Focus on the forms

2013 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 132-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Harrington ◽  
Wenying Jiang

This study examines the effect of recognition-based retrieval practice on vocabulary learning in a university Chinese class. Students (N=26) were given practice retrieving new vocabulary (single or two-character words) in a series of simple form recognition tests administered over four weeks. The test sets consisted of target vocabulary that appeared in the previous week’s lesson and distracter items drawn from upcoming vocabulary. Tests were group-administered via PowerPoint and students used a checklist response to indicate whether a given item had appeared in the previous week’s material. Responses relied on episodic knowledge of previous exposure and required no processing of semantic information. Students were able to reliably identify the target items in the retrieval task with performance on these items being found superior to that for supplementary list control words on midterm and final vocabulary tests. The findings indicate that a focus on word forms can have a measurable effect on vocabulary learning in the classroom and underscores the efficacy of retrievalbased testing (the testing effect, Barcroft, 2007; Roediger & Karpicke, 2006) in facilitating vocabulary learning. The implications for recognition-based retrieval practice in vocabulary instruction in the Chinese classroom are discussed.

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Latimier ◽  
Arnaud Riegert ◽  
Hugo Peyre ◽  
Son Thierry Ly ◽  
Roberto Casati ◽  
...  

Abstract Compared with other learning strategies, retrieval practice seems to promote superior long-term retention. This has been found mostly in conditions where learners take tests after being exposed to learning content. However, a pre-testing effect has also been demonstrated, with promising results. This raises the question, for a given amount of time dedicated to retrieval practice, whether learners should be tested before or after an initial exposure to learning content. Our experiment directly compares the benefits of post-testing and pre-testing relative to an extended reading condition, on a retention test 7 days later. We replicated both post-testing (d = 0.74) and pre-testing effects (d = 0.35), with significantly better retention in the former condition. Post-testing also promoted knowledge transfer to previously untested questions, whereas pre-testing did not. Our results thus suggest that it may be more fruitful to test students after than before exposure to learning content.


1990 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
pp. 51-58
Author(s):  
Carolien Schouten-van Parreren

Within the larger framework of a project on Mixed Ability Teaching, a qualitative experiment was carried out with respect to the individual differences between pupils of very different ability ranges, when learning French. This experiment was meant to gain insight into the nature of the differences concerning vocabulary learning and reading strategies. 69 pupils (12-15 year) pupils of very different ability ranges (but being educated together) were presented with a variety of vocabulary learning and reading tasks. They worked individually or in pairs and were requested to think aloud. The following tasks were used: 1) while reading a story, guessing the meaning of unknown words from the context, 2) after having read a story, memorizing the meaning of unknown words by means of vocabulary cards, 3) intensive reading of a relatively difficult illustrated story, 4) recalling the meaning of new words incidentally acquired (or not), while reading a story, 5) doing an exercise, involving different reading strategies. The analysis of the protocol records focused on the causes of the differences between weak and strong pupils. The differences which were found could be related to two relevant general strategies: guessing the meaning of an unknown word from the context and analyzing the word form of an unknown word. The main results were the following: 1) the attention of weak pupils tends to be exclusively drawn by one source of information; weak pupils are not able to integrate information from different sources (advance knowledge, text, word forms, context, illustrations, cues), 2) weak pupils take no account whatsoever of the sentence structure, 3) weak pupils have difficulties in generalizing from a new word to an already known word (in the target language or in the mother tongue). The article concludes with some implications for foreign language teaching.


2020 ◽  
Vol 73 (8) ◽  
pp. 1135-1149 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Bartolotti ◽  
Scott R Schroeder ◽  
Sayuri Hayakawa ◽  
Sirada Rochanavibhata ◽  
Peiyao Chen ◽  
...  

