if a class has their E every Wednesday at 11:30–12:30 for the first six weeks, then they also have the observation scheduled on Wednesdays around the same time, which is intended to help avoid secondary effects resulting from the timetable. For example, the children are expected to be less concentrated during the afternoon classes than during the morning classes. Would the data for C be collected during the morning, but the data for E in the afternoon, then the data would rather measure daytime-related differences in behavior than actual dissimilarities in behavior between E and C. Moreover, age effects are probable to occur in the child population over a longer period of time because of children’s natural cognitive development. Therefore, a rather short time has been chosen for the E and C, set each at six weeks for a total of 12 weeks, because the cognitive development a child might undergo in this amount of time seems to be negligible. The parents have presented informed 1

All the parents have been informed and presented a written informed consent. Only the children whose parents consented were registered.

2.3 Sample

123

consent before the start of the study. Then, the children in the study are tested for their level of language skills in Italian as measured by the Italian version of the Bus Story Test (It-BST). The results from the It-BST are then compared to the children’s behavior in E and C, using statistical software SPSS version 25. The design, as presented above, has been chosen for statistical and ethical reasons. In terms of statistics, the number of subjects is rather small for a study with quantitative measures. To get more information out of a small sample and to have E and C as comparable as possible, a within-subject design has been administered. Therefore, each student passes both the E and the C conditions. In terms of ethical reasons—and following the policy on inclusion in the Italian school system—every student ought to have the possibility to benefit from music therapy equally. Consequently, a disadvantage of not being allowed to participate in music activity needs to be avoided. No child should feel excluded. In terms of anonymization, each child is assigned a random number between 1 and 200.

2.3

Sample

The study seeks to cooperate with a primary school with a high proportion of ethnic diversity. As seen in the figure from the demographic report of Municipality 5, the area of Torpignattara is among those with the highest number of non-Italian citizens in Rome.2 As seen in Figure 2.2, there is a total of 8661 citizens with a foreign passport, most of whom come from Asia (4514) and EU countries (1705) in the year 2012. For the year 2017, Municipality 5 has a foreign population share of 17,2%, and its five most prominent populations are from Bangladesh (20,8%), Romania (18,5%), China (12,1%), Philippines (6,6%), and Egypt (4,1%) (Figure 2.2).3 The elementary school Pisacane (Scuola Primaria Pisacane) is part of the Istituto Comprensivo Simonetta Salacone and situated in Torpignattara. During the school year when the research was conducted, it had a total of 275 students.4 According to the statistics published by the school, 63 students are inscribed in the three first and 61 students in the three second classes.5 Due to fluctuations 2 Profilo Demografico del Municipio V (2014). Retrieved August 21, 2019, from www.urb anistica.comune.roma.it. 3 L’immigrazione a Roma: La popolazione straniera residente anno 2017 (2019, April 2). Retrieved August 21, 2019, from www.comune.roma.it. 4 Pisacane: Chi siamo (2015). Retrieved March 29, 2019, from www.cercalatuascuola.istruz ione.it. 5 Alunni e classi (2015). Retrieved March 29, 2019, from www.cercalatuascuola.istruzione.it.

124

2

Methodology

Figure 2.2 Non-Italian population in Municipality 5, Rome, Italy6

during the early months of the school year, a total of 105 children participated in the study, of which 52 were in the first and 53 in the second classes. The parents of the children were informed about the research and presented informed consent (liberatoria). 89 parents consented to both It-BST and video recordings.

Figure 2.3 Nationalities of Participants

6

Idem.

2.3 Sample

125

Of the remaining participants, the major part (55%) has Italian citizenship, and the second largest group comes from Bangladesh (20%). There is a considerable number of Chinese students (6%), while other nationalities make up 15% of the school population. These other nationalities include Arabia (1%), Ecuador (2%), Egypt (1%), India (1%), Korea (1%), Morocco (2%), Pakistan (1%), Peru (1%), Philippines (2%), Romania (2%) and Venezuela (1%). There is no data for 4% of the participants (Figure 2.3). The classification according to sex shows that there are slightly more female (52%) than male students (48%) (Figure 2.4). Figure 2.4 Distribution of Gender

48%

52%

f

m

Most children were born in 2010 and 2011. 1% of the children were born in 2008, 2% in 2009, 44% in 2010, 49% in 2011, and 4% in 2012 (Figure 2.5). Figure 2.6 specifies the information shown in Figure 2.5 by adding the percentages of children with Italian and non-Italian citizenship. Those children older than average tend to have non-Italian nationalities. All the children born in 2008 and 2009 have an immigration background, and it seems that children with a migrant background are more likely to repeat a class. This is in line with the literature according to which children with a migrant background are “3,4 times more likely than non-immigrant students to repeat a grade either in primary or secondary school, on average across OECD countries”,7 an effect that is “particularly large in countries that host relatively high percentages of asylum seekers,”8

7

Schleicher, A. (2015). Helping immigrant students to succeed at school—and beyond. Paris: OECD, p. 14. 8 Idem.

126

2

Methodology

Number of children

60% 49%

50%

44%

40%

30% 20% 10% 1%

2%

2008

2009

4%

0% 2010

2011

2012

Year of Birth

Figure 2.5 Year of Birth

and that remains stable even after “accounting for their performance in mathematics and reading and their socio-economic status.”9 In terms of age, the classes are, therefore, built up in a way that is common in schools with high migrant proportions.

3%

1%

2008

18%

19%

26%

27%

2%

2009 Italian citizenship

2%

2010 Non-Italian citizenship

Figure 2.6 Citizenship according to Year of Birth

9

Idem.

1%

2011 no data

1%

2012

2.4 Music Therapy Intervention

2.4

127

Music Therapy Intervention

The music therapy intervention is intended to connect the musical element of rhythm and movement because the literature shows that the “neural bases of rhythm and movement are fundamentally connected, and distributed across a wide range of brain regions”.10 Additionally, rhythm is well documented to be closely linked to language, especially grammar skills.11 Furthermore, movement has been shown to impact grammar skills.12 The connection of rhythm, movement, and language is also mentioned by Katie Overy13 and Robert Turner,14 who note that “musical rhythm is intimately connected with movement, strongly related to temporal aspects of language, and (c) potentially valuable in educational and therapeutic contexts”.15 Due to the strong links between (1) grammar and rhythm, (2) rhythm and movement, and (3) movement and language skills (Figure 2.7), music therapy interventions centering around these elements were chosen for the present study. The general intention is to use music therapy to facilitate personal expression, but due to a large number of participants per group, structured rather than free interventions were favored. For example, the children were encouraged to move to a rhythm given by the music therapist on an instrument or using body percussion. The children are instructed to move along with the varying rhythm,

