A study investigated the effectiveness of music and use of story illustrations on the English vocabulary acquisition of children. Subjects were 48 second-graders of limited English proficiency, divided into four groups. One group heard a story in its sung version, and another heard the oral version only. A third group heard the music and simultaneously viewed pictures of target vocabulary words. The fourth group heard the oral version and viewed the pictures. Results of pre- and posttests indicate no statistically significant differences between groups having music and not having music, between having illustrations and not having them, or for the interaction of the two variables. However, descriptive differences were found. Vocabulary gain scores were consistently higher for the groups in which either music or illustrations were used, and highest for the group in which both were used. Implications for the use of music in the second language classroom are discussed, and further research is recommended. A 40-item bibliography is included. (MSE)