Summary
The purpose of the project was to determine if the use of the Keyword method
improved vocabulary recall of high school foreign language students. The
research was conducted in a small, rural, Midwest high school. The participants
were students, grades 9 through 12, enrolled in a Spanish I course. Twelve of the
participants were female, with one male participant. The study was implemented
over a three-week period.
The teacher began the project by inquiring how students acquired foreign
language vocabulary. Students were asked to complete the Foreign Language
Acquisition Survey. Results obtained from the survey reinforced the need to
implement a new method for recalling foreign language vocabulary. The teacher
demonstrated the technique to the class, and students practiced the technique
together. Students employed the technique individually via the computer for a
week, with two separate selections of vocabulary from the current chapter of their
textbook. Upon completion of each vocabulary selection, students were required
to take a quiz. After the remaining sections of the chapter were completed,
students were required to take a comprehensive chapter test. The results of the
vocabulary quizzes were data collected for immediate recall and the results of the
chapter test were that of delayed vocabulary recall. Overall, results showed that
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students' vocabulary recall improved with the Keyword method. Their grades,
however, decreased when time elapsed and students were required to create their
own mental image of the vocabulary word and the keyword interacting.
Finally, students were interviewed for their opinion about the technique. The
results revealed that the majority of students enjoyed the technique. The results
also indicated that students preferred to have the mental image of the vocabulary
and keyword interacting provided with the technique. The data collected from the
quizzes corroborated these findings.