10

Overy, K., & Turner, R. (2009). The Rhythmic Brain. Cortex, 45(1), 1–3. Taelman, H. (2007). Syllable Omissions and Additions in Dutch Child Language: An Inquiry into the Function of Rhythm and the Link with Innate Grammar. Language Acquisition, 14(1), 115–117; Gordon, R., et al. (2015a). Perspectives on the rhythm–grammar link and its implications for typical and atypical language development. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1337(1), 16–25; Gordon, R., et al. (2015b). Musical rhythm discrimination explains individual differences in grammar skills in children. Developmental Science, 18(4), 635–644; Bedoin, N., et al. (2016). Temporally Regular Musical Primes Facilitate Subsequent Syntax Processing in Children with Specific Language Impairment. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 10, 245. 12 Couper-Kuhlen, E. (2018). Finding a Place for Body Movement in Grammar. Research on Language and Social Interaction, 51(1), 22–25. 13 Senior Lecturer in Music and Director of the Institute for Music in Human and Social Development at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. 14 Director at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, Germany. 15 Overy, K., & Turner, R. (2009). The Rhythmic Brain. Cortex, 45(1), 1–3. 11

128

2

Figure 2.7 Theoretical Elements of Music Therapy Interventions

Methodology

Rhythm

Music Therapy Language/ Grammar Skills

Movement

which gets faster or slower, loud or quiet, simpler or more complex. The children can experiment with different percussion instruments and body percussion to produce sounds. Turn-taking, for instance, is targeted by sending one or several instruments through the circle, and everyone could play it either for a predefined time or imitating a previous rhythm. Furthermore, activities that include words in rhythmic play or the creation of simple rap songs with chorus and verse about the colors of the children’s clothes were performed. The choice of the intervention depends in part on the children’s form of the day. If a class is, e.g., very agitated and misses focus, interventions for concentration and calmness were used. These include staying silent for a defined amount of time and listening to the environment or sending an instrument that easily creates a sound, like maracas, through the circle to create as little noise as possible. These interventions were used to calm the children and redirect their attention toward the music activities. Therefore, the sound produced during the sessions was not always voluble. In each music therapy session, there is always at least one accompanying teacher present, according to the school regulation. All interventions take place in the Aula Magna of the school, which allows for enough room to build a chair circle, and for the children to move freely. First, children would have their own seats, but as the sessions proceeded, they were allowed to move increasingly freely. Instruments are provided by the school, which has a selection of diverse percussion instruments, including rattles, bongos, maracas, tambourines, and various drums. During the sessions, a total of three and six instruments are used on

2.5 Bus Story Test, Italian version (It-BST)

129

average. One instrument at a time is first presented and then gradually explored. Interventions were scheduled once a week for one hour each over the course of six weeks. Since some children were not at school due to, e.g., illness, there was not always the full number of children present. The number of participating children fluctuated between 14 and 22, with an average of 18.

2.5

Bus Story Test, Italian version (It-BST)

2.5.1

Bus Story Test (BST)

The Bus Story Test (BST) was designed in 1977 in the UK by speech therapist Catherine Renfrew as part of the Renfrew Language Scales Set, which also includes the Word Finding Vocabulary Test16 and the Action Picture Test17 . The BST is a test for oral narrative language skills and assesses the level of consecutive speech from the information content, sentence length, and grammatical usage by having the child retell a story. The test includes a colored picture storybook telling the story of a naughty red bus that runs away from its driver and has adventures. For instance, it makes a race with a train, meets a police officer and a cow, and ends up falling into a pond, from which its driver needs to save it.18 A scoring form and a manual are included, and audio recording equipment is required. Each child has to be investigated individually, and any accompanying person is instructed neither to comment nor to help in the retelling of the story. Looking at the same picture book, the examiner reads the story to the child keeping strictly to the text presented in the manual and pointing to the respective pictures while doing so. The child is encouraged to retell the story while being recorded. Should the child block or stop during the task, the examiner gives only minimal prompting by asking, “and then?” or “what next?”.19 In a third step, the recording needs to be transcribed to the scoring form, following a set of transcription

16

Renfrew, C. (1995). Word finding vocabulary test, London: Speechmark. Renfrew, C. (2016). The Renfrew Language Scales: Action Picture Test. London: Speechmark. 18 Renfrew, C. (1997). Bus Story Test: A test of narrative speech, London: Speechmark, p. 6. 19 Idem, p. 5. 17

130

2

Methodology

rules, to evaluate the sentences according to their structure. The guidelines of transcription are summarized as follows:20 – Simple sentences consist of only one clause (e.g., the train went into a tunnel). – Compound sentences that are built up with several main clauses and connected by coordinating conjunctions (e.g., and, then, so) are treated as isolated sentences. – A compound sentence linked by coordinating conjunctions, in which the subject is not repeated, is considered one sentence because the clauses only make sense when combined. – Complex sentences contain a main clause and a subordinate clause that is linked by subordinating conjunctions (e.g., when, because, who, so that). – Incomprehensible speech is replaced by a series of dots. – Incomplete sentences are included in the transcript only if they are connected to the story. The transcript is then scored for information, sentence length, and subordinate clauses. By comparing the transcript to a list of words on the sheet, a score for information is obtained. Each word or its synonym is scored with either one or two points, with a possible total of 65 points (63 in the Italian version).21 Sentence length is assessed by counting the words of a sentence according to the transcription rules after eliminating filler words like and, then, or well. Only the five longest sentences are then taken into consideration to calculate the A5LS, the average sentence length.22 Lastly, the total number of subordinate clauses is counted. Social class seems to affect the test results, as stated by Renfrew in the 4th edition of the BST.23 As an example, children from different social classes but with matched IQ show significant differences in sentence length and the number of subordinate clauses,24 showing that socially disadvantaged children tend to use fewer complex sentences than their non-disadvantaged peers.25 Correlations 20

Idem, pp. 6–8. Idem, p. 8. 22 Idem, p. 9. 23 Idem, p. 15. 24 Tough (1977) in: Idem, p. 15. 25 Francis, H. (1974). Social Background, Speech and Learning to Read, British Journal of Educational Psychology, 44, 290–299. In: Edwards, J. (1989). Language and Disadvantage, 2nd editon, Cole and Whurr, in: Idem, p. 15. 21

2.5 Bus Story Test, Italian version (It-BST)

131

between language skills and socioeconomic background were also confirmed in newer research: “socioeconomic background is associated with language ability in adolescence as measured by standardized tests. In particular, adolescents from an area of socioeconomic disadvantage were at risk of low vocabulary scores”.26 Also, “children living in concentrated poverty were more likely to experience language of more limited complexity and diversity in both home and kindergarten contexts as compared to children living in borderline communities.”27 Therefore, the general tendency that children in working-class homes have a lower level of language skills is reflected in the BST. Additionally, maternal education and race showed to affect the BST results,28 indicating a cultural impact, which is further supported by the finding that minority children tend to score significantly lower on sentence length than on information scores when compared to European American children.29 In consequence, socioeconomic status and sociocultural differences must be taken into consideration when evaluating the BST with bilingual children. And in fact, it is a common point of critique that the BST might not be sufficiently adapted for children from diverse cultural, linguistic, and socio-economic backgrounds due to not providing enough parallel illustrative stimuli to assess several languages.30 However, other research indicates that Spanish-English bilinguals perform better using the language used in the classroom, even if it is not their mother tongue.31 A possible reason is the fact that many materials used during the early school

