Isabelle Peretz, PhD • Dawn Merrett, PhD | Université de Montreal
New immigrants who do not speak the language of their adopted community face the exciting but challenging tasks of learning the language while also integrating into an unfamiliar society. Existing research on group singing suggests that it may be an ideal avenue for tackling issues around communication, integration, and wellbeing for new immigrants. To date, however, there has been little quantitative research done to assess this potential. This proof-of-concept study was developed to evaluate group singing’s effectiveness in supporting newcomers in these areas.
In a randomized controlled trial, twenty choir participants and ten participants on a waitlist were tested twice, 8 weeks apart, on the same measures of language proficiency, sense of group belonging, and mood. Semi-structured interviews were conducted at the end of the study to explore obstacles and enablers related to the implementation of and participation in the choir.
The results show improvements in sense of belonging, mood and self-assessment of French proficiency and exposure among choir participants, compared to control participants. Although the results did not show a significant quantitative effect of choir on pronunciation and oral and written comprehension, a covariance analysis highlighted the importance of using standardized and adapted measurement tools for all levels of French proficiency.
Overall, this study confirms, both qualitatively and quantitatively, the social and psychological benefits of choral singing for newcomers to Québec. Although it did not objectively confirm a positive effect of choir on French acquisition, qualitative feedback from participants indicate that choir also has potential as a tool for linguistic integration.
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Ⓒ 2020-2024, The SingWell Project