Channels, Fall 2017

Channels • 2017 • Volume 3 • Number 1 Page 43 Comparatively, Group B only retained 36.96% more of the target vocabulary from words 11-20 with the L1 Context Embedding Method than from words 1-10 with the Keyword Method. This results in a 13.04% difference of improvement when going from the L1 Context Embedding Method to the Keyword Method, rather than from the Keyword Method to the L1 Context Embedding Method, indicating that the Keyword Method is more effective in delayed vocabulary retention. Similarly, Group B was able to retain 43.75% more of the target vocabulary from words 1- 10 using the Keyword Method than Group A using the L1 Context Embedding Method. With words 11-20, Group B only retained 31.25% more of the target vocabulary with the L1 Context Embedding Method, than Group A with the Keyword Method. This results in a 12.5% difference of improvement when switching from the L1 Context Embedding Method to the Keyword Method, as opposed to the reverse. From both of these figures it is reasonable to conclude that the Keyword Method is moderately more effective than the L1 Context Embedding Method in improving long term vocabulary retention. Discussion In summary, the results of this study add two small pieces of evidence to the ongoing discussion of which methods of vocabulary instruction are the most effective. First, this research indicates that the difference in effectiveness between the Keyword Method and the L1 Context Embedding Method is not as significant as the difference between the groups of 8 chosen randomly. Second, although the L1 Context Embedding Method was shown to be slightly more effective on the immediate post-tests, the Keyword Method appears to be moderately more effective on longer term retention. However, more study is required to confirm this finding, since neither method unequivocally outperformed the other. Implications This data is relevant for both foreign language educators and learners. With more extensive research, this study can aid educators in determining which methods of explicit vocabulary instruction to employ in the classroom. This research can also guide foreign language learners in their own language learning strategies, allowing them to be confident that they are using methods which have been proven to be effective. It is also important to note that multiple methods can be complementary. Educators should integrate multiple approaches to provide their students with the most benefit (Prince, 2012). Since this research has shown the L1 Context Embedding Method to be comparable to the Keyword Method, instructors should combine both. It is likely that each method is more effective to a particular type of learner, for, as Tosuncuoğlu (2015) states, “Vocabulary acquisition is highly idiosyncratic and depends largely on the learner and her or his individual learning styles and cognitive abilities” (p. 1). However, more research would be required to confirm this.