26

Spencer, S., Clegg, J., & Stackhouse, J. (2012). Language and Disadvantage: A Comparison of the Language Abilities of Adolescents from Two Different Socioeconomic Areas. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 47(3), 274–284. 27 Neuman, S. B., Kaefer, T., & Pinkham, A. M. (2018). A Double Dose of Disadvantage: Language Experiences for Low-Income Children in Home and School. Journal of Educational Psychology, 110(1), 102–118. 28 van Kleeck, A., Lange, A., & Schwarz, A. (2011). The effects of race and maternal education level on children’s retells of the Renfrew Bus Story—North American Edition. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 54(6), 1546–1561. 29 Pankratz, M., Plante, E., Vance, R., & Insalaco, D. (2007). The diagnostic and predictive validity of the Renfrew Bus Story. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 390– 399. 30 Gagarina, N.et al. (2016). Assessment of narrative abilities in bilingual children. Assessing multilingual children: Disentangling bilingualism from language impairment, 37(1), 243– 276. 31 Gutiérrez-Clellen V. (2002). Narratives in Two Languages: Assessing Performance of Bilingual Children. Linguistics and Education, 13(2), 175–197.

132

2

Methodology

years utilize a narrative format,32 and children undertaking the BST are familiar with this kind of task at school and in the language of instruction. Therefore, it needs to be taken into consideration that narrations in bilingual children may differ depending on the style in which the narration or retelling task is administered, and cultural dispositions might influence the results—especially in children who have not lived for a long time in the L2 environment. Comprehension and recall of a narrative may differ in both languages, however, showing a better performance in the teaching language. In 1993 and 1994, the test was standardized on 573 children aged 3,6 to 8,0 years, which were mostly from Social Class III areas in South East England. Reliability was tested on 13 children by administering the BST twice within a short amount of time, showing that the children showed either no or only a slightly higher score in the second test. Validity was tested in 1990 on 27 children.33 The American version34 was normed on 418 children from 3,0 to 6,11 years, retest reliability was tested on 27 children (4,0–6,11 years), and interrater reliability was analyzed by comparing 25 transcriptions effectuated by four examiners.

2.5.2

Italian Version of the Bus Story Test (It-BST)

Since Italian is the teaching language of the population in this investigation, the Italian version of the BST (It-BST) has been conducted for this study. It has been translated into Italian for the pilot35 with 80 typically developing preschool children has been done in 2012. Reliability, validity, and normative data for an Italian-speaking population were provided in 2016 by Mozzanica et al.36 on a population of 552 children. 32

Snyder, L., & Caccamise, D. (2010). Comprehension processes for expository text: Building meaning and making sense. In: Nippold, M. & Scott, C. (eds.), Expository discourse in children, adolescents, and adults, New York: Psychology Press, pp. 13–39. 33 Renfrew, C. (1997). Bus Story Test: A test of narrative speech, London: Speechmark, pp. 18–19. 34 Renfrew, Cowley, & Glasgow (1994). In: Mozzanica, F., et al. (2016). Reliability, validity and normative data of the Italian version of the Bus Story test. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, 89, 17–24. 35 Zarmati, G., Cipriani, P., Mozzanica, F., Salvadorini, R. (2012). Abilità narrative in epoca prescolare con una prova di retelling: studio pilota in soggetti italiani, I Care, 3, 80–87. 36 Mozzanica, F., et al. (2016). Reliability, validity and normative data of the Italian version of the Bus Story test. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, 89, 17–24.

2.5 Bus Story Test, Italian version (It-BST)

133

Zarmati et al.37 published the translation of the BST into Italian. A professional translator and two bilingual examiners produced the translation. Two experienced phoneticians examined semantics, idiomatic and conceptional issues. The final version has then been translated back into English by two professional translators. The back-translation was then compared to the English original. This procedure followed the guidelines for the process of cross-cultural adaptation of self-report measures.38 To gain the normative data on the It-BST, 552 typically developing children (m: 278; f: 274) from 36 to 101 months of age were recruited from both urban and rural kindergarten and school classes in Northern Italy. All were Native Italian and from various socio-economic backgrounds because a low socio-economic status correlates with lower scores on the BST. The BST was administered by trained assessors who underwent a training program on the use of the BST.39 The data gained from the 552 children were used to determine normative data for the It-BST. Following the structure of the English manual, 11 age groups at half-year intervals were defined. However, since two of the age groups consisted of too few children to provide statistically relevant data, the normative data were set for only nine age groups.40 For the reliability analysis, 145 children were randomly selected from the total population, and a two-way mixed-effects model (consistency definition) for intraclass correlation coefficients was calculated. The test was repeated within two weeks because no significant change in the language skills of the children was to be expected in this brief time. Inter- and intra-rater reliability was assessed on a randomly selected sample of 178 recordings. Two raters completed the task twice within one week, and the data was analyzed using once again intraclass correlation coefficients. All the reliabilities for test-retest, intra-, and inter-rater for information, sentence length, and subordinate clause scores were at least r = 0.90.41 Validity was tested on 9 age groups with at least 50 children per age

37

Zarmati, G., Cipriani, P., Mozzanica, F., Salvadorini, R. (2012). In: Mozzanica, F., et al. (2016). Reliability, validity and normative data of the Italian version of the Bus Story test. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, 89, 17–24. 38 Beaton, D., Bombardier, C., Guillemin, F., Ferraz, M. (2000). In: Mozzanica, F., et al. (2016). Reliability, validity and normative data of the Italian version of the Bus Story test. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, 89, 17–24. 39 Mozzanica, F., et al. (2016). Reliability, validity and normative data of the Italian version of the Bus Story test. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, 89, 17–24. 40 Idem. 41 Idem.

134

2

Methodology

Table 2.1 Comparison of Reliability, validity, and normative data in the English and Italian Version of the BST42 English version

American version43

Italian version

Number of subjects

573 children

418 children

552 children

Age of subjects

3,6–8,0 years

3,0–6,11 years

3,0–8,5 years

Retest Reliability

No data

27 children (4,0–6,11 years) Info: r = 0,79 A5LS: r = 0,72 Sub. Cl.: r = 0,58

145 children; Info: r = 0,93 A5LS: r = 0,98 Sub. Cl.: r = 0,80

Inter- and Intra-rater Reliability

No data

25 transcriptions, 4 raters;

178 transcriptions; 2 raters; Intrarater: Info: r = 0,98 A5LS: r = 0,96 Sub. Cl.: r = 0,95 Interrater: Info: r = 0,92 A5LS: r = 0,91 Sub. Cl.: r = 0,90

Year

1993/94

2016

Validity

1990; 27 children

2016; Significant effects for age are reported

group, and significant age effects were found.44 Table 2.1 provides an overview of the reliability and validity data from the English, American, and Italian versions of the BST.

