Available experimental evidence is reviewed concerning the keyword method, a two-stage procedure for remembering materials having an associative component. The review examines subjects' memory for definitions, given vocabulary words; subjects' learning of other aspects of vocabulary, given definitions; group-administered keyword studies; and…

In order to examine the effects of interrogative strategies in promoting children's associative learning, children five and six years of age, as well as sixth-grade children, were first presented with a variety of picture-paired associates and then tested for the ability to memorize them. (MP)

Results of a study using the keyword method of vocabulary learning showed increased comprehension of English vocabulary in context, as well as usage of that vocabulary in a novel context. (MKM)

Attempts to identify specific components of a complex associative task, foreign language vocabulary learning, that might be particularly sensitive to developmental differences in imagery generation ability. Subjects were 95 second grade children enrolled in four schools and 90 sixth grade children enrolled in two of these same schools. (Author/MP)

The keyword method of vocabulary learning was compared with five methods designed to increase semantic processing of the definitions of vocabulary words. The method enhanced vocabulary/definition (associative) learning, but not definition (response) learning per se. In contrast, the semantic conditions tended to increase nonassociative learning of…

Elaborative interrogation was compared to the construction of imaginary representations to determine its efficacy in fact learning. Four experiments, involving a total of 260 undergraduate students, indicated that elaborative interrogation is equally as powerful a learning procedure as is imaginary representation and that both are useful during…

The keyword method was compared to the context method of learning new vocabulary in two experiments with undergraduate subjects. In both experiments the keyword method produced significantly greater definition recall. Implications for vocabulary learning theories in particular, and discovery learning approaches in general, are discussed.…

The keyword method helped elementary school children learn Spanish vocabulary, especially when they were provided with relevant visual images. The Spanish word was associated with an English keyword sounding like the foreign word, and the picture illustrated some interaction between the keyword and the English translation. (GDC)

Hint, pegword experience, and hint plus pegword experience conditions were evaluated against three other conditions: (1) a no strategy control condition; (2) an instructional treatment to maximize elaborative strategy use; and (3) an instructional treatment to minimize elaborative strategy use. Results clarify the nature of elaborative production…

A study examined the efficacy of the keyword method of vocabulary instruction by comparing it with five methods designed to increase semantic processing of the definitions of the vocabulary words. Subjects in all five experiments were college students. In the first three experiments, recall of the definitions from the vocabulary words was the…

The research literature on children's production of elaborations in associative learning tasks is reviewed, especially with respect to the questions of when children can produce elaborations under instruction, when they transfer elaborative strategy usage from one situation to another, and when they produce elaborative strategies spontaneously.…

A series of four experiments explored a discrepancy in the findings of research regarding the use of the keyword method for learning vocabulary, specifically whether the presentation method (paced vs. unpaced) or the treatment administration (subjects in groups vs. subjects as individuals) determines its effectiveness. Two experiments involved…