Abstract
The retrieval effect―the phenomenon that the act of recalling previously
learned items from memory enhances the final test performance―has been
examined in a large number of studies. The present study aims to explore the
effect of having opportunities to retrieve target word meanings from memory,
and to investigate how the retrieval effect can be applied to EFL (English as a
Foreign Language) vocabulary learning. Participants in the no retrieval group (n
= 28) were presented with L2 forms and their L1 translation at the same time on
PowerPoint slides. On the other hand, those in the retrieval group (n = 35) were
presented with each English form initially, then its Japanese translation so that
they had an opportunity to retrieve L1 translations for L2 forms. Two minutes
after the study trial, both groups took an immediate recall test. The tests
required the participants to write down Japanese meanings for the target English
forms. Then, the participants took the same test a week after the immediate test.
The immediate test revealed that the retrieval group recalled the target words
better than the no retrieval group. Moreover, the retrieval group had a better
score than the no retrieval group in the delayed test. These results showed that
the attempted retrieval of word meanings improved the recall test performances,
and indicated that the act of retrieval can facilitate the first step of vocabulary
learning.