How does the mind process linguistic and non-linguistic sounds? The current study assessed the different ways that spoken words (e.g., “dog”) and characteristic sounds (e.g., <barking>) provide access to phonological information (e.g., word-form of “dog”) and semantic information (e.g., knowledge that a dog is associated with a leash). Using an eye-tracking paradigm, we found that listening to words prompted rapid phonological activation, which was then followed by semantic access. The opposite pattern emerged for sounds, with early semantic access followed by later retrieval of phonological information. Despite differences in the time courses of conceptual access, both words and sounds elicited robust activation of phonological and semantic knowledge. These findings inform models of auditory processing by revealing the pathways between speech and non-speech input and their corresponding word forms and concepts, which influence the speed, magnitude, and duration of linguistic and nonlinguistic activation.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Julia Carbajal ◽  
Sharon Peperkamp ◽  
Sho Tsuji

Recognizing word forms is an important step on infants’ way towards mastering their native language. The present study takes a meta-analytic approach to assess overarching questions on the literature of early word-form recognition. Specifically, we investigated the extent to which there is cross-linguistic evidence for an early recognition lexicon, and how it may be influenced by infant age, language background, and familiarity of the selected stimuli (approximated by parent-reported word knowledge). Our meta-analysis - with open data access on metalab.stanford.edu - was based on 32 experiments in 16 different published or unpublished studies on infants 5-15 months of age. We found an overall significant effect of word-form familiarity on infants’ responses This effect increased with age and was higher for infants learning Romance languages than other languages. We further found that younger, but not older, infants showed higher effect sizes for more familiar word lists. These insights should help researchers plan future studies on word-form recognition.


2020 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 81-96
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Sinyashina

This study compares the effectiveness of two combinations of new vocabulary learning techniques: ‘incidental + intentional’ and ‘intentional + incidental’. For the incidental part, the participants viewed 3 hours of captioned authentic videos, whereas for the intentional one they were asked to do a set of tasks with the target vocabulary at home. Three aspects of the target words were tested: form recognition, meaning recall and written use in a sentence. The overall scores revealed better performance of the ‘incidental + intentional’ condition in the three tests. Nevertheless, a variety of scores in the sample for the three aspects of word knowledge and the lack of statistical evidence did not allow us to conclude with certainty which combination is more or less effective for new vocabulary learning.


2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 651-675 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Malone

AbstractThis study explored the roles of exposure frequency, aural enhancement (AE) of input, and individual differences in working memory (WM) during L2 incidental vocabulary learning while reading. Eighty intermediate-level English learners were divided into four treatment groups, and given reading tasks with target words embedded two or four times. Listening while reading was controlled, as well as duration of exposure to new words through timed reading tasks, and comprehension questions helped to ensure a focus on meaning. Surprise posttests assessed initial form recognition and form-meaning connections. Proficiency and WM measures were administered, with English proficiency used as a covariate. Results indicated that measurable learning occurred at the two-exposure level for new words, both in form recognition and form-meaning connections. Frequency effects held from two to four exposures across AE and non-AE conditions, but were influenced by AE on the form-meaning outcome. This indicated support for simultaneous input modalities facilitating deeper processing and better learning outcomes. WM outcomes correlated with vocabulary outcomes for form recognition, and an aptitude by treatment interaction was found for form recognition.


Author(s):  
Mohan W. Gupta ◽  
Steven C. Pan ◽  
Timothy C. Rickard

AbstractIn three experiments we investigated how the level of study-based, episodic knowledge influences the efficacy of subsequent retrieval practice (testing) as a learning event. Possibilities are that the efficacy of a test, relative to a restudy control, decreases, increases, or is independent of the degree of prior study-based learning. The degree of study-based learning was manipulated by varying the number of item repetitions in the initial study phase between one and eight. Predictions of the dual-memory model of test-enhanced learning for the case of one study-phase repetition were used as a reference. Results support the hypothesis that the advantage of testing over restudy is independent of the degree of prior episodic learning, and they suggest that educators can apply cued-recall testing with the expectation that its efficacy is similar across varying levels of prior content learning. Implications for testing effect theory are discussed.


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