原田英語の時事英語ジュニア｜英語ニュース ワークシート（高校生レベル）
Class ____ No. ____ Name ____________________
勉強しながら音楽はアリ？歌詞のある曲は覚えるじゃまになると研究
Lyrics Disrupt Memory During Study, Portuguese Researchers Find
1Songs with lyrics made it harder for university students to remember words and images, a study from Portugal has found. Instrumental music, by contrast, neither clearly helped nor hurt their performance. Researchers at the University of Porto published the results in the Journal of Cognition in May 2023.
2The team recruited 136 psychology students, who took part online in two sessions of about 30 minutes each. Students did the same kinds of tasks under three conditions: silence, instrumental lo-fi hip-hop and pop songs with lyrics in Portuguese. The tasks tested memory for words, memory for images, reading comprehension and arithmetic.
3Compared with silence, songs with lyrics lowered scores on both memory tasks. In the word task, for example, students recalled about 42 percent of the items in silence but 37 percent with lyrics. In reading, students scored higher with instrumental music than with lyrics, although the gap between lyrics and silence was not clear. Music made no clear difference to arithmetic.
4About a third of the participants said they always or often listened to music while studying. The students correctly sensed that lyrics hurt their learning. However, instrumental music was sometimes seen as helpful, even though scores did not show a clear benefit.
5The results fit with a 2018 analysis of 65 studies by researchers at Bournemouth University in Britain. It found that noise, speech and music all had a small negative effect on reading. Speech that listeners could understand and music with lyrics caused the most distraction. Children and adults were generally affected to a similar degree.
6In the Porto study, most participants were female, and only one style of instrumental music was tested. A 2024 study of 90 college students in China found that pop songs with lyrics lowered reading scores compared with no music. Students who usually studied with music were less affected than those who did not, but each group in that study had only 15 students.
Words 単語
| lyricsB2 | 名 | 歌詞the words that are sung in a song |
| instrumental外 | 形 | （音楽が）楽器だけの、歌のないplayed only on instruments, with no singing |
| by contrastA2 | 熟 | それに対して、一方used to show that two things are different |
| recruitedB2 | 動 | （人を）集めた、募集したfound people to join a group or activity |
| conditionsA2 | 名 | 条件、状態（condition の複数形）the situation in which something happens |
| comprehensionB2 | 名 | 理解、理解力the ability to understand something |
| recalledB1 | 動 | 思い出したbrought back something from your memory |
| participantsB1 | 名 | 参加者（participant の複数形）people who take part in something |
| sensedA2 | 動 | 感じ取った、気づいたknew something without being told |
| distractionB2 | 名 | 気が散ること、気を散らすものsomething that takes your attention away |
単語のレベル：CEFR-J（『CEFR-J Wordlist Version 1.6』 東京外国語大学投野由紀夫研究室. （URL: https://www.cefr-j.org/download.html より 2026年8月ダウンロード））
1. Reading Quiz 本文の内容に合うものを選ぼう
When were the results of the Porto study published?
A. In May 2023B. In April 2024C. In March 2018D. In October 2026
What kind of instrumental music did the Porto team use?
A. Classical pianoB. Lo-fi hip-hopC. Rock musicD. Jazz
In the word task, what share of the items did students recall with lyrics?
A. About 42 percentB. About 90 percentC. About 37 percentD. About 15 percent
According to the 2018 analysis, what caused the most distraction?
A. Noise from trafficB. Arithmetic problemsC. Instrumental musicD. Speech that listeners could understand and music with lyrics
In the 2024 study in China, who was less affected by the songs?
A. Students who never heard musicB. Students who usually studied with musicC. Students who read only in EnglishD. Students who studied in silence
2. True or False 正しければ T、違っていれば F
( ) Music made a clear difference to arithmetic.
( ) The Porto team recruited 136 psychology students.
( ) The students thought that lyrics helped their learning.
( ) Each group in the 2024 study in China had only 15 students.
3. Fill in the Blanks 下の語から選んで空らんをうめよう（形を変えずに）
recruitedlyricsrecalledcomprehensionInstrumentalconditions
Songs with _____ made it harder for university students to remember words and images, a study from Portugal has found.
In the word task, for example, students _____ about 42 percent of the items in silence but 37 percent with lyrics.
