Recent research shows that musical training improves children’s development of oral and aural
skills. This study focuses on developing and testing a methodological framework (Music as a
Medium of instruction, MMI) in English language teaching (ELT) by contrasting MMI and gamification
methodologies with the participation of 22 Spanish children all born in 2008. The differences
in progression between participants with and without previous instrumental training are also
discussed. Generalized linear model procedures were used for each outcome variable (listening
comprehension and oral production skills) to investigate the effect of independent variables (MMI
vs. gamification; students with music training vs. learners without music training). Results revealed
that students of the MMI group had significantly higher scores than the gamification group in oral
production. Significant improvement was traced in listening comprehension in the MMI group.
This study provides promising initial evidence that the MMI approach can be at least as beneficial
as gamification-based approaches for young learners in the ELT classroom. However, results need
to be established on firmer grounds, for instance by using fully randomized experimental designs
and by conducting mediation analyses.