The effect of keyword and pictorial methods on EFL learner’s vocabulary learning and retention.

Abstract

This research investigates how the two different mnemonic non-verbal approaches (the keyword method [KWM, here after] and Pictorial method) to teaching lexical items affect learning and retention of vocabulary items. For this purpose, 60 adult female elementary students studying English at a language school in Isfahan were chosen to participate in this study. After homogenizing the participants, they were then randomly divided into three equal groups (two experimental groups and one control group). At the end of each section of the treatment, a battery of quizzes were used to measure the participants’ short-term memory recall of the lexical items. Two weeks after the treatment, a multiple-choice delayed-posttest of vocabulary was administered to compare vocabulary achievement among the three groups. The results revealed the effect of the keyword method on the participants’ vocabulary learning. Analysis of immediate posttest and delayed posttest also confirmed the hypothesis that the participants who used the keyword method could store and retain vocabulary items in their long-term memory better than those who used the pictorial method.