THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A KEYWORD METHOD IN ACQUIRING ENGLISH WORDS

Abstract

The current article reveals the ways of learning English words with the help of the method called “Keyword method”, developed by J. Atkinson in 1994. Even though it has been a long time since it was introduced in the world of language learners, it can still play a paramount role in second language acquisition. The article also explains the importance of the role of vocabulary enrichment in learning a foreign language as a second language. It is well known that many students find it challenging to memorize new words because when it comes time to use them in speech, the words in their mind get confused and forgotten. Therefore, the article discusses the definition and classification of active vocabulary teaching methods. The examples of rote learning and keyword method learning are provided. Meanwhile, the criteria for application, features, principles and pedagogical conditions for implementingof active teaching methods are indicated. Furthermore, there is a vivid comparison between rote learning (repetition) and the keyword method, which is based on association. For the experimental part, 2 participants have been chosen to precisely check the effectiveness of the keyword method after taking their consent. The results have shown exciting and useful features of both vocabulary learning methods. According to the results of the keyword method, participants were involved in learning new words and performed better than simply repeating new words. They were able to memorize more words, according to the statistics. More details about the experiment are described in the article.