Increasing English Learner's Language Skills Through Arts Integration

This literature review synthesizes research that explores effective strategies of helping English Language Learners develop language proficiency in English through arts integration. Theoretical perspectives are examined in order to establish understanding on how children learn, how language is acquired, and their correlation with the arts. The literature review aims to contribute to the field of research addressing the needs of ELLs in the area of second language literacy. An analysis of the reviewed studies reveals the benefits and limitations of art integration aimed at improving language acquisition. Integrating arts with other subjects will assist children in the acquisition of the four domains of language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Examples of real life successes resulting from integrated arts are presented and explanations on how and why it affects language acquisition. The proposed learning project focuses on the benefits of the various arts disciplines of drama, music, theater arts, and visual arts integrated as interdisciplinary lessons into the language and literacy kindergarten curriculum. The unit adopts a co-equal approach to arts integration in order to provide English Language Learners with more listening and speaking opportunities, exposure to vocabulary, and linguistic pattern providing students with more language immersion. This unit could be a gateway and bridge between integrating the arts with other core subjects on a regular basis.