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)     

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.     

On the utility of the keyword mnemonic for vocabulary learning.

Examined the use of the keyword mnemonic for vocabulary learning by university students given extensive keyword training. Keywords were identified by the learners rather than supplied by the experimenter. In Exp 1, Ss studied and recalled English equivalents of German nouns before and after mnemonic training under different presentation conditions. Before training, learning was 60% better with 4 list presentations at a 2.5-s rate (4?×?2.5) than with 1 presentation at a 10-s rate (1?×?10). Learning was better after training, especially in the 1?×?10 condition; Ss reported difficulty using the keyword mnemonic in the 4?×?2.5 condition despite higher learning scores in that condition after training. In Exp 2, Ss learned brief definitions of unusual words with self-paced presentation. The keyword Ss scored significantly more poorly than controls on items not selected for keyword suitability, and additional data indicated that it was difficult to generate keywords for many of those items and that an alternative mediational strategy was preferred. A 3rd experiment showed no learning difference between the keyword-generated version of the keyword method used in Exps 1 and 2 and a keyword-supplied condition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

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)     

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)     

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     

Factors determining the guessing of meanings of foreign words.

6groups of 40 English-speaking Ss judged the equivalence of 50 pairs of frequently used English, Chinese, Japanese, and Hebrew words presented auditorily, audio-visually, and visually. Ss guessed the English equivalent of Hebrew words and paired Japanese and Chinese, and Japanese and Hebrew words at better than chance levels. Chinese and Hebrew words were paired significantly below chance levels. Significant interactions between languages and method of presentation were obtained. Results were "interpreted as contrary to the hypothesis of a universal phonetic symbolism." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Long-term abstract learning of attentional set.

How does past experience influence visual search strategy (i.e., attentional set)? Recent reports have shown that, when given the option to use 1 of 2 attentional sets, observers persist with the set previously required in a training phase. Here, 2 related questions are addressed. First, does the training effect result only from perseveration with the currently active set or from long-term learning? Experiment 1 supported the latter alternative: When training and test were separated by up to 1 week, to prevent perseveration across the 2 sessions, the training effect was still obtained. Second, is the learning feature-specific (tuned to a precise set of colors) or more abstract? Experiments 2 and 3 supported the latter: When stimulus colors were switched between training and test to remove the possibility of feature-specific learning, the training effect again was obtained. These experiments indicate that attentional set is largely guided by long-term abstract learning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Knowledge of storybooks as a predictor of young children's vocabulary.

Shared book reading provides a rich source of linguistic stimulation for young children. The authors examined whether variations in knowledge of storybooks (assumed to index factors such as frequency of shared reading) were related to vocabulary scores for 3–6 yr olds. In Exp 1, parents' knowledge of storybooks explained unique variance in children's receptive vocabulary scores after controlling for children's analytic intelligence, parents' exposure to adult reading material, and parents' education. In Exp 2, children's knowledge of storybooks explained unique variance in their receptive and expressive vocabulary scores after controlling for parents' exposure to print and socioeconomic status level. Children's knowledge of storybooks indexed cognitive factors as well as exposure. The findings obtained in the 2 experiments suggest that storybook experiences during the preschool years may be an important influence on the development of children's language skills. (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)     

Keyword and context instruction of new vocabulary meanings: Effects on text comprehension and memory.

New vocabulary was taught by one of three methods: keyword, semantic context, and no-strategy control. The semantic context method involved presenting subjects verbal contexts from which they might infer the meanings of the words, followed by explicit provision of the definitions. After a vocabulary definition acquisition phase, subjects in all conditions read a text in which some of the newly acquired vocabulary was embedded, with half of the texts providing richer contextual clues to the meaning of the target items (embellished text) than the other texts (unembellished text). Reading times did not differ as a function of acquisition condition, nor did one acquisition condition consistently elicit better performance than the others across text comprehension/memory measures. The one significant difference in comprehension favored the keyword method. The usual superiority of the keyword method for recall of definitions given vocabulary items was also replicated. Despite theoretically motivated concerns that keyword-method acquisition of definitions might inhibit comprehension of vocabulary in discourse relative to a semantic context method, none of the reaction time (RT) or performance analyses reported here supported those hypotheses. A subsidiary finding was that test text embellishments increased comprehension (as indexed by recall measures), a result suggesting that certain kinds of contextual support can enhance comprehension of "new" vocabulary. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Imagery training and children's prose learning.

