ABSTRACT


To measure the effect on memory retention of a lexicon body in the EFL class (English as a foreign language) by a group of fourth graders in a public primary school in Manizales, Colombia, classical baroque music by Mozart was mixed and recorded with an additional track of an alpha wave tone and then played while the vocabulary was taught. The control group followed the same methodology as the experimental group, the only difference being the latter used this music combination as background while the items were presented. Paired-comparison tests were performed on both groups to determine they both had a similar level prior to the start of the work and that both groups had a similar composition. Both groups ranked very low in pre-existing knowledge of the lexicon to be taught. Then the groups were tested in three instances: at the end of the class, week and month. Student's t-distribution was used to measure the differences between both groups and it was found that T value was greater than that foreseen in the T-distribution table for a degree of freedom 38 and a confidence level 7.5% (2.785 > 0.682). It was confirmed that the use of baroque music with an additional alpha wave tone does significantly improve the rate of retention of vocabulary in a foreign language since the mean of correct answers in the experimental group was 20.5 % higher than that of the control group.


Keywords - Alpha waves, motivation, attention, memory, learning, neuroscience, music, baroque music, lexicon, vocabulary, concentration, classroom management, sound physics.

Palabras claves: Ondas alfa, motivación, atención, memoria, aprendizaje, neurociencia, música, música barroca, léxico, vocabulario, concentración, manejo de clase, física del sonido.