42 Based on: Mozzanica, F., et al. (2016). Reliability, validity and normative data of the Italian version of the Bus Story test. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, 89, 17–24,. 43 Renfrew, Cowley, & Glasgow (1994). In: Mozzanica, F., et al. (2016). Reliability, validity and normative data of the Italian version of the Bus Story test. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, 89, 17–24. 44 Idem.

2.5 Bus Story Test, Italian version (It-BST)

135

The main differences between the English and Italian versions of the BST are summarized in Table 2.2. Most notably, the maximum information score of both versions differs. While the English version allows a maximum of 65 points, the highest score in the Italian version is 63. The It-BST has normative data for nine age groups while the original has eleven since the Italian validation study only considers age groups with more than 50 children, and the groups ranging from 3,6 to 3,11 and 8,6 to 8,11 include fewer subjects. Lastly, the Italian adaption does not provide the possibility to rate for articulation, vocabulary, accidence, and syntax on the scoring form, while the English version does. Table 2.2 Differences between the Italian and English Version of the BST BST

It-BST

Max. Information Score: 65

Max. Information Score: 63

11 age groups at half-year intervals; 10 age groups in the 4th edition UK version

9 age groups at half-year intervals

Scores for articulation, vocabulary, accidence, and syntax prevised

Scores for articulation, vocabulary, accidence, and syntax NOT prevised

2.5.3

Application of the BST in the literature

The literature shows that BST has been used in several studies to measure language skills in children. In the following, some of these are presented. For example, the BST has been used to compare German/English bilingual children to investigate differences in performance between each child’s retelling in German and English and correlations between the BST and other measures such as assessments of vocabulary and mean length of utterance (MLU). The sample consists of 16 children between 7;3 to 10;2 years who attend a German-medium school in England and have at least one German-speaking parent. The results indicate that standard measures in both bilinguals and monolinguals seem similar, while the retellings reveal differences between the English-and German-dominant children, the dominant language being the one in which the children scored higher on the productive vocabulary score.45 In another study, the BST is part of a test battery to evaluate the evidence-based intervention Talking Time, which is designed to 45

Schelletter, C., & Parke, T. (2004). Using story re-tell in bilingual assessment. Academic Exchange Quarterly, 8(3), 1–9.

136

2

Methodology

support the oral language skills of at-risk preschool children who learn English as their second language. Narrative abilities were measured in three groups, one receiving Talking Time Interventions, another who participated in story reading, and a no-intervention control group, which followed a standard curriculum that is considered a model of good practice by the Local Authority Advisory team.46 But the BST is not only used to evaluate the narrative language skills in bilingual children but also to compare mono- and bilingual children with specific language impairments in Language Units in England. In a study47 dating back to 1997, the BST is used as part of a linguistic test battery. In general, bilingual children show to have less diversity in combinations of language difficulties, and those bilinguals who have problems with semantics and/or pragmatics (SPD) perform better on the subordinate clauses of the BST when compared to their monolingual peers. As discussed by the authors, this might indicate that the group of monolinguals with SPD is more heterogeneous than the group of bilinguals with SPD. A more recent Canadian study48 from 2010 on children with specific language impairment (SLI), who are either monolingual English speakers or dual language learners,49 examines the link between narrative skills and dual language learning “by comparing the performance of monolingual children with SLI and dual language learners with SLI on standardized tests and narrative measures.”50 To measure narrative outcomes, the BST and the Edmonton Narrative Norms Instrument were administered. However, no significant differences were detected in the children’s narrative skills between the groups. Apart from studies on bilingual populations, the BST is used in a number of other studies on children with language impairment. For example, a Swedish

46

Dockrell, J., Stuart, M., & King, D. (2010). Supporting early oral language skills for English language learners in inner city preschool provision. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 80(4), 497–515. 47 Crutchley, A., Conti-Ramsden, G., & Botting, N. (1997). Bilingual Children with Specific Language Impairment and Standardised Assessments: Preliminary Findings from a Study of Children in Language Units. International Journal of Bilingualism, 1(2), 117–134. 48 Cleave, P., Girolametto, L., Chen, X., & Johnson, C. (2010). Narrative abilities in monolingual and dual language learning children with specific language impairment. Journal of Communication Disorders, 43(6), 511–522. 49 Dual Language Learner (DLL): children who live in a household where a language other than English is spoken. 50 Cleave, P., Girolametto, L., Chen, X., & Johnson, C. (2010). Narrative abilities in monolingual and dual language learning children with specific language impairment. Journal of Communication Disorders, 43(6), 518.

2.5 Bus Story Test, Italian version (It-BST)

137

research51 used the BST, in combination with an articulation test for Swedish phonemes and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised, to monitor the progress of six 5- and 6-year-olds in color-based language therapy and to examine the narrative speech skills of children with 22q11 deletion syndrome,52 “a disorder caused by the deletion of a piece of chromosome 22”.53 Another example is a study that includes the BST, among other tests, to assess the language skills of language-impaired children and found significant correlations between the measures of the BST and other measurements, such as Renfrew’s Word Finding Vocabulary Test.54 When investigating narrative skills in 7 to 8-year-old children with severe pragmatic impairment and specific language impairment (SLI) by administering storytelling, and a story re-telling task (BST), a study55 from England found differences in both groups, indicating BST results on information scores within the normal range, and sentence length as well as subordinate clauses below the normal range. Additionally, the BST was used among other measures in an American longitudinal study to monitor the progress in language skills over the course of 2 years in 2 to 4-year-old children with typically developing, late-developing, and impaired language, showing.56 Therefore, the BST has a history of being used with children with language impairment and in bilingual populations and has proved to be a valid, easy-to-administer measure to evaluate language skills.

51

Bolderson, S., et al. (2011). Colourful semantics: a clinical investigation. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 3, 344–353. 52 Persson, C., et al. (2006). Language skills in 58-year-old children with 22q11 deletion syndrome. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 41(3), 313–333. 53 NIH U.S. National Library of Medicine. (2019, Feb 5). Retrieved February 11, 2019, from Genetics Home Reference: ghr.nlm.nih.gov. 54 Howlin, P., & Kendall, L. (1991). In: Schelletter, C., & Parke, T. (2004). Using story re-tell in bilingual assessment. Academic Exchange Quarterly, 8(3), 1–9. 55 Botting N. (2002). Narrative as a tool for the assessment of linguistic and pragmatic Impairments. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 18(1), 1–21. 56 Paul, R., & Smith, R. (1993). Narrative Skills in 4-Year-Olds with Normal, Impaired, and Late-Developing Language. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 36(3), 592–598.