Used a pretest-posttest design to examine the effects of passage-illustration training (relative to a reading-practice control procedure) on reading comprehension in 10 3rd and 22 4th graders. Without this imagery training, imagery instructions did not improve performance on either a standardized reading comprehension test or a paraphrase prose recall procedure. After extended training in drawing adequate "comic strips" to illustrate prose passages, performance in a paraphrase recall task improved, but only when explicit imagery instructions were given with the task. The imagery training did not affect the standardized test performance, explicit imagery instructions notwithstanding. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-modeling and children's cognitive skill learning.

We investigated self-modeling among children who had experienced arithmetic difficulties. In Experiment 1, some children observed peer models solve fraction problems. Others were videotaped while solving problems, after which they viewed their tapes. Observing self-model tapes raised achievement outcomes as well as viewing peer models; each treatment was more effective than a videotape control condition. In Experiment 2, children were videotaped solving easier problems or solving more difficult problems, after which they viewed their tapes. The two self-model treatments promoted achievement behaviors equally well and better than the videotape control and instructional control conditions. In Experiment 3, children were videotaped while learning to solve problems or after they had learned to solve the problems. Self-model subjects demonstrated higher achievement outcomes than videotape control children. Collectively, these results show that self-model tapes highlight progress in skill acquisition, which enhances self-efficacy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Knowledge of results and children's motor learning.

In 2 experiments the hypothesis that the optimum precision level of knowledge of results (KR) for motor learning varies as a direct function of age was tested. 480 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 9th graders performed a series of trials on a simple linear positioning task under a variety of KR precision levels. Results show that level of motor performance achieved was a direct function of age. A curvilinear relationship between KR and age was obtained whereby very imprecise and precise levels of KR produced a poorer performance and the optimum level of KR became more precise with age. Results support the view that information-processing capacity improves with developmental age in motor learning. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessing the classroom potential of the keyword method.

The keyword method of foreign language vocabulary learning has proven effective when implemented in highly structured laboratory-like settings. In contrast, the results of a recent study by E. J. Fuentes (1976) suggest that when the method is implemented in an actual classroom context, its effectiveness may be diminished. Several explanations for this diminution are offered and explored in the 6 experiments reported here. Four experiments involved high school students in 1st- and 2nd-yr Spanish courses and 2 involved 5th graders with no Spanish knowledge. The latter 2 experiments succeeded in producing keyword effects when the method was administered to either small or classroom-sized groups. (16 ref) (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)     

Young children's phonological awareness and nonword repetition as a function of vocabulary development.

The role of vocabulary growth in the development of two reading-related phonological processes was examined. In Experiments 1 and 2, 4- and 5-year-olds and a sample of first graders performed better on phonological awareness tasks for word versus pseudoword stimuli, and for highly familiar versus less familiar words. Three- and 4-year-olds in Experiment 3 performed better for words with many versus few similarly sounding items in a listener's lexicon. Vocabulary was strongly associated with nonword repetition scores for 3- to 5-year olds. The shared variance of this association was accounted for by phonological awareness measures and did not appear to be due to phonological short-term memory, as previously argued. The author proposes that vocabulary growth, defined in terms of absolute size, word familiarity, and phonological similarity relations between word items, helps to explain individual differences in emerging phonological awareness and nonword repetition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual differences in 4-year-old children's acquisition of vocabulary during storybook reading.

Two experiments were conducted to assess how children who differ in vocabulary knowledge learn new vocabulary incidentally from listening to stories read aloud. In both experiments, 4-yr-old children were classified as having either high or low word knowledge on the basis of a median split of their Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test—Revised (PPVT—R) standard scores. In Exp 1, children either listened passively or labeled pictures using novel words during the book readings. We found that children with larger vocabularies produced more novel words than did children with smaller vocabularies, and children who answered questions during the book readings comprehended and produced more words than did children who passively listened to the story. In Exp 2, children either listened to readings of a book, pointed to pictures during the readings, or labeled pictures during the readings. Children with larger vocabularies comprehended more novel words than did children with smaller vocabularies. Children who actively participated by labeling or pointing learned more words than did children who listened passively to book readings. Findings clarify the role of active responding by demonstrating that verbal and nonverbal responding are effective means of enhancing vocabulary acquisition. (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)     

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)