Translation and short-term L2 vocabulary retention: Hindrance or help?

2010 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsten M. Hummel
2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 721-753 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hansol Lee ◽  
Mark Warschauer ◽  
Jang Ho Lee

Abstract This study investigates the effects of corpus use on second language (L2) vocabulary learning as well as the influence of moderators on effectiveness. Based on 29 studies representing 38 unique samples, all of which met several criteria for inclusion (e.g. with control groups), we found an overall positive medium-sized effect of corpus use on L2 vocabulary learning for both short-term (77 posttest effect sizes; Hedges’ g = 0.74, SE = 0.09, p < .001) and long-term periods (34 follow-up effect sizes; Hedges’ g = 0.64, SE = 0.17, p < .001). Furthermore, large variation in adjusted mean effect sizes across moderators was revealed. Above all, for the different dimensions of L2 vocabulary knowledge, in-depth knowledge (i.e. referential meanings as well as syntactic features of vocabulary) was associated with a large effect size. Moreover, the results revealed that learners’ L2 proficiency and several features of corpus use (i.e. interaction types, corpus types, training, and duration) influence the magnitude of the effectiveness of corpus use in improving L2 vocabulary learning.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-68
Author(s):  
Josiah Murphy ◽  
Ryan T. Miller ◽  
Phillip Hamrick

Abstract The bulk of second language (L2) vocabulary learning happens incidentally through reading (Rott, 2007; Webb, 2008), but individual differences, such as prior knowledge, modulate the efficacy of such incidental learning. One individual difference that is strongly predicted to play a role in L2 vocabulary is declarative memory ability; however, links between these two abilities have not been explored (Hamrick, Lum, & Ullman, 2018). This study considered declarative memory in conjunction with varying degrees of prior knowledge, since declarative memory may serve a compensatory function (Ullman & Pullman, 2015). L2 Spanish learners completed measures of prior Spanish vocabulary knowledge, declarative memory ability, and incidental L2 vocabulary learning. The results suggest that better declarative memory predicts better immediate learning in general and better vocabulary retention two days later, but only for those with more prior knowledge, consistent with the Matthew Effect previously reported in the literature (Stanovich, 1986).


2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 379-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine I. Martin ◽  
Nick C. Ellis

This study analyzed phonological short-term memory (PSTM) and working memory (WM) and their relationship with vocabulary and grammar learning in an artificial foreign language. Nonword repetition, nonword recognition, and listening span were used as memory measures. Participants learned the singular forms of vocabulary for an artificial foreign language before being exposed to plural forms in sentence contexts. Participants were tested on their ability to induce the grammatical forms and to generalize the forms to novel utterances. Individual differences in final abilities in vocabulary and grammar correlated between 0.44 and 0.76, depending on the measure. Despite these strong associations, the results demonstrated significant independent effects of PSTM and WM on L2 vocabulary learning and on L2 grammar learning, some of which were mediated by vocabulary and some of which were direct effects.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kohei Kanayama ◽  
◽  
Kiwamu Kasahara ◽  

Taking a test on learned items enhances long-term retention of these items. However, it is believed that good performance in a test contributes to subsequent high retention of the tested items while poor performance does not. Recent studies have sought to find the optimal way to make up for this poor performance, and have indicated that giving the subsequent learning session soon after the test is one such way. This study is different from previous studies in that we used L1–L2 word pairs to examine whether restudying immediately after the failure in the test is useful for long-term retention. First, in the initial study session, all the participants (n = 52) were shown and asked to remember 20 English and Japanese word pairs (e.g., deceit:詐欺). A week later, Group A took the first test session (Initial Test) before the restudy session. On the contrary, Group B took the restudy session before the Initial Test. An hour after this session, both groups took Posttest 1. Then, Posttest 2 was conducted a week after Posttest 1. The results showed that Group A had significantly lower scores than Group B in the Initial Test (2% vs. 55%). However, the results were reversed in Posttest 1 (84.2% vs. 53.2%) and Posttest 2 (55% vs. 43.5%). This study found that a restudy session soon after poor performance in the Initial Test enhanced long-term L2 vocabulary retention because learners benefited from the indirect effects of testing. Thus, English teachers should take such effects into consideration when organizing vocabulary quizzes and restudy sessions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-132
Author(s):  
Asst. Prof. Zeena Abid Ali Dawood

This present study was designed to investigate the impact of using direct language learning strategies on long term and short term (LT and ST for short) of vocabulary retention of non-specialist EFL learners in Iraq. A total of 60 Iraqi male non-specialist EFL learner’s college between the ages of 19 and 21participated in the study. The data were collected using a questionnaire (five-point rating) from Oxford’s (1990) the Strategy Inventory for the Language Learning (SILL for short / version7). To identify the strategies used, the information gathered was analyzed using descriptive statistics of means, frequency and standard deviation. In direct language learning strategies (DLLS for short) study, the (t-test) has been used to examine the learners ' performance of vocabulary retention in LT and ST. On the other hand, One-way between groups (ANOVA) with post-hoc comparison test was used to investigate the differences between LT and ST of the vocabulary retention by using the subcategories of direct language learning strategies. The outcomes showed that the learners’ strategy uses ST more out weights than LT of vocabulary retention. According to the outcomes, the most used (in both long term and short term) was (memory) strategies and followed by (compensation and cognitive) strategies. In the light of the results obtained, a number of pedagogical implications and suggestions were presented.


2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 98-119
Author(s):  
Paul Pauwels

Deliberate vocabulary study has mostly been studied within a strictly experimental framework of learning and memorization. More ecologically valid investigations embedded in existing study contexts have been rare. This study fits into the latter paradigm, investigating how students attempted to learn 90 English words over a period of three weeks and tracking their efforts via study logs and intermediate receptive and productive tests, with final testing five weeks after the study period. The results are in line with findings from earlier research. Study logs showed students mainly relied on different kinds of repetition and retrieval. Selective attention for specific items was an important predictor for short-term learning, and sufficient spacing was the most important predictor for longer-term learning. From a pedagogical point of view, a point of attention is that students mostly practised retrieval after first repeating, making retrieval less difficult and creating an impression of knowledge.


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