138

2.5.4

2

Methodology

Motivation for choosing the It-BST as a tool of measurement

The BST has been selected as a measurement in the present study because of its high predictability of future language skills and academic success. There is evidence that the BST might predict future language performance in children with SLI as found in an American study, demonstrating that especially the “length score […] is indicated as a good predictor of future language performance as it was found to have higher correlations and a greater proportion of large effect size relationships with later language and literacy measures as compared with the Information score”.57 And the BST was found to have a strong connection to later literacy.58 These research outcomes indicate the importance of language skills on future success rates, but also cultural or socioeconomic effects might be of influence. When administered with migrant populations, the BST tends to show lower scores as language skills in the teaching language might vary. Narration, in general, has been proven to be essential for academic achievement and social success. It predicts long-term language skills, as, for example, young children’s oral language proficiency is vital to their future language performance,59 their participation in class, and consequently their academic success.60 Also, reading achievements are influenced by prior problems in vocabulary, grammar, and narration.61 In fact, the link of narrative skills to the development of linguistic skills, like reading, speaking, and writing, are well documented in several studies.62 For instance, the ability to understand and reconstruct stories is 57

Pankratz, M., Plante, E., Vance, R., & Insalaco, D. (2007). The diagnostic and predictive validity of the Renfrew Bus Story. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 390– 399. 58 Stothard, S., et al. (1998). Language-impaired preschoolers: a follow-up into adolescence, Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 41, 407–418. 59 Bishop, D. V., & Edmundson, A. (1987). Language Impaired 4-year-olds: Distinguishing Transient from Persistent Impairment. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 52, 156– 173. 60 Bishop, D. V., & Adams, C. (1990). A prospective study of the relationship between specific language impairment, phonological disorders and reading retardation. Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, 31(7), 1027–1050; Boudreau, D. (2008). Narrative abilities—Advances in research and implications for clinical practice. Topics in Language Disorders, 28, 99–114. 61 Catts, H. W., & Hogan, T. P. (2003). Language basis of reading disabilities and implications for early identification and remediation. Reading Psychology, 24, 223–246. 62 Stothard, S., et al. (1998). Language-impaired preschoolers: a follow-up into adolescence, Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 41, 407–418;

2.5 Bus Story Test, Italian version (It-BST)

139

connected to the development of literacy skills, such as text comprehension63 or writing skills.64 Westby, as well as Roth and Spekman, have discussed why narration is such a useful indicator for future school success. In the following, the main points are summarized:65 – Narratives depend less on context than conversations and are consequently more similar to decontextualized teaching material and language, as it is used at school during lessons. – Storytelling involves a macro-structure to organize the discourse. The ability to follow macro-structures is also demanded during lessons. – Feedback, which is crucial for conversation situations, is less critical in narratives which is more presuppositional in nature. – Narration requires conscious decisions about the most effective way to relate the tale. This is a metalinguistic skill similar to those needed for producing written texts.

Kaderavek, J., Sulzby, E. (2000). Narrative production by children with and without specific language impairment: oral narratives and emergent readings. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 43, 34–49; Griffin, T., Hemphill, L., Camp, L., Wolf, D. (2004). Oral discourse in the preschool years and later literacy skills, First Language, 24, 123–147; Miller, J., et al. (2006), Oral language and reading in bilingual children, Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 21, 30–43; Reese, E., Suggtate, S., Long, J., Schaughency, E. (2009). Children’s oral narrative and reading skills in the first 3 years of reading instruction, Reading and Writing, 23, 627–644. 63 Gutiérrez-Clellen V. (2002). Narratives in Two Languages: Assessing Performance of Bilingual Children. Linguistics and Education, 13(2), 175–197. 64 Shrubshall P. (1997). In: Schelletter, C., & Parke, T. (2004). Using story re-tell in bilingual assessment. Academic Exchange Quarterly, 8(3), 1–9. 65 Westby (1989), and Roth & Spekman (1989), in: Paul, R., & Smith, R. (1993). Narrative Skills in 4-Year-Olds with Normal, Impaired, and Late-Developing Language. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 36(3), 592–598.

140

2

Methodology

In bilingual and bicultural populations, narratives are proven to provide better insight into language skills than standardized language tests,66 as they are considered more lifelike67 , and telling stories is a familiar script for most children.68 Coming from the observation that bilinguals score quite similarly to monolingual children on narrative production and comprehension skills but not on vocabulary, morphology, and syntax,69 there is further support for the idea that narration is a suitable evaluation method for bilingual children. Furthermore, narratives are not only crucial in the school context but also applied regularly during everyday conversations. Consequently, narrative assessment can be considered a reflection of natural behavior.70 Accordingly, narration-based testing methods seem to measure the actual linguistic abilities of children, both bilingual and monolingual, more accurately than standardized tests in general and to underline the skills that are essential to school life and learning. Thus, evaluating narration abilities at an early age provides information on how adapted a child is to the challenges of the school environment—and in consequence, his/her ability to succeed in a school environment. Still, bilingual populations seem to tackle narration tasks slightly differently from monolinguals. Most importantly, vocabulary skills in bilingual children do not predict syntactic ability, which means that even where a bilingual child is more limited in word choice due to her/his vocabulary, this does not necessarily

66

Bedore, L., & Pena, E. (2008). Assessment of bilingual children for identification of language impairment: Current findings and implications for practice. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 11, 1–29; Cleave, P., Girolametto, L., Chen, X., & Johnson, C. (2010). Narrative abilities in monolingual and dual language learning children with specific language impairment. Journal of Communication Disorders, 43(6), 511–522. 67 Pena, E., Summer, C., & Resendiz, M. (2007). Language variation, assessment and intervention. In: Kamhi, A., Masterson, J., & Apel, K. (eds.) (2009). Clinical decision making in developmental language disorders, Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing, pp. 99–118; Rojas, R., & Iglesia, A. (2009). Making a case for language sampling: Assessment and intervention with (Spanish-English) second-language learners. The ASHA Leader, 14, 10–13. 68 Cleave, P., Girolametto, L., Chen, X., & Johnson, C. (2010). Narrative abilities in monolingual and dual language learning children with specific language impairment. Journal of Communication Disorders, 43(6), 511–522. 69 Boerma, T., et al. (2016). Narrative abilities of monolingual and bilingual children with and without language impairment: Implications for clinical practice. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 51(6), 626–638. 70 Botting, N. (2002). Narrative as a tool for the assessment of linguistic and pragmatic impairments. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 18, 1–21.

