Background Music On Students' Reading Comprehension

This study investigated the effects of different types of background music on reading comprehension. 104 participants were from 4 grade s, including the Grade 1 and Grade 2 of junior high school and the Grade 1 and Grade 2 of senior one. One half of them prefers listening to music when they study, the other half doesn't like listening to it.The conclusions of two experiments were as follows:(1) Different types of background music had different effects on reading comprehension. Classical music had significantly positive effects, Pop song (including accompanied and unaccompanied song) had significantly negative effects, and instrumental music of Pop song had no significant effects.(2) Different types of background music had different effects on participants of different grades. Classical music had significantly positive effects on both the junior students' reading comprehension and the seniors', however; negative effects of Pop song on the junior students' reading comprehension were significantly larger than the senior students'.(3) Different types of background music had different effects on participants who have background music preference and those who haven't background music preference. For participants who have background music preference, Classical music and the instrumental music of Pop song had significantly positive effects on reading comprehension, Pop song (including accompanied and unaccompanied song) hadn't significantly negative effects on reading comprehension. For participants who hasn't background music preference, Classical music and the instrumental music of Pop song hadn't not only significantly positive effects but also significantly negative effects on reading comprehension, Pop song (including accompanied and unaccompanied song) had significantly negative effects on reading comprehension.