Development and Content Validation of the Wu Dialect Vocal Enhancement Program (WDVEP): A Preliminary Study in Vocational Music Education

Dialectal interference in singing presents a significant challenge for vocational music students, particularly in multilingual and multidialectal contexts where regional speech habits influence standardized singing pronunciation. Among Wu dialect-speaking learners in China, phonological differences between the Wu dialect and Standard Mandarin may affect articulation accuracy, diction clarity, tonal production, and overall vocal performance. Despite growing recognition of these challenges, limited research has focused on the development of structured pedagogical interventions specifically designed to address dialectal interference in singing. Therefore, this study aimed to develop and establish the content validity of the Wu Dialect Vocal Enhancement Program (WDVEP), a pedagogical framework designed to support pronunciation development among vocational music students from Wu-speaking backgrounds. This study employed an Educational Material Development and Content Validation Design. The WDVEP was developed based on Language Transfer Theory, the OPERA Hypothesis, music psychology, vocal pedagogy, and culturally responsive pedagogy. Content validation was conducted by a purposive panel of eight experts in vocal music, music education, vocal pedagogy, linguistics, and curriculum studies. Quantitative data were analyzed using the Content Validity Index (CVI), while qualitative feedback was analyzed thematically. The findings revealed unanimous expert agreement regarding the quality and suitability of the developed materials. All curriculum and instrument validation criteria achieved an Item-Level Content Validity Index (I-CVI) of 1.00, while the overall Scale-Level Content Validity Index Average (S-CVI/Ave) was 1.00, indicating excellent content validity. Qualitative findings further confirmed the pedagogical appropriateness, structural coherence, practical feasibility, and cultural relevance of the program. The study concludes that the WDVEP constitutes a valid instructional package for addressing dialectal interference in singing among Wu dialect-speaking vocational music students. The validated framework provides a foundation for future implementation and effectiveness studies and contributes to research on vocal pedagogy, music education, language–music transfer, and culturally responsive instructional design.

dialectal interference, vocal pedagogy, vocational music education, content validation

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