2.5 Bus Story Test, Italian version (It-BST)

141

affect her/his syntactic abilities.71 On the BST, that means that children with a low vocabulary score might very well have a high sentence length or subordinate clause score. Also, the difficulties in vocabulary that bilingual and dual learners face more frequently than monolinguals lead to a number of strategies when lexical challenges arise.72 For example, if a specific word is not known, a child might choose another word or describe the object, which results in a longer phrase and, consequently, in a higher sentence length score. More repetition of similar sentence structures or words and less variety in sentence structure and vocabulary are expected in bilinguals.73 These differences have to be taken into consideration when examining the results of the BST in bilingual children. The present research study went specifically for a story re-telling task as opposed to a storytelling task for the chosen population because the literature shows that re-telling produced the most linguistically complex and most extended stories in bilingual children,74 and, for instance, a Dutch study found greater complexity associated with re-telling when compared to free narration.75 Moreover, when associating story re-telling and the performance on two standardized screening tools for kindergarten and early school children, results suggest that story re-telling is a more reliable measure of integrated communicative performance.76 These findings suggest not only the predictive value of re-telling tasks on future linguistic skills and academic success but also on social skills. However, current research also suggests that language skills as measured by the BST

71

Schelletter, C., & Parke, T. (2004). Using story re-tell in bilingual assessment. Academic Exchange Quarterly, 8(3), 1–9. 72 Parke T. (2001). Words and Turns: Bilingual and Monolingual Children Construct a Story. Linguistics and Education, 12(4), 409–430. 73 Shrubshall P. (1997). Narrative, Argument and Literacy: A Comparative Study of the Narrative Discourse Development of Monolingual and Bilingual 5–10-Year-Old Learners. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 18(5), 402–421. 74 Gibson, T., Peña, E., & Bedore, L. (2018). The Receptive–Expressive Gap in English Narratives of Spanish-English Bilingual Children with and without Language Impairment. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 61(6), 1381–1392. 75 Duinmeijer, I., De Jong, J., & Scheper, A. (2012). Narrative Abilities, Memory and Attention in Children with a Specific Language Impairment. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 47(5), 542–555. 76 Culatta, B., Page, J., & Ellis, J. (1983). Story retelling as a communicative performance screening tool. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 14(2), 66–74.

142

2

Methodology

do not correlate with social cognition, in particular ToM relevant issues of emotion understanding and false belief.77 On the other hand, BST has been found to correlate with verbal working memory in a Dutch study that examines the correlations of BST tasks with measuring sustained auditory attention and verbal working memory.78 Another example presents evidence for a significant relationship between phonological working memory and spoken language in typically developing children when applying the BST to measure language skills.79 This is particularly interesting because working memory measures are known to have predictive qualities for academic success, too.80 The BST results might, therefore, be prognostic of academic achievement. These findings indicate that rather than empathy skills (ToM and emotion understanding), it is cognition of language that defines children’s ability to communicate. Narrative language skills might, therefore, identify communication skills, but emotion understanding has no effect on narrative language skills as measured by the BST. A possible explanation is that the use of fictional narratives might be training for personal stories, which in turn are essential for bonding with others and maintaining a social life: Despite this attention to fictional narratives, the importance of personal event narratives should not be underestimated. Personal event narratives can be defined as recounts of past events that have been experienced by the speaker and competence in personal narrative ability has been linked to socio-emotional wellbeing and identity development.81

In conclusion, BST has been chosen as a measurement tool in this study because of its high predictability of future language skills, communication abilities, and 77

Cutting, A., & Dunn, J. (1999). Theory of Mind, Emotion Understanding, Language, and Family Background: Individual Differences and Interrelations. Child Development, 70(4), 853–865. 78 Duinmeijer, I., De Jong, J., & Scheper, A. (2012). Narrative Abilities, Memory and Attention in Children with a Specific Language Impairment. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 47(5), 542–555. 79 Adams, A., & Gathercole, S. (1996). Phonological working memory and spoken language development in young children. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section A, 49(1), 216–233. 80 Alloway, T., & Alloway, R. (2010). Investigating the predictive roles of working memory and IQ in academic attainment. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 106(1), 20–29; Kate Cockcroft. (2015). The role of working memory in childhood education: Five questions and answers. South African Journal of Childhood Education, 5(1), 1–18. 81 Reed, V. A., & Spicer, L. (2003). The relative importance of selected communication skills for adolescents’ interactions with their teachers: High school teachers’ opinions. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 34, 343–357.

2.6 Evaluation of Behavior in Experimental and Control Condition

143

academic achievement. It seems suitable for bilingual and dual learner populations, even if the results must be discussed carefully. It is a re-telling task and, therefore, more reliable than a storytelling task in terms of bilingual populations.

2.6

Evaluation of Behavior in Experimental and Control Condition

2.6.1

Likert Scale and Procedure

To evaluate the children’s behavior, a set of four Likert scales from 1 to 5 are administered: one each for misbehavior, participation, attention, and silence (Figure 2.8). The scales are compiled for each child and for each E and C session by one observer who is also the music therapist. In E, it is not possible to collect the data during or immediately after the intervention with the necessary degree of accuracy. Therefore, the scales were compiled later based on video registrations of each intervention. In C, the scales were compiled during the observation of regular classroom activity. In the following, details on the compilation of the scales are outlined.

Figure 2.8 Sheet for Evaluation of Behavior

2.6.2

Misbehavior

The misbehavior scale is used to evaluate the degree of disruptive behavior a child displays. It is loosely based on the 5-step scale used in a study from 1990

144

2

Methodology

to assess students’ misbehavior by rating it from never (1) to always (5).82 Similarly, the children’s misbehavior is measured, for there is either no/few/some/much or very much disrupting behavior. Ratings for behavior seem important because it correlates with “future earnings and educational attainment.”83 In order to justify the ratings given to each child, the following list outlines which behavior is considered disrupting and which is not: With 1 is assessed if there is no unwanted behavior whatsoever. It is not regarded as disruptive if a child behaves in accordance with the rules of the classroom. A 2 is awarded if the child shows some mild unwanted behavior. For example, a child might be carried away by excitement over the topic and forget to raise their hand before asking or answering a question. The comments or questions remain within the subject treated in the lesson/session. A child assessed with 3 does not partake in the activity but engages in other tasks. For example, the child leaves the group or does not interact with the other children. She/he might instead paint something or dedicate herself to homework, or the child calls questions or objections into the class that has nothing to do with the activity. When rated 4, the behavior of the child is considered disrupting, but the lesson/session can still be continued without interruption. Examples are when the child withdraws physically from the activity and influences classmates from another part of the classroom. Leaving the class unannounced can be rated as 4 if a significant disturbance of the lesson accompanies it. Lastly, a child is assessed with 5 when her/his behavior makes it impossible to continue the intervention and the lesson or session needs to be interrupted. For example, the child shows aggressive behavior by starting a fight with a classmate. The rating scale for misbehavior is, therefore, closely related to the activity level of the children, and the higher the misbehavior rating, the more active the children.

2.6.3

Participation

The participation scale measures the children’s degree of participation. Like in the misbehavior scale, the children are evaluated for showing no/few/some/much/very much participation. 1 stands for no participation at all. Children who are rated 1 never raise their hands during the activity, do not ask questions, and do not show signs of engaging in the topic treated. A child who gets 2 for participation shows few interactions with the teacher or the materials presented during the lesson. For example, he or she might occasionally engage in a writing task but 82 83

Segal, C. (2008). Classroom Behavior. The Journal of Human Resources, 43(4), 783–814. Segal (2005). In: Idem.

