Efficiency in Second Language Vocabulary Learning

Abstract

An ongoing question in second language vocabulary learning is how to optimize the acquisition of words. One approach is the so‐called “spaced repetition technique” that uses intervals to repeat words in a given time frame (Balota et al., ; Leitner, ; Oxford, ; Pimsleur, ; Roediger & Karpicke, ; Schuetze & Weimer‐Stuckmann, 2011). Part of the discussion is on the number of words that can be acquired. Interestingly, within this context a question that has not been explored yet is: Is it more beneficial to increase the number of repetitions (while keeping the number of words constant) or to reduce the number of words (while keeping the number of repetitions constant) in order to improve recall rates? This was the premise of the study carried out with beginning learners of German. Results show that reducing the number of words was not as effective as increasing the number of repetitions, a result that is supported by our understanding of how words are processed in the brain, in particular by the phonological loop (Baddeley, ).