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Chapter 6 |
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Theory into Practice |
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Ch. 6, p. 196
Keyword Mnemonics
One of the most extensively studied methods of using imagery and mnemonics (memory devices) to help paired-associate learning is the keyword method, which was originally developed for teaching foreign language vocabulary but was later applied to many other areas (Hall, 1991; Pressley, 1991). The example used earlier of employing vivid imagery to recall the French word l’escrime is an illustration of the keyword method. In that case, the keyword was scream. It is called a keyword because it evokes the connection between the word l’escrime and the mental picture. The Russian word for building, zdanie, pronounced “zdan'-yeh,” might be recalled by using the keyword dawn and imagining the sun coming up behind a building with an onion dome on top. Atkinson and Raugh (1975) used this method to teach students a list of 120 Russian words over a three-day period. Other students were given English translations of the Russian words and allowed to study as they wished. At the end of the experiment, the students who used the keyword method recalled 72 percent of the words, while the other students recalled only 46 percent. This result has been repeated dozens of times, using a wide variety of languages (Pressley, Levin, & Delaney, 1982), with students from preschoolers to adults. However, young children seem to require pictures of the mental images they are meant to form, while older children (starting in upper elementary school) learn equally well making their own mental images (Willoughby, Porter, Belsito, & Yearsley, 1999). Furthermore, having students work in pairs or cooperative groups has been found to enhance vocabulary learning using mnemonic strategies (Jones, Levin, Levin, & Beitzel, 2000).
The images that are used in the keyword method work best if they are vivid and active, preferably involving interaction. For example, the German word _for room, zimmer (pronounced “tsimmer”), might be associated with the keyword simmer. The German word would probably be better recalled by using an image of a distressed person in a bed immersed in a huge, steaming cauldron of water in a large bedroom than by using an image of a small pot of water simmering in the corner of a bedroom. The drama, action, and bizarreness of _the first image make it memorable; the second is too commonplace to be easily recalled.
Although most research on mnemonic learning strategies has focused on learning foreign language vocabulary, several studies have demonstrated that the same methods can be used for other information, including names of state capitals and English vocabulary words (Levin, Shriberg, Miller, McCormick, _& Levin, 1980; Miller, Levin, & Pressley, 1980), reading comprehension (Peters, Levin, McGivern, & Pressley, 1985), biographical information (McCormick & Levin, 1984), and science facts and concepts (Atkinson, Levin, & Atkinson, 1998). A review of many studies involving various mnemonic strategies found substantial positive effects, on average (Hattie, Bibbs, & Purdie, 1996). However, it should be noted that most of the research done on the use of mnemonic strategies has taken place under rather artificial, laboratory-like conditions, using materials that are thought to be especially appropriate for these strategies. Evaluations of actual classroom applications of these strategies show more mixed results (Pressley & Levin, 1983), and there are questions about the long-term retention of material learned by means of keywords (Carney & Levin, 1998; Wang & Thomas, 1995). Although the strategies have been relatively successful for teaching foreign language vocabulary (especially nouns) to elementary school students, they have yet to show success in helping students actually speak foreign languages better.
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