The mnemonic value of orthography for vocabulary learning.

In 2 experiments, the authors examined whether spellings improve students' memory for pronunciations and meanings of new vocabulary words. Lower socioeconomic status minority 2nd graders (M = 7 years 7 months; n = 20) and 5th graders (M = 10 years 11 months; n = 32) were taught 2 sets of unfamiliar nouns and their meanings over several learning trials. The words were defined, depicted, and embedded in sentences. During study periods, students were shown written forms of 1 set but not the other set. Spellings were not present during word recall. Results of analyses of variance showed that spellings enhanced memory for pronunciations and meanings compared to no spellings (ps     

Mnemotechnics: Some limitations of the mnemonic keyword method for the study of foreign language vocabulary.

Examined the effectiveness of the mnemonic keyword method in 4 experiments with 248 college students learning lists of 24–32 pairs of Spanish nouns and their English equivalents. The 1st 3 experiments, in which the lists were presented for periods of free study, yielded the following results: (a) The keyword condition, with keywords supplied by the experimenter, was similar or somewhat inferior to the control conditions in both Spanish–English (forward) and English–Spanish (backward) directions; (b) the keyword condition was clearly inferior to controls when Ss were required to generate keywords; (c) keyword and control conditions were similar in retention over 1 wk. In Exp IV the keyword method was superior to the control condition with successive, experimenter-paced presentation but inferior with free-study presentation; free study was markedly superior to paced presentation for both keyword and control conditions. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Long-term retention of vocabulary after keyword and context learning.

Long-term retention of new vocabulary meanings acquired through keyword or semantic-context methods was assessed in two experiments. College students learned a list of 30 English vocabulary-meaning pairs until all meanings could be correctly recalled when they were given the vocabulary words. Subjects were again tested on cued-recall performance 1 week later. Although the keyword method facilitated initial learning of the vocabulary meanings, there were no differences in long-term retention as a function of learning method. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Learning by the keyword mnemonic: Looking for long-term benefits.

Although using the keyword mnemonic to learn new vocabulary items enhances performance on the tests of immediate cued recall when compared with control strategies, the reverse is true after a delay. The authors examined long-term retention of second language vocabulary with 2 variants of the keyword method: self-generated keywords (Experiment 1) and mnemonic pictures (Experiment 2). Results showed that keyword generation did not attenuate forgetting, but provision of pictures of the keyword and translation referent during study improved long-term retention. Pictures may increase the visual detail of interactive images and hence the stability of the memory trace (Experiment 3). However, designers of instructional modules should be aware that immediate gains evidenced by learners who use the standard keyword technique may dissipate rapidly. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The keyword method and children's learning of foreign vocabulary with abstract meanings.

76 5th-graders were taught the English translations of 20 Spanish nouns; 10 possessed concrete referents and 10 did not. Three different variations of the mnemonic keyword method (imagery, sentence, and imagery-or-sentence) were compared to each other and a no-strategy control group. Each of the 3 keyword variations greatly facilitated Ss' learning of both concrete and abstract words, and no differences were found among the 3 keyword variations. (French abstract) (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Keyword mnemonic and retention of second-language vocabulary words.

Use of the keyword mnemonic has been shown to substantially increase learning speed and immediate recall of 2nd-language vocabulary words in comparison with other learning strategies. Although the majority of researchers examining long-term retention of material acquired through the keyword method have concluded that these gains are maintained over time, most have relied on experimental designs based on within-S comparisons. However, within-S comparisons of retention over time are confounded by both rates of initial acquisition and level of immediate recall. In this article, data are presented from 4 experiments in which the retention interval (immediate vs delay) was treated as a between-Ss factor. The findings consistently indicated that long-term forgetting was greater for learners instructed to use the keyword mnemonic than for learners engaged in rote rehearsal. It is suggested that preexperimental associations to keywords interfere with retrieval of the interactive images established in the laboratory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transfer of a mnemonic keyword strategy at two age levels.

80 12- and 80 18-yr-old students learned a list of cities paired with their products. In experimental conditions, Ss were instructed in mnemonic usage to learn the city–product pairings. Control Ss were simply instructed to learn the pairings. Then all Ss were presented a list of Latin nouns and their translations to learn. Spontaneous transfer of the keyword strategy to the Latin task was observed only among 18-yr-olds. However, the 12-yr-olds could transfer the keyword strategy to the new task situation if they were told to "use a technique similar to the one used in the city–product task." Results are interpreted within a developmental elaboration theory framework. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors affecting the learning of foreign language vocabulary: imagery keyword mediators and phonological short-term memory

In order to investigate the cognitive processes involved in learning Foreign Language (FL) vocabulary, this study evaluates different methods of instruction. It demonstrates that keyword techniques are effective for receptive learning but that repetition is a superior strategy for learning to produce the foreign word. Performance is optimal when learners combine both strategies. The nature of the keyword is crucial--whereas imageable noun keywords promote learning, verb keywords actually impede it. A theoretical analysis of the roles of phonological short-term memory, imagery, and lexical factors in FL vocabulary learning is presented.     

