Speaker
Description
This poster describes the results of two pedagogical interventions designed to help increase the use of peer-generated Keyword Method (KWM) sentences among second-year students at a national university in Japan. Experiment 1 substantially increased the number of peer-generated KWM sentences that students had access to, and Experiment 2 looked at whether having student-created images for KWM sentences with high concordance would increase the uptake of peer-generated KWM sentences.
Abstract section 4: Outcomes/results
In Experiment 1, the KWM was used 594 times (69.1%). Over two thirds of the time (n=411), students reported using self-generated KWM sentences. Experimenter-provided sentences were used 140 times (23.6%). Peer-generated KWM sentences accounted for only 7.2% (n=43) of responses.
Experiment 2 resulted in a reduction in the total number of students who used the KWM, and an increase in the use of rote repetition. Despite the reduction in total numbers of KWM use, the number of times that peer-generated KWM sentences were used nearly doubled, being used 79 times (24.69%).
Abstract section 1: Relevance
The auditory and imagery links used in the Keyword Method (Atkinson, 1975) can be created in one of three ways. Experimenter-provided links save time (Cohen, 1987) and provide quality control (Levin, 1981), but self-generated links are more likely to be personally meaningful to the student (Campos et al., 2004a). Peer-generated links combine the best elements of both. Peers are likely to have similarities in the way they think (Campos et al., 2004b), and, as the keywords are checked by the experimenter, quality control can be assured (Campos et al., 2004a), but they are underused in the classroom (Sustenance, 2025).
Abstract section 5: References
Atkinson, R. (1975). Mnemotechnics in second-language learning. American Psychologist, 30(8), 821–828. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0077029
Browne, C., & Culligan, B. (2016). The TOEIC Service List. Retrieved from http://www.newgeneralservicelist.com /toeic-service-list
Campos, A., Amor, A., & González, M. A. (2004a). The importance of the keyword-generation method in keyword mnemonics. Experimental Psychology, 51(2), 125-131. https://doi.org/10.1027/1618-3169.51.2.125
Campos, A., González, M. A. & Amor, A. (2004b). Different strategies for keyword generation. Journal of Mental Imagery, 28(3&4), 51-58.
Cohen, A. (1987). The use of verbal and imagery mnemonics in second-language vocabulary learning. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 9(01), 43-61. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263100006501
Levin, J. (1981). The mnemonic ‘80s: Keywords in the classroom. Educational Psychologist, 16(2), 65-82. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461528109529231
Sustenance, S. (2025). Generating Keyword Sentences: An investigation into student preferences 室蘭工業大学紀要, 74, 46-55.
Abstract section 3: Content/method
Students submitted self-generated Keyword Method (KWM) sentences for a total of 40 words from the TOEIC Service List (Browne & Culligan, 2016). In Experiment 1, all suitable KWM sentences were pasted into a Google Sheets spreadsheet that was shared with students. In Experiment 2, all submitted KWM sentences were analysed by class members, and an archive of images was created for high-concordance KWM sentences. An exit questionnaire was used to determine vocabulary-acquisition strategies.
Abstract section 2: Contribution/research questions
Research Question 1: Does substantially increasing the number of available peer-generated Keyword Method sentences result in an increase in the use of peer-generated Keyword Method sentences?
Research Question 2: Does creating an archive of student-created images for high-concordance peer-generated Keyword Method sentences result in an increase in the use of peer-generated Keyword Method sentences?
| Title | Peer-generated Keyword Method sentences in the classroom |
|---|---|
| Teaching Context | College and university education |