E-Thesis 4160 views 669 downloads
Vocabulary retention in a spaced repetition longitudinal field study with high-school language learners / MIGUEL VARELA
Swansea University Author: MIGUEL VARELA
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DOI (Published version): 10.23889/Suthesis.53503
Abstract
Despite a large amount of research on spaced repetition in L2 courses to retain vocabulary over time, we still do not see its full implementation in everyday classrooms. Laboratory and field studies (on spaced repetition) have worked with participants of different ages and have demonstrated that inf...
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Swansea
2020
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| Institution: | Swansea University |
| Degree level: | Doctoral |
| Degree name: | Ph.D |
| Supervisor: | Tschichold, Cornelia |
| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa53503 |
| Abstract: |
Despite a large amount of research on spaced repetition in L2 courses to retain vocabulary over time, we still do not see its full implementation in everyday classrooms. Laboratory and field studies (on spaced repetition) have worked with participants of different ages and have demonstrated that information can be retained over time, even after several years. Some studies introduced spaced repetition in the classroom, but none of them integrated them fully as part of the curriculum for a whole year. This thesis describes an attempt to integrate spaced repetition in a high-school language course where students take a standard test at the end of the course. To investigate the implementation of spaced repetition, a main research study was conducted in which high-school students rehearsed 100 Spanish words every thirty days in eleven learning sessions. Participants were tested prior and during the treatment to monitor learning. Subjects were also tested 30, 60 and 70 days after the treatment to test vocabulary retention. Analysis of the results revealed that spaced repetition seems to play an important role in long-term vocabulary retention considering 70 days after the last learning session most of the words were still remembered. Further analysis revealed that the highest retention scores were obtained when the interstudy interval and the retention interval were equal in length. A final important finding was that lack of student motivation and engagement has emerged as a crucial factor that can negatively affect learning and consequent vocabulary retention. The implications of these findings for vocabulary learning research, and for vocabulary teaching in the classroom, are considered. |
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| Keywords: |
Vocabulary, language, repetition |
| College: |
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |