Desarrollo de la Geometría Descriptiva

The sections above focused on language learning in general. In this section I would like to narrow the focus to examine vocabulary learning, an activity that participants in this thesis frequently engaged in.

Vocabulary learning involves the use of different kinds of strategies, such as the use of word parts, bilingual dictionaries and flashcards. Of particular focus in

this thesis is the use of flashcards, coupled with the use of mnemonics to assist in vocabulary learning. Flashcards have been used for vocabulary learning for a long time. According to Nation (2001),

[flashcards create or strengthen] the formation of associations between a foreign language word form (written or spoken) and its meaning (often in the form of a first language translation, although it could be a second language definition or a picture or a real object, for example) (p.296) From the use of physical flashcards, to the use of online flashcards such as Quizlets, it has evolved but its primary purpose remained unchanged: to act as a mediator so that learners have to put in extra effort to guess or recall the meaning of a word, which can possibly result in faster and longer retained learning (Nation, 2001). Flashcards also serve the function of self-testing (Wissman, Rawson and Pyc, 2012). Learners typically write (or type) the target word on one side of the card, and the L1 translation of the word (or a picture of the object, any kind of prompts in general) on the other side of the card. Then learners are to go through the stack of cards looking at the target word and retrieve the meaning of the word. Having to put in effort in the retrieval of the target word is seen to be more effective than simulaneously seeing the target word and its meaning (Landauer and Bjork, 1978, cited in Nation, 2001). Flashcards present vocabulary in a paired-associate format in which “target items are presented outside meaning-focused tasks, and learners are asked to associate the L2 word form with its meaning, usually in the form of a first language (L1) translation, L2 synonym, or L2 definition” (Nakata, 2011:17).

However, some researchers are skeptical about the use of flashcards for learning vocabulary as it is considered decontexualised and therefore offers little help to vocabulary learning (Judd, 1978; Oxford and Crookall, 1990; Oxford and Scarcella, 1994). As Oxford and Scarcella (1994) suggested, “knowing an L2 word also involves being able to use the word communicatively in the context of purposeful interaction” (p.232). Nation (2001) also admitted that many aspects of knowing a word are not covered by using flashcards, notably the spoken form, the word’s usage in different registers, as well as the

As mentioned above, learning vocabulary from flashcards is considered a decontextualised way of learning. In order to provide some contexts for students while preserving the benefits of using flashcards, it is argued that mnemonics can be used when creating flashcards by helping learners form visual and aural associations with the target word. Mnemonics is a word in Ancient Greek which means “aiding the memory” (Higbee, 1979). It is a technique which involves “transferring to-be-learned materials into a form that makes them easier to learn and remember” (Bellezza, 1981:61). It is a creative strategy to learn and teach vocabulary which utilises semantic, visual, and imagery associations.

The research on the effectiveness of mnemonic techniques took off in the late 1970s well into 1980s. The keyword method has been a popular strategy which utilises visual and aural imageries to help students learn new vocabulary (Atkinson, 1975). The keyword method works as follows: 1) learners identify an L1 word (i.e. the keyword) which sounds similar to the target word, 2) they form a mental image of the keyword “interacting” with the translation of the target word in L1. Therefore, an acoustic link as well as an imagery link is formed. As regards using the formation of mnemonic associations to learn new vocabulary, Cohen and Aphek (1980) found benefits in addition to the recall of vocabulary in their study with learners of Hebrew. They found that while students were

manipulating or playing around with the target word to create an association, it may enhance learners’ attitude towards the language, similar to young ‘native- speakers’ playing around with words. This study shows that associations generated by the learners through a creative process may have additional benefits compared to associations given to learners.

In earlier studies of the keyword method, only simple vocabulary in a foreign language were tested. Levin et al. (1982) studied the effectiveness of the keyword method using more complex vocabulary with school children in the United States learning complex English words, and they concluded that the keyword method, together with the use of imaginery context in which the target word could be used, is a flexible and effective way of learning vocabulary.

Nonetheless, there are limitations to the use of mnemonics in learning and teaching vocabulary. Maera (1980) argued that the use of mnemonic

techniques in teaching vocabulary “[treats] vocabulary items as discrete pairs of translation equivalents” which ignored the fact that there is rarely a one-to-one translation between lexical items, and he further argued that this is an

‘oversimplified’ view of vocabulary learning. His other criticism to the use of mnemonics is that most studies done to evaluate the effectiveness of this technique are based on one-off experiements, which are detached from the experience of real language learners who learn a language through the course of a long time.