Today’s teens find it hard to resist listening to music while doing homework. Those who choose to listen while they
study could see grades dip as a result. Teens need to choose wisely if they decide to listen to music and study at the same
time. Soothing music can help some students focus, while any choice of music can be a distraction for other students.
Trend
Many teens listen to music while they study. In fact, many juggle their listening and studying with
other tasks such as emailing, instant messaging and watching television. According to a Kaiser
Family Foundation poll, 53 percent of teens 12 to 17 do something else while studying. At 87
percent, listening to music was the most popular side activity for those who balanced studying with
another activity. This generation of teens is growing up multitaskers, and the lure of computers,
televisions and iPods is too great for today’s teens to ignore even while doing homework.
Distraction
Trying to do more than one thing at a time means you’re not entirely focused on anything. A
University of Toronto study found that fast, loud music hinders reading comprehension. The music
agitates rather than focuses the studier, and researcher Glenn Schellenberg likened it to trying to
learn while riding a roller coaster. A University College London study found that both introverted
and extroverted undergraduate students performed worse on a reading comprehension test when
pop music was played. A memory test for adult participants at the University of Wales met with
similar results: Listening to music hampered the test takers.
Mozart Effect
But not all music is bad for all students. Sometimes, soothing music or classical music can help a
student focus. One British study claims listening to Mozart for 10 minutes produced a “Mozart
effect” where test-takers’ IQ scores went up 8 or 9 points. A Bulgarian psychologist employed the
method of playing Baroque era music, which plays at a tempo of 60 beats per minute, to help
students learn foreign languages. After the 30-day course, the average retention rate per student was
92 percent. Even four years later, when students had not reviewed the material, most remembered
the foreign language lesson.
Individual Predispositions
The effect of music on students varies depending on the music and the student. The "Journal of
Communication" studied whether listening to music affected eighth graders’ homework
performance. The results were inconclusive. The U.S. Department of Education has concluded that
quiet background music can help some children focus, but tells parents to turn off loud music from
CD players, radios and televisions when their children study. The potential for distraction is too
great from these music sources, according to government experts.
People listen to music every day. Some people do it while getting to work, going home or at the
gym. Listening to music is an everyday thing and some people seem to do it as a routine and without
doing so they feel as if they are working slower or not getting it the job done right. But there are
other people who think that listening to music does not help them. They feel that music is only a
distraction towards them. Many people have their own opinion but i honestly think that students
should be allowed to listen to music while taking a test.
Music makes people feel calmer and relaxed. It also makes people have a much happier mood. Being
in a positive mood helps you get excited and ready to do work. I feel that music makes me work
faster especially since many other things get me easily distracted.
When I have to get something done quickly I have to have music on. This is because I get distracted
easily with noises or with the people around me. Sometimes the most minimum things get me
distracted and make me waste time. Music helps me block out the distractions around me. Also, it
makes me measure time.
Every song lasts about three minutes maximum, therefore you should be able to tell how much time
you spend doing something. When I need to finish something in twenty minutes I know that I have
to pay attention to how many songs I listen to, I can only listen to six songs. I also listen to music
because it just makes me happy and makes me want to dance!
Teachers usually like to give tests during the week, some tests may be really difficult while others can
be really easy. Whatever subject it may be teachers usually always give a full period to complete it
and that is about 45 minutes in my school. There are some students who are not good test takers,
those are the people who get nervous or distracted easily while taking a test. While taking a test there
can be several distractions, people talking, teachers talking , other students from other classes
interrupting the class, people laughing, etc.
Sometimes it would be better if students were able to block out the interruptions and just pay
attention to the work they have to get done. Students can do this if they listen to music while taking
a test. The teacher would not talk to them because of the fact that they are taking a test, therefore
they are able to block themselves out and they can do this by listening to music.
They can listen to music in low volume so that they don’t interrupt other students and also they
cannot share headphones this way there are no problems. If students were able to listen to music
while taking a test they would get it done faster this is because all the distractions would be blocked
out.
Also, students would be in a much happier mood about it and would not mind taking a test.If they
finish earlier, than they can just stay seated and listen to music and let everyone else finish their own
tests. This is why I think students should be allowed to listen to music while taking a test.
There are some people that would not agree with me and that’s fine because everyone has their own
opinion. They might say that music causes a distraction and that it slows people down. They may say
that music does help people get into a happier mood but that it makes them work slower and waste
time either dancing or changing the song on their iPods or phones. This may also be true.
1) Do you think students should be allowed to listen to music while they work? Why, why not?
2) Do you listen to music while you work? Why or why not? (This question does not require text)