Abstract
The lag or the intersession interval (ISI) is the gap between two learning sessions. Lag effects are one of those effects that few studies have examined. Moreover, albeit a huge bulk of research on input spacing (i.e., phenomenon of distributed learning conditions) has been done in laboratory setting, few studies have directly examined this issue within real contexts. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the impact of not only spaced-short but also spaced-long condition on the vocabulary knowledge of EFL learners. To achieve this goal, 37 intermediate level EFL learners were selected from four intact classes. The whole process took place in nine weeks; two testing sessions for pretest and a 28-day delayed posttest, two learning sessions and a final review session. Learning was done in two sessions. In this process, 20 target items were divided into 10 target words from each two lists. The first 10 words were studied during the first session, and reviewed during the review session. Eight days (intersession interval) ISI was specified for the spaced-long condition. Finally, a 1-day ISI was specified for the spaced-short condition. To do so, the second 10 words during the second session were studied, and then they were reviewed during the review session. The results of paired samples t-test revealed that spaced-long input was more effective than the space-short. Spaced-long condition could help learners for conceptual understanding to develop, reduce forgetting and provide opportunities for learners to learn more efficiently.
Highlights
Vocabulary is considered as an indispensable component of language learning (Nation & Webb, 2011)
The present study was undertaken to find out the effect of spacing on second language learning vocabulary by intermediate EFL learners
The results of this study showed that the longer the spacing in learning vocabulary, the better the retention and remembering the words
Summary
Vocabulary is considered as an indispensable component of language learning (Nation & Webb, 2011). It is believed that vocabulary learning is indisputably dependent upon constant encounters with the target words (Rohrer, 2015). Researchers have argued that the spacing between repetitions is of high importance in improving vocabulary retention (Goossens, Camp, Verkoeijen, & Tabbers, 2016). The term spacing is the phenomenon of distributed learning conditions (Bui, Ahmadian, & Hunter, 2019; Rogers, 2017). The latest studies have illustrated the importance of intervals during studying which are separated in time in particular vocabulary learning (Namaziandost et al, 2020). Spacing is believed to enhance memory during learning events compared to https://jurnal.uisu.ac.id/index.php/languageliteracy
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