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The effect of background music on verbal learning performance remains a contentious issue. In the current study, we investigated the effect of different types of background music on English vocabulary learning with regard to phonological working memory, executive working memory, and English proficiency. Thirty Chinese EFL learners participated in a vocabulary learning experiment under four conditions: silence, instrumental music, English songs, and Greek songs. The learning outcome was worse in the familiar language music than the silent, and was less affected in the unfamiliar language music than the familiar language music. No effect of instrumental music was observed in the current study. Further, rather than phonological working memory, working memory storage was significantly related to vocabulary learning in background music conditions but not in the silent condition. Finally, English proficiency is an important factor influencing vocabulary learning performance.