The facilitative effect of the keyword mnemonic on L2 vocabulary retrieval practice

Keyword mnemonics and retrieval practice are two learning strategies that facilitate foreign language vocabulary learning. This study examined the combination of these strategies for learning English L2 vocabulary with a limited retrieval time. We recruited 110 Chinese college students studying English as a foreign language to investigate the effects of four learning strategies on the retention of English-Chinese word pairs: restudy, retrieval practice, imposed keyword mnemonic combined with retrieval practice, and induced keyword mnemonic combined with retrieval practice. The results revealed that when retrieval practice was constrained to two times, the final performance of the retrieval practice group did not exceed that of the restudy group; however, the combined keyword-retrieval group outperformed the restudy group, regardless of whether the keyword was imposed or induced. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in memory retention performance between the induced and imposed keyword-retrieval combinations. The findings suggest that when retrieval practice is constrained to two times, the keyword-retrieval strategy combination significantly enhances English L2 vocabulary learning compared to restudy or retrieval practice alone, and both the imposed and induced keyword mnemonics can strengthen its efficiency.

Learning new word meanings from story reading: the benefit of immediate testing

This study investigated how word meanings can be learned from natural story reading. Three experiments with adult participants compared naturalistic incidental learning with intentional learning of new meanings for familiar words, and examined the role of immediate tests in maintaining memory of new word meanings. In Experiment 1, participants learned new meanings for familiar words through incidental (story reading) and intentional (definition training task) conditions. Memory was tested with cued recall of meanings and multiple-choice meaning-to-word matching immediately and 24 h later. Results for both measures showed higher accuracy for intentional learning, which was also more time efficient than incidental learning. However, there was reasonably good learning from both methods, and items learned incidentally through stories appeared less susceptible to forgetting over 24 h. It was possible that retrieval practice at the immediate test may have aided learning and improved memory of new word meanings 24 h later, especially for the incidental story reading condition. Two preregistered experiments then examined the role of immediate testing in long-term retention of new meanings for familiar words. There was a strong testing effect for word meanings learned through intentional and incidental conditions (Experiment 2), which was non-significantly larger for items learned incidentally through stories. Both cued recall and multiple-choice tests were each individually sufficient to enhance retention compared to having no immediate test (Experiment 3), with a larger learning boost from multiple-choice. This research emphasises (i) the resilience of word meanings learned incidentally through stories and (ii) the key role that testing can play in boosting vocabulary learning from story reading.

Effects of repeated retrieval on keyword mediator use: shifting to direct retrieval predicts better learning outcomes

Keyword mediators are an effective memory technique to encode novel vocabulary: learners link a novel word form to its meaning with a mental image that includes a keyword that resembles the word form (e.g., nyanya = tomato; keyword mnemonic: the ninja chops the tomato in half). Prior research suggests that such mediated form-meaning associations become less dependent on keywords after retrieval practice. The present study investigated if retrieval-induced decreases in mediator use predict word retention. Thirty participants learned novel vocabulary using experimenter-provided keywords and repeatedly retrieved the words from memory while thinking aloud. As expected, keyword use decreased with practice: learners stopped mentioning keywords for 21.6% of the words (on average after 8.27 retrievals). Shifting to direct, unmediated retrieval predicted higher form and meaning recall on a retention test after 6-8 days. Continuing retrieval practice until a shift has occurred to direct retrieval thus seems beneficial for retention.

How to activate students’ natural desire to test themselves

Testing oneself (i.e., doing retrieval practice) is an effective way to study. We attempted to make learners choose to test themselves more often. In Experiment 1, participants were asked how they wanted to study and were given four options: retrieval with no hint (e.g., idea: ______), a two-letter hint (e.g., idea: s____r), a four-letter hint (e.g., idea: se__er), or a presentation trial (e.g., idea: seeker). They tested themselves on the majority of trials. In Experiment 2, when the hint options were removed, they chose restudy rather than pure test on the majority of trials. These findings show that people prefer self-testing over restudy as long as they can get the answer right on the test. However, we would not recommend hints if they impaired learning compared to pure testing. Experiment 3 showed that this was not the case; the three retrieval conditions from Experiment 1 led to equivalent amounts of learning, and all three outperformed the pure presentation condition. We used different materials in Experiment 4 and found that the hints made retrieval slightly less beneficial when the hints made it possible to guess the answers without thinking back to the study phase (e.g., whip: pu__sh). In summary, hints catalyzed people’s intuitive desire to self-test, without any downside for learning, thus making their self-regulated study more enjoyable and effective.

La mnemotecnia de la palabra clave aplicada a vocabulario gallego de baja frecuencia en estudiantes bilingües || The keyword mnemonics applied to low-frequency Galician vocabulary in bilingual students

La mnemotecnia de la palabra clave es una regla mnemotécnica que se utiliza, fundamentalmente, en el aprendizaje de lenguas extranjeras. En este estudio se intentaba averiguar si la mnemotecnia de la palabra clave influía en el aprendizaje del significado de las palabras de la lengua gallega de baja frecuencia, y si la habilidad de imagen de los participantes influía en el aprendizaje. Para ello, se seleccionó un grupo de 111 estudiantes de Educación Secundaria que aprendieron una lista de 20 palabras del idioma gallego, de baja frecuencia, mediante el método de repetición o mediante el método de la palabra clave. Se encontró que la mnemotecnia de la palabra clave era más efectiva que el método de repetición en el aprendizaje y que los participantes con alta viveza de imagen recordaban un mayor número de traducciones de las palabras de la lengua gallega que los que tenían baja viveza de imagen. Son necesarias nuevas investigaciones sobre la mnemotecnia de la palabra clave aplicada a las lenguas minoritarias como la lengua gallega.