Children's use of the keyword method to learn simple Spanish vocabulary words.

Assessed children's ability to use a mnemonic procedure to learn foreign language vocabulary, the keyword method, using 107 2nd and 5th graders as Ss. To remember a foreign word translation, the keyword method user (a) associates the foreign word to an English word (the keyword) that sounds like part of the foreign word, and (b) remembers a picture of the keyword and translation referents interacting. Ss who were instructed in keyword method use and provided with interactive pictures for each vocabulary item remembered more simple Spanish vocabulary translations than did control Ss not instructed to use the keyword method. Learning the acoustic links without a keyword method instruction did not improve vocabulary learning. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

School applications of the mnemonic keyword method as a study strategy by eighth graders.

Examined the applicability of the keyword method to learning to pair names with facts, and technical terms with their definitions. Ss were 42 8th graders. After 5 training sessions, Ss were able to carry out the sequence of operations constituting the keyword method, including the generation of concrete keywords and of compound images bridging keywords and response terms. Subsequent unprompted tests showed substantially higher performance by trained than by untrained Ss. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Extended mnemonic instruction with learning disabled students.

Divided 64 learning disabled (LD) 6th-, 7th-, and 8th-grade students into 24 instructional groups that were assigned at random to mnemonic and control conditions. Instructional groups were administered 3 daily lessons on dinosaurs in counterbalanced order. The lessons involved vocabulary on dinosaurs, attributes of dinosaurs, and reasons for dinosaur extinction. Mnemonic groups were taught the information using keyword and pegword techniques. Control instructional groups were taught the same information using the principles of direct instruction, including teacher-directed questioning, choral group responding, fast instructional pacing, and cumulative review. A test was given after each lesson on that lesson's content. On the 4th day, all Ss were given production and identification tests on the content of all 3 lessons. Results indicate that mnemonic groups outperformed control groups on the immediate and delayed tests. In addition, control Ss' responses revealed significantly more intralist intrusions than did those of mnemonic Ss. No meaningful trend across days of instruction was observed for either condition. Findings suggest that mnemonic instruction is a versatile and effective instructional technique for LD students. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An application of the mnemonic keyword method to the acquisition of German nouns and their grammatical gender.

The mnemonic keyword method was modified to help students learn the meaning and the grammatical gender of German nouns. The modification consisted of recoding the gender tags to make them more concrete and thereby enable students to form a semantic link between the referent of the German noun and the recoded gender tag. The effectiveness of this variation of the keyword method was tested with French-speaking students. Two experiments yielded 5 main results: (a) Relative to free-strategy instructions, the modified keyword method did facilitate the acquisition of both the meaning and the grammatical gender of German nouns. (b) Learning the gender in addition to the translation appeared to slow down the acquisition of native translations. (c) Interactive imagery facilitated the recall of genders only if learners were explicitly asked to recode the gender and to include the recoded gender tag in the image. (d) Learners were more likely to report the correct German gender if it was identical to that of the native translation. (e) The keyword advantage and the effect of gender congruence on the recall of gender were detected only if the native translation was recalled. The discussion bears on the encoding and retrieval of complex associations between a German noun and its grammatical gender. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Low-income immigrant pupils learning vocabulary through digital picture storybooks.

Children from immigrant, low-income families in the Netherlands start school with a limited vocabulary in the language of instruction; therefore, this places them at risk for developing reading difficulties. Exposure to books is assumed to reduce their 2nd language (L2) vocabulary disadvantage. In this experiment, we examined the effects of video storybooks on the receptive and expressive vocabularies of 5-year-old children. Children (N = 92) were exposed repeatedly to the digital storybook. The story was presented with either static or video images. Children in the control condition played with a nonverbal computer game. Children's receptive and expressive book-based vocabularies were assessed. Results reveal that children learned words receptively and expressively; however, the children seldom learned the same words both ways. Both treatments benefited receptive and expressive vocabularies; however, readings with the addition of video were found to be especially effective for expressive L2 vocabulary acquisition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of variable encoding and spaced presentations on vocabulary learning.

I examined the applicability of the encoding variability hypothesis and the spacing phenomenon to vocabulary learning in five experiments. I manipulated encoding variability by varying the number of potential retrieval routes to the word meanings, using a one-sentence context condition, a three-sentence context condition, and a no-context (definitions-only) control condition. I evaluated the spacing effect by presenting each word with or without intervening words. The results provided no evidence that the opportunity to establish multiple retrieval routes by means of contextual information is helpful to vocabulary learning, a conclusion supported unequivocally by all five experiments. By contrast, spaced presentations yielded substantially higher levels of learning than did massed presentations. I discuss the results largely in terms of educational concerns, including the utility of the learning-from-context approach to vocabulary learning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the acquisition of mnemonic skill: Application of skilled memory theory.

