The Effects of Three Spacing Methods on Students’ Mid- to Long-term Retention of Lexis

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Writer(s): 
James Bury, Shumei University, Japan

This article investigates the effect that six different lexical spacing interval schedules had on Japanese university students’ retention of lexis on a translation test completed in the first and last lessons of a 15-lecture course. Two schedules used an expanded spaced retrieval (ESR) technique, two employed a uniform spaced retrieval (USR) technique, and two were based on massed retrieval (MR) methods. It was found that the ESR and USR schedules had greater positive effects on student performance than MR. It is also posited that the challenging learning conditions created by expanding the intervals between the initial encoding of a lexical item and subsequent retrieval attempts can positively affect students’ retention rates and overall learning experiences. Consequently, it is suggested that teachers and curriculum developers implement ESR and USR techniques more when planning and adapting materials.

本論は、日本の大学生が全15回の講義の初回と最終回に行う訳の試験での語彙定着力に、6つの異なる語彙分散間隔スケジュールがどのような効果を与えるかを調査したものである。2つで間隔伸張検索(ESR: expanded spaced retrieval)法を使用し、別の2つで均一間隔検索(USR: uniform spaced retrieval) 法、残りの2つは集中検索 (MR: massed retrieval) 法を用いた。結果としてESRとUSRは、MRよりも学生の成績により良い影響を与えた。また、語彙の最初の発信と次の検索の間隔を延ばすという厳しい学習条件が、学生の語彙の定着率と総体的な学習経験に良い影響を与えると仮定される。そのため、教師やカリキュラム作成者は、教材の教授予定を作成する際、より多くのESRやUSR法を取り入れるよう推奨したい。

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