In the previous sections, the results of the delayed vocabulary tests were presented. Nevertheless, there are still some aspects that could not be explained by the scores (e.g., the reason that the adjusted teaching sequence led to better performance).
To learn more through the participants’ feedback, the researcher interviewed twelve participants from four groups (three participants from each group). The participants were chosen based on their English proficiency to see whether participants at different proficiency levels reacted differently to the keyword method. Their feedback is
discussed below. The participant numbers refer to the groups they were from. For example, H2 means the participant was a high-proficiency participant from Group B;
M3, an intermediate-proficiency participant from Group C; and L4, a low-proficiency learner from Group D.
The link between keywords and definitions
The first research question explored whether the adjusted teaching sequence benefits later retrieval. At the end of the learning trial, the two groups taught under the adjusted teaching sequence earned higher scores. The reason the adjusted teaching sequence facilitated long-term retrieval could be observed through the participants’
feedback.
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The participants in the adjusted sequence groups (Groups B and D) stated that the keywords worked as mnemonics. The participants could recall the definitions easily after connecting the target words to the keywords when taking tests.
When I heard a target word, I connected it to the keyword.
Then, the picture of the definition appeared in my mind, followed by the keyword picture. The keywords helped me remember the words better (Student H2, personal communication, June 20, 2017).
I connected a target word to the keyword. After doing so, I could recall the definition (Student H4, personal communication, June 20, 2017).
The keywords are so interesting! 老咳嗽 ‘coughing all the time’ makes someone’s voice raucous. It’s quite impressive. The keywords make words easy to remember (Student L4, personal communication, June 20, 2017).
I think memorizing English vocabulary is difficult and dull.
But with the keywords, the definitions could be recalled more easily (Student L2, personal communication, June 20, 2017)
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Though the participants in adjusted sequence groups agreed that the keywords helped them recall the definitions during later retrieval, the participants in traditional sequence groups (Groups A and C) reacted differently.
Recalling the keywords is easy, but connecting the keywords to the definitions is hard (Student M1, personal communication, June 20, 2017).
I saw the keyword picture first, followed by the definition picture. Sometimes I could only see the keyword picture, and I got stuck. The definition picture never appeared (Student M3, personal communication, June 20, 2017).
How strange! I could recall the keywords well every time, but sometimes I just forgot the definitions (Student L1, personal
communication, June 20, 2017).
The participants from traditional sequence groups failed to rebuild the link between the keywords and the definitions, leading to inferior performance. However, this was not observed with the participants from the adjusted sequence groups. The adjusted teaching sequence allowed the participants to rebuild the link during later retrieval
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and succeeded in making the information more robust. That is, encouraging semantic encoding prior to phonological encoding benefits long-term memory (Campoy &
Baddeley, 2008; Savill et al., 2016). The adjusted teaching sequence benefits the retention of novel L2 words because it made the learners successfully link the keywords to definitions during later retrieval.
The failure of picture encoding cues
The second research question concerned which was the better encoding cue.
The results revealed the students from the picture groups did not perform significantly better; the picture encoding cue failed to sustain the learned information. Hence, providing pictures was not helpful for later retrieval. This result is different from that of Dolean’s (2014) study, which claimed that the advantage of picture encoding cue was retained both immediately and even after a one-month delay. The participants in Dolean’s (2014) study were tested immediately, but the participants in this study only took delayed tests. In other words, when the participants were not immediately tested, the information could not be retained.
By interviewing the participants in the picture groups, the researcher wanted to explore what caused the inferior performance of their groups. Based on the
participants’ feedback, the failure of retention was not due to forgetting the pictures.
In fact, the participants from the picture groups (Groups B and C) indicated that they
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saw vivid images when taking the vocabulary tests. The images were the same as the ones shown in the PPT slides during the learning sessions. Some participants
complained that they encountered difficulty transferring the image in their minds.
I was pretty sure I saw the picture. The picture was exactly the definition picture, but I just could not describe it. I did not know how. I could not find the right words (Student L2, personal communication, June 20, 2017).
When I heard the target word, a picture appeared in my mind. I knew it was about the definition, but somehow I just failed to describe it with the right words (Student L3, personal communication, June 20, 2017).
The pictures in the slides showed up in my mind when I was taking the tests. But sometimes I just could not find the proper words (Student M3, personal communication, June 20, 2017).
The researcher asked them if they knew that writing down either synonyms or Mandarin phonetic symbols was also acceptable; they replied they did. Nevertheless,
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they just did not know how to express the image that appeared in their minds verbally.
Hence, they failed to write down several definitions though they saw the images.
Their dilemma echoes Farley et al.’s (2012) assertion that the learners’
recoding skill greatly influenced their performance. In other words, when the participants were presented with vivid pictures, they encountered difficulty
transferring nonverbal codes into verbal codes during tests. This caused the inferior performance of the picture groups.
Participants’ attitudes toward the keyword method
The participants, though at different proficiency levels and receiving different encoding cues, all agreed that the keyword method was helpful for them in
remembering the definitions of vocabulary. This is in accordance with Levin et al.’s (1992) statement that the keyword method is effective regardless of students’
proficiency level. The participants stated that with this method, memorizing new words became interesting and more efficient. Some of the feedback is listed below.
The keyword method makes memorizing new words easy and fun. The information is retained longer. This method is not only useful but practical (Students H2, H3, M2, M3, and L4, personal
communication, June 20, 2017).
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The keyword method makes the definitions of the new words remembered faster (Students H1, M4, and L2, personal
communication, June 20, 2017).
This is the first time for me to remember all the words with such a fast speed. English becomes much easier for me. With the images appearing in my mind, I could easily recall the definitions (Students H1 and L3, personal communication, June 20, 2017).
I saw this method on TV before. My dad said it was not possible to make memorizing words so easily. Well, he was wrong.
The keyword method does make it easier. (Student H1, personal communication, June 20, 2017)
Connecting the English words to the Chinese keywords is helpful. The vivid pictures (both keyword and definition) made the words more concrete and easy to remember (Student H3, personal communication, June 20, 2017).
When I think of the keywords, vivid images would appear in my mind. This makes the recall easier (Students H1, M1, M2, and L3, personal communication, June 20, 2017).
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In general, the keyword method facilitates learners’ vocabulary learning.
When the keyword method is implemented in the adjusted teaching sequence with word encoding cues provided, the information could be retained longer.