Eficacia de la mnemotecnia de la palabra clave en el recuerdo a largo plazo de palabras de un segundo idioma

La mnemotecnia de la palabra clave es una técnica utilizada para el aprendizaje de vocabulario. Este trabajo consiste en una revisión sistemática de los resultados publicados sobre la eficacia de la mnemotecnia de la palabra clave en el recuerdo a largo plazo de palabras de un segundo idioma. Tras analizar las publicaciones localizadas en las diferentes bases de datos, se constata la ausencia de un resultado uniforme, debido en gran parte a la heterogeneidad de las investigaciones. Todavía son necesarios nuevos estudios para poder llegar a conclusiones definitivas sobre la eficacia de esta técnica en este tipo de recuerdo.

Retrieval practice protects memory against acute stress

More than a decade of research has supported a robust consensus: Acute stress impairs memory retrieval. We aimed to determine whether a highly effective learning technique could strengthen memory against the negative effects of stress. To bolster memory, we used retrieval practice, or the act of taking practice tests. Participants first learned stimuli by either restudying or engaging in retrieval practice. Twenty-four hours later, we induced stress in half of the participants and assessed subsequent memory performance. Participants who learned by restudying demonstrated the typical stress-related memory impairment, whereas those who learned by retrieval practice were immune to the deleterious effects of stress. These results suggest that the effects of stress on memory retrieval may be contingent on the strength of the memory representations themselves.

Improving Students’ Learning With Effective Learning Techniques

Many students are being left behind by an educational system that some people believe is in crisis. Improving educational outcomes will require efforts on many fronts, but a central premise of this monograph is that one part of a solution involves helping students to better regulate their learning through the use of effective learning techniques. Fortunately, cognitive and educational psychologists have been developing and evaluating easy-to-use learning techniques that could help students achieve their learning goals. In this monograph, we discuss 10 learning techniques in detail and offer recommendations about their relative utility. We selected techniques that were expected to be relatively easy to use and hence could be adopted by many students. Also, some techniques (e.g., highlighting and rereading) were selected because students report relying heavily on them, which makes it especially important to examine how well they work. The techniques include elaborative interrogation, self-explanation, summarization, highlighting (or underlining), the keyword mnemonic, imagery use for text learning, rereading, practice testing, distributed practice, and interleaved practice.

To offer recommendations about the relative utility of these techniques, we evaluated whether their benefits generalize across four categories of variables: learning conditions, student characteristics, materials, and criterion tasks. Learning conditions include aspects of the learning environment in which the technique is implemented, such as whether a student studies alone or with a group. Student characteristics include variables such as age, ability, and level of prior knowledge. Materials vary from simple concepts to mathematical problems to complicated science texts. Criterion tasks include different outcome measures that are relevant to student achievement, such as those tapping memory, problem solving, and comprehension.

We attempted to provide thorough reviews for each technique, so this monograph is rather lengthy. However, we also wrote the monograph in a modular fashion, so it is easy to use. In particular, each review is divided into the following sections: General description of the technique and why it should work How general are the effects of this technique?  2a. Learning conditions  2b. Student characteristics  2c. Materials  2d. Criterion tasks Effects in representative educational contexts Issues for implementation Overall assessment

The review for each technique can be read independently of the others, and particular variables of interest can be easily compared across techniques.

To foreshadow our final recommendations, the techniques vary widely with respect to their generalizability and promise for improving student learning. Practice testing and distributed practice received high utility assessments because they benefit learners of different ages and abilities and have been shown to boost students’ performance across many criterion tasks and even in educational contexts. Elaborative interrogation, self-explanation, and interleaved practice received moderate utility assessments. The benefits of these techniques do generalize across some variables, yet despite their promise, they fell short of a high utility assessment because the evidence for their efficacy is limited. For instance, elaborative interrogation and self-explanation have not been adequately evaluated in educational contexts, and the benefits of interleaving have just begun to be systematically explored, so the ultimate effectiveness of these techniques is currently unknown. Nevertheless, the techniques that received moderate-utility ratings show enough promise for us to recommend their use in appropriate situations, which we describe in detail within the review of each technique.

Five techniques received a low utility assessment: summarization, highlighting, the keyword mnemonic, imagery use for text learning, and rereading. These techniques were rated as low utility for numerous reasons. Summarization and imagery use for text learning have been shown to help some students on some criterion tasks, yet the conditions under which these techniques produce benefits are limited, and much research is still needed to fully explore their overall effectiveness. The keyword mnemonic is difficult to implement in some contexts, and it appears to benefit students for a limited number of materials and for short retention intervals. Most students report rereading and highlighting, yet these techniques do not consistently boost students’ performance, so other techniques should be used in their place (e.g., practice testing instead of rereading).

Our hope is that this monograph will foster improvements in student learning, not only by showcasing which learning techniques are likely to have the most generalizable effects but also by encouraging researchers to continue investigating the most promising techniques. Accordingly, in our closing remarks, we discuss some issues for how these techniques could be implemented by teachers and students, and we highlight directions for future research.