Students did the same kinds of tasks under three _____: silence, instrumental lo-fi hip-hop and pop songs with lyrics in Portuguese.
The team _____ 136 psychology students, who took part online in two sessions of about 30 minutes each.
_____ music, by contrast, neither clearly helped nor hurt their performance.
The tasks tested memory for words, memory for images, reading _____ and arithmetic.
4. Word Order 語を並べかえて正しい文にしよう
( by / music, / Instrumental / helped / nor / their / contrast, / neither / clearly / performance / hurt ) .
( learning / students / that / hurt / sensed / correctly / their / lyrics / The ) .
( difference / no / made / clear / to / arithmetic / Music ) .
5. Think and Write 英語で答えてみよう
A friend says music always helps them study. Using facts from this article, how would you reply?（友だちが「音楽を聞くといつも勉強がはかどる」と言います。この記事の事実を使って、あなたならどう答えますか？）
How would you design an experiment to find out whether music helps you study? Explain your plan.（音楽が自分の勉強に役立つかを確かめるには、どんな実験をしますか？計画を説明しよう。）
Answers 解答
1. (1) A (2) B (3) C (4) D (5) B
2. (1) F (2) T (3) F (4) T
3. (1) lyrics (2) recalled (3) conditions (4) recruited (5) Instrumental (6) comprehension
4.
- Instrumental music, by contrast, neither clearly helped nor hurt their performance.
- The students correctly sensed that lyrics hurt their learning.
- Music made no clear difference to arithmetic.
全文訳
1歌詞のある曲を聞いていると、大学生は単語や絵を覚えにくくなる、とポルトガルの研究でわかりました。一方、歌詞のない器楽曲は、成績をはっきり上げることも下げることもありませんでした。ポルト大学の研究者たちが、2023年5月に学術誌「ジャーナル・オブ・コグニション」でこの結果を発表しました。
2研究チームは心理学を学ぶ学生136人を集め、学生たちは1回約30分の2回の実験にオンラインで参加しました。学生たちは、静かな状態、歌詞のないローファイ・ヒップホップ、ポルトガル語の歌詞のあるポップスという3つの条件で、同じ種類の課題に取り組みました。課題で調べたのは、単語の記憶、絵の記憶、読解力、計算です。
3静かな状態と比べると、歌詞のある曲は、2つの記憶の課題の両方で成績を下げました。たとえば単語の課題では、静かなときは約42%を思い出せましたが、歌詞のある曲では37%でした。読解では、歌詞のある曲より器楽曲のときのほうが成績がよくなりました。ただし、歌詞のある曲と静かな状態の差ははっきりしませんでした。計算では、音楽によるはっきりした差はありませんでした。
4参加者の約3分の1が、勉強中はいつも、またはよく音楽を聞いていると答えました。学生たちは、歌詞が学習のじゃまになることを正しく感じ取っていました。ところが器楽曲については、成績にははっきりした効果が出ていないのに、役に立ったと受け止められることがありました。
5この結果は、イギリスのボーンマス大学の研究者たちが2018年に65の研究をまとめて分析した結果と合っています。その分析では、雑音、話し声、音楽のどれもが、読むことに小さな悪い影響をあたえていました。いちばん気を散らしたのは、聞く人が意味をわかる話し声と、歌詞のある音楽でした。子どもも大人も、影響の大きさはおおむね同じくらいでした。
6ポルト大学の研究では、参加者の大半が女性で、試した器楽曲も1つのジャンルだけでした。中国の大学生90人を調べた2024年の研究では、歌詞のあるポップスを聞くと、音楽なしのときより読解の成績が下がりました。ふだん音楽を聞きながら勉強している学生は、そうでない学生より影響が小さかったものの、この研究の各グループは15人だけでした。
文法ポイント：neither A nor B（AでもBでもない）
2つのことを両方とも打ち消す形。本文の Instrumental music ... neither clearly helped nor hurt their performance は「器楽曲は、成績をはっきり上げもしなかったし、下げもしなかった」。not ... either A or B と言いかえられる（did not clearly help or hurt）。
出典：Journal of Cognition、Bournemouth University（Perspectives on Psychological Science）、Frontiers in Psychology ほか（記事は原田英語の時事英語ジュニアのオリジナル）｜https://www.haradaeigo.com/jijieigo-junior/news/2026-10-13-music-lyrics-study-memory/