2.6 Evaluation of Behavior in Experimental and Control Condition

145

stop it after a little time. 3 equals some participation, and a child with this vote gets involved in the teacher’s interventions around half the time, while the other half is dedicated to either interaction with peers or other tasks. A child who is 4 on the participation scale is generally interested and devotes time and effort to the exercises provided by the teacher, asks questions, and seeks to answer the teacher’s questions. A vote of 5 indicates that the child is very interested and, on top of following the teacher’s guidance, engages in the topic creatively and thus makes an effort to develop the subject further. Participation is a key factor for students’ success and well-being at school.84 In other words, the higher the engagement, the more likely the student is to get good grades and the better the classroom climate. Participation is, consequently, an essential factor in academic success. This is why the participation scale is included in the present study.

2.6.4

Attention

The attention scale refers to the child’s ability to focus on the session or lesson. Other than the participation scale, the attention scale is less about doing a task but more about following the experience. Questions that surround the attention scale are: Does the child immediately start a task? How much eye contact does the child make with the teacher or other peers? On the scale, 1 stands for no attention. The child does not show any interest in the session. 2 indicates that the child focuses a little (maximum 25% of the time) on the activity and elements surrounding the session or lecture, like the blackboard, instruments, or teacher. If a child is rated 3 on the attention scale, she/he pays attention around half of the time, and 4 stands for much attention—at around 75% of the time, and 5 indicates full attention through the course of the activity. Attention is an essential factor for academic achievement. For instance, a systematic review85 from the Netherlands on 16 studies found evidence for a negative association between attention problems and academic success, which was still valid after controlling for intelligence, comorbidity, and socioeconomic status. In other words, children who exhibit difficulties in paying attention to 84

Ahlström, B. (2010). Student Participation and School Success—The relationship between participation, grades and bullying among 9th grade students in Sweden. Education Inquiry, 1(2), 97–115. 85 Polderman, T., et al. (2010). A systematic review of prospective studies on attention problems and academic achievement. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 122(4), 271–284.

146

2

Methodology

the school lessons are at risk of having less success at school.86 Attention is, therefore, an important factor for the students’ scholastic career. It might be an essential factor for music therapy in schools as well because, for instance, music activity has shown to increase visual attention in children,87 and “attentive behavior is significantly higher during music-based sessions”88 when compared to play-based interventions.

2.6.5

Silence

The silence scale measures the amount of time in which the child is silent during the session or lesson. In general, it does not specify the level of attentiveness in an individual. Silence can be both active listening or “zooming out,” and it is defined as no talking nor making other types of sound. On the rating scale, 1 indicates that there is no or only very little silence to be seen in the child, and the child is consequently very energetic, while 2 signifies that the child is silent for around 25% of the time. In accordance with the previous scales, 3 stands for a child being quiet for about half of the time, and a child rated 4 is calm most of the time (ca. 75%). A child who is quiet during the whole—or almost the whole—session or lesson is rated 5 on the silent scale. Silence is investigated as an important aspect of verbal and musical conversation. It allows for active listening and is indispensable for turn-taking.89 It can, therefore, be considered an essential element of conversation, especially when music is involved90 and serve as an indicator of a student’s expressiveness.

86

Idem. Roden, I., et al. (2014). Effects of Music Training on Attention, Processing Speed and Cognitive Music Abilities: Findings from a Longitudinal Study. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 28(4), 545–557. 88 Robb, S. (2003). Music Interventions and Group Participation Skills of Preschoolers with Visual Impairments: Raising Questions about Music, Arousal, and Attention. Journal of Music Therapy, 40(4), 266–282. 89 Sacks, H., Schegloff, E., & Jefferson, G. (1974). A Simplest Systematics for the Organization of Turn-Taking for Conversation. Language, 50(4), 696–735. 90 Sutton, J. (2002). “The Pause That Follows”: Silence, Improvised Music and Music Therapy. Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 11(1), 27–38. 87

2.7 Analysis of the Data

2.7

147

Analysis of the Data

The data is analyzed using SPSS, version 25. In the following, MT stands for music therapy and refers to the experimental condition; C indicates the control condition. Med is the abbreviation for the median. Beh refers to the misbehavior scale, Part to the participation scale, Att to the attention scale, and Sil to the silence scale. Consequently, MT med Beh represents the median of all sessions on the misbehavior scale in the experimental condition; C med Sil means the median of all lessons on the silence scale in the control condition. The median of the Likert Scales is calculated for the six encounters in both music therapy (MT_med_Beh, MT_med_Part, MT_med_Att, MT_med_Sil) and control condition (C_med_Beh, C_med_Part, C_med_Att, C_med_Sil). In regard to Hypothesis 1, a paired sample t-test is performed to find differences between E and C for each scale is conducted: – – – –

MT_med_Beh and C_med_Beh, MT_med_Part and C_med_Part, MT_med_Att and C_med_Att, MT_med_Sil and C_med_Sil.

Then in order to address Hypothesis 2, the medians of E are compared to the four measures of the It-BST: the vocabulary score (BST_voc), the phrase length (BST_phr), the A5LS (BST_A5LS), and the subordinate clauses (BST_sub). Thus, correlations are calculated for: MT_med_Beh/ MT_med_Part/ MT_med_Att/ MT_med_Sil with BST_voc/ BST_phr/ BST_A5LS/ BST_sub. Parallelly, for Hypothesis 3, the BST scores are compared to the medians of the C: C_med_Beh/ C_med_Part/ C_med_Att/ C_med_Sil with BST_voc/ BST_phr/ BST_A5LS/ BST_sub.

3

Data Analysis And Results

3.1

Outcomes on the It BST

The total number of children completing the It-BST was 87 children due to absences on the days when the testing was performed. For the total population, the mean score on the item was 25,08 (SD: 11,784). According to normative data on the It-BST, this is equivalent to the average results in age group 6, which is ranged from 66 to 71 months (5½ to 6 years).1 As seen in Figure 3.1, there are two spikes, one at 15 and another at 30 points. This trend also appears on the BST item for Phrase Length (BST(phr)). Here they are at 35 and 50 points (Figure 3.2). Since the measures for sentence length and A5LS are connected, it is apparent that they also appear on the BST(A5LS) score. Here the spikes are on 7 and 10 points (Figure 3.3). This trend is less notable in the BST(sub), though there are considerably more cases that have not produced a single subordinate clause than those that have. However, there is a slight rise in 4 and 6 subordinate clauses (Figure 3.4). A possible explanation is diverging language skills within the population. The majority of students have Italian citizenship (Subgroup Italy); the second largest group is from Bangladesh (Subgroup Bangladesh), followed by other smaller groups (Subgroup Others) (Figure 2.3). In Table 3.1, the population is divided by nationality. Because of geographical and cultural similarities, subjects from India and Pakistan have been included in Subgroup Bangladesh. As 1

Renfrew, C. (2015). Bus Story Test: Valutazione delle abilità narrative. Milano: La Favelliana, p. 5.