Skilled memory theory (W. G. Chase & K. A. Ericsson, 1981, 1982) can provide a useful theoretical framework for describing the details of performance during the acquisition of mnemonic skill, one that can point to the critical conditions necessary for the successful acquisition of mnemonic skills (in particular) and cognitive skills (in general). To provide support for this suggestion, the authors describe the results of an extended investigation of the uninstructed development of mnemonic skill in a group of normal adults. This study demonstrated that high levels of serial recall performance can be reliably developed in a group of individuals in a relatively short period of time (1 semester). In addition, the process of acquisition and the critical conditions for optimal training outcomes can be well described by the principles of skilled memory theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships between aptitudes and vocabulary learning at different stages of practice.

Attempted to replicate a study by D. M. Roberts, F. J. King, and R. P. Kropp (see pa, vol. 45:7370) which, using a learning-how-to-learn methodology, explored relationships between abilities and vocabulary learning at different stages of practice, utilizing 2 instructional methods. 131 10th graders were given a battery of 9 tests (defined either by J. P. Guilford's structure-of-intellect model or the kit of reference tests for cognitive factors) followed by daily vocabulary practice for 3 wk. Achievement and time criteria were used as dependent variables. Results show increasing achievement scores and decreasing times to work through the learning materials across blocks of practice for both instructional methods. Cognitive test correlations decreased across practice while perceptual speed test correlations with criterion performance were low and showed little change. In general, the current data is in agreement with the previous results and offers little support for aptitude * treatment interaction theory. (french summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the utility of alternative procedures for assessing psychological androgyny.

S. L. Bem's definition of psychological androgny as the integration of both masculinity and femininity within a single individual obscures a potentially important distinction between those individuals who score high on both masculinity and femininity and those who score low on both. To assess the importance of this distinction, the Bem Sex-Role Inventory was administered to 375 male and 290 female undergraduates, along with a variety of other pencil-and-paper questionnaires, and in addition, the results of Bem's earlier laboratory studies were reanalyzed with the low-low scorers separated out. High-high and low-low scorers did not differ significantly on the Attitudes Toward Women Scale, Rotter's Internal-External Locus of Control Scale, the Mach IV Scale, or the Attitudes Toward Problem-Solving Scale, nor did they differ significantly in 2 of Bem's 3 previous studies. Nevertheless, low-low scorers were significantly lower in self-esteem (Texas Social Behavior Inventory) than high-high scorers, they displayed significantly less responsiveness toward a kitten, and, among men, they reported significantly less self-disclosure (Jourard's Self-Disclosure Scale). Although the results are not consistent, it is concluded that a distinction between high-high and low-low scorers does seem to be warranted. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the locus and process of magnification of age differences during mnemonic training.

The focus of this study was on developmental reserve capacity in old age as revealed by testing-the-limits. Examined were (1) the time course of training-related magnification of age differences in serial word recall and (2) predictability of training gains by pretest individual differences in cognitive abilities. In 20 sessions, young (n?=?18) and old (n?=?19) adults were taught to recall lists of 30 words using the Method of Loci. Age differences were magnified early in practice at long presentation times (20 sec and 15 sec per word) and later at 5 sec per word. Regression of posttraining scores on various pretraining abilities revealed significant effects of digit symbol substitution. Also, consistent with the assumption of age-related decline in developmental reserve capacity, the unique variance in serial word recall associated with age group became more salient as the training unfolded. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Putting the keyword method in context.

Compared the keyword method of learning new vocabulary with a context method in which the meaning of the new vocabulary items had to be inferred from a meaningful context. In Exp I, with 69 undergraduates, the keyword method produced greater definition recall than the context method, even when such recall was conditionalized on context Ss' correct discovery of the word's meaning. Combining the keyword method with the context method significantly improved recall over that of context alone but produced recall below that displayed by the keyword method alone. For Ss high in verbal ability, as assessed by the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the keyword method did not promote significantly better recall than a no-strategy control condition. In Exp II, with 42 Ss, the keyword and context methods were evaluated in terms of how adequately the vocabulary could be used in sentences. Both methods led to highly adequate use of vocabulary in sentences, given that the word's meaning could be recalled. As in Exp I, the keyword method produced significantly greater definition recall than the context method. Implications for vocabulary learning theories and discovery learning approaches are discussed. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The metaphor of scaffolding: its utility for the field of learning disabilities

Over the past 20 years, an increasing number of psychologists and educators have used the notion of scaffolding as a metaphor for the process by which adults (and more knowledgeable peers) guide children's learning and development. The purpose of the present article is to provide a critical analysis of the scaffolding metaphor, with particular emphasis on its applications to the case of atypical learners. In the initial sections of the article, the origins and early applications of the metaphor are sketched. With this as background, criticisms of the metaphor raised by others are reviewed, and a proposal for an enriched version of the metaphor is presented. At the heart of the proposed revision is an emphasis on the communicational dynamics and conceptual reorganization involved in adult-child interactions. With an enriched metaphor as a frame, the next section reviews applications of the scaffolding metaphor to the study of parent-child interactions and teacher-student instructional activities involving children with learning disabilities. The strengths and limitations of this work are evaluated, and proposals are made for how to reap further benefits from applications of the scaffolding metaphor to analyses of the development and instruction of children with learning disabilities.