Learning by the Keyword Mnemonic: Looking for Long-Term Benefits

Although using the keyword mnemonic to learn new vocabulary items enhances performance on 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 met...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of experimental psychology. Applied 1996-12, Vol.2 (4), p.330-342
Main Authors: Thomas, Margaret H, Wang, Alvin Y
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
College Students
Foreign Language Learning
Human
Mnemonic Learning
Retention
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Although using the keyword mnemonic to learn new vocabulary items enhances performance on 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.
ISSN:1076-898X
1939-2192
DOI:10.1037/1076-898X.2.4.330