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2022 S. I. Haering, The Impact of Music Therapy on Children in a Multicultural Elementary School, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-39330-4_3

149

150

3

Data Analysis And Results

Figure 3.1 Distribution of Scores on the BST item for Vocabulary, BST (voc)

Figure 3.2 Distribution of Scores on the BST item for Phrase Length, BST (phr)

3.1 Outcomes on the It BST

Figure 3.3 Distribution of Scores on the BST (A5LS)

Figure 3.4 Distribution of Scores in the BST item for Subordinate Clauses

151

152

3

Data Analysis And Results

expected, Subgroup Italy outperforms the other two subgroups on all items of the BST since they have the most contact with the Italian language in their families. Subgroup Bangladesh scores considerably lower than the other two groups on all the items of the BST. For example, they score at 15,5, roughly half compared to Subgroup Italy on the mean for BST(voc), which is 30,24. Similarly, they score less than half on the subordinate item on average than Subgroup Italy and slightly less than Subgroup Others. Interestingly, the maximum in Subgroup Others is 7 points, slightly higher than the maximum of the Italian group on BST(sub), suggesting that at least one of the non-Italian students performed better in terms of grammar skills than the Italian children. Therefore, even though Italian children perform better on all the items of the story re-telling task, some children show surprisingly high competence in structural and grammatical tasks, also if this is not evident in vocabulary or sentence length parameters. The obtained data is now compared to the normative data for an Italian population. The age group of the sample in the present study equals the age groups 7 to 10 in the normative data, according to which Subgroup Italy group falls within average. They have a tendency, however, to score slightly higher on the A5LS and slightly lower on the subordinate clauses as compared to normative data. Here, the mean score for BST(voc) is 30,24, which is similar to the normative data on BST(voc), going from 28,5 in age group 7 to 33,6 in age group 10.2 The average for the BST(A5LS) is 8,56, which is on the higher end of the normative data, being 8,4 in age group 10.3 Finally, the mean for BST(sub) is at 2,66, which is slightly below the data from the validation study: 3,2 in age group 7 to 5,5 in age group 10.4 The comparison of the means on all the BST items (Figure 3.5) shows again that Subgroup Italy unsurprisingly performs better on the BST in Italian language, but also that students in Subgroup Bangladesh function less efficiently on them than the group of other nationalities. A possible explanation is that children in Subgroup Others have less opportunity to converse among their schoolmates in their native language. They, therefore, rely more on Italian as a means of communication. In other words, they are forced to use Italian in order to communicate efficiently and thus are more likely to acquire the language. The children from Subgroup Bangladesh, however, can always fall back on their mother language to communicate with their peers and thus have less necessity to use Italian. 2

Idem. Idem. 4 Idem. 3

3.1 Outcomes on the It BST

153

Table 3.1 Results on BST recoded according to Citizenship Nationality_recode Italy

BST (voc)

Mean

30,24

N SD Minimum Maximum Bangladesh

Mean N SD

Others

42,68

BST (A5LS) 8,56

BST (sub) 2,66

50

50

50

50

9,356

12,111

2,400

1,745

12

19

4

0

46

67

13

6

15,50

27,06

5,50

1,00

18

18

18

18 1,372

10,700

14,968

3,015

Minimum

0

0

0

0

Maximum

37

51

10

4

21,00

32,12

6,35

1,35

17

17

17

17

11,827

13,086

2,827

1,835

Mean N SD

Total

BST (phr)

Minimum

4

6

0

0

Maximum

41

59

12

7

25,27

37,26

7,47

2,05

Mean N SD

85

85

85

85

11,820

14,445

2,918

1,832

Minimum

0

0

0

0

Maximum

46

67

13

7

50 40 30 20 10 0 BST (voc) Subgroup Italy

BST (phr)

BST (A5LS)

Subgroup Bangladesh

Figure 3.5 Means of BST items divided by Nationalities

Subgroup Others

BST (sub)

154

3

3.2

Data Analysis And Results

Hypothesis 1: Children perform differently on the Likert Behavior Scales in Music Therapy and Regular Classroom Activity

Means of Items

When comparing the means of each item for every one of the six music therapy sessions, they remain broadly within the same framework. The misbehavior scale remains between 1 and 1,5, while the others fluctuate slightly more. The silence scale moves from 2,35 to 2,75, while attention remains between 2,95 and 3,46 and participation between 1,17 and 1,43 (Figure 3.6).

5 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 Misbehavior Participation Attention Silence

MT 1 1.16 3.29 3.3 2.37

MT 2 1.27 3.25 3.03 2.75

MT 3 1.2 3.01 3.33 2.54

MT 4 1.23 3.45 3.26 2.6

MT 5 1.43 2.81 2.95 2.5

MT 6 1.17 3.31 3.46 2.35

Figure 3.6 Means of the 4 Items of the Likert Scales for the Experimental Condition

The same items in the control condition (Figure 3.7) show to be even more stable; the misbehavior scale does not exceed the small range from 1,05 to 1,16. Participation remains on average rather even as well, stretching from 3,10 to 3,39, which is similar to attention (2,97 to 3,50). Silence arrays from 3,47 to 3,82, and is considerably higher than in the experimental condition. In order to find statistically significant differences between experimental and control conditions, a paired sample t-test is conducted. Thus, the Likert scales of both conditions are compared on all four items: misbehavior, participation, attention, and silence. There are statistically significant differences between the behavior scale (p < 0,001) and the silence scale (p < 0,001) in both conditions, which is also confirmed by the confidence interval not crossing 0 in Couple 1 and 4 (Table 3.2). For clarity, it is necessary to check the actual means in the statistics of the paired samples t-test (Table 3.3). For the misbehavior scale, the mean during

Mean of Items

3.2 Hypothesis 1: Children perform differently on the Likert …

5 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 Misbehavior Participation Attention Silence

C1 1.05 3.16 3.31 3.82

C2 1.08 3.1 2.97 3.53

C3 1.05 3.24 3.06 3.8

C4 1.05 3.21 3.19 3.47

155

C5 1.07 3.14 3.5 3.79

C6 1.16 3.39 3.29 3.65

Figure 3.7 Means of the 4 Items of the Likert Scales for the Control Condition

music therapy (1,1461) is higher than the one in the lessons (1,0337). Thus, children show better behavior during lessons than during music therapy. On the silence scale, the mean in the experimental condition (2,4607) is lower than in the control condition (3,6966), which implies that the children are less silent in music therapy than in the classroom. Table 3.4 shows the correlations for all four couples and indicates a strong correlation (0,659) with high significance (p