If you want to have your full concentration while studying, it's better to study in silence. Do you listen to music? Then make sure it is familiar and calm music: that way it won't distract you. There is much debate on the internet about whether listening to music while studying is a good idea or not. According to the mood-arousal hypothesis, music has a positive effect on our mood and arousal/motivation. As a result, according to this hypothesis, we would perform better on cognitive tasks when we listen to music. But when we look at the research, it generally turns out that we learn better in silence. Music would actually (unconsciously) demand a part of your attention, thus distracting you from your task. The problem is that we are not often in a completely silent room. Since background noises also demand a part of your attention, research finds little difference between listening to music or having ambient sounds. There are a few factors that students can consider when they want to listen to music while studying. How distracting music is appears to depend on what kind of music you listen to, what your personal characteristics are, and what kind of task you need to perform. First of all, the type of music we listen to while studying matters. It turns out that listening to slow, soft, and repetitive music without lyrics is better than listening to loud and busy music with lyrics. This effect could be because calm music has a relaxing effect and reduces stress, while fast music tends to be more distracting. The reason lyrics are distracting is that spoken text interferes with written text and your thoughts. Additionally, some studies have looked at the influence of personality. Introverted people are likely to experience excitement faster when listening to music than extroverted people. For this reason, introverted people are also more likely to suffer from concentration problems and fatigue when listening to music. Furthermore, students who get bored quickly benefit more from listening to music. Listening to music would ensure that their thoughts wander less quickly. Lastly, it matters whether students are performing a simple or complex task. For a simple task, listening to music would interfere less than for a complex task. This is because a complex task requires more attention, and as discussed above, listening to music takes away part of your attention. The effect of music on learning performance is therefore not straightforward. Inform students that when they need their full concentration, it is better to study in a quiet room. But when they are in a space with many distracting noises, they can still benefit from playing soft, calm music. Since music has a positive effect on mood, you can suggest to students to listen to music before studying. This way, they start with more enthusiasm for learning. You can also set up a small experiment in the classroom where students take a test after studying with and without music. This way, they can discover for themselves whether they benefit from listening to music or not.
Christodoulou, D. (2017). Making Good Progress, Oxford: OUP