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What is the appropriate number of words in a set for the most effective recall in intentional learning?

Graduation Thesis

Presented to

the Faculty of the Department of

English Language and Literature

Notre Dame Seishin University

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirement for the Degree

Bachelor of Arts

by

Miki Terai

2018

Contents

Abstract

Chapter One: Introduction

1.1 Introduction 1

1.2 What is memory? 2

1.2.2 Kinds of memory 3

1.2.3 Episodic memory 6

1.2.4 Semantic memory6

1.2.5 Procedural memory7

1.2.6 Implicit memory 7

1.2.7 Priming 7

1.3 Forgetting 8

1.3.1 Forgetting 8

1.4 The use of memory in learning words effectively11

1.4.1 Learning types 11

1.4.2 Word Card Method, Wordlist Method11

1.5 Mnemonics 12

1.6 Previous research on the learning of word in sets14

1.7 Research Questions 16

1.8 Conclusion 17

Chapter Two: The experiment

2.1 Introduction 18

2.2 The experiments18

2.2.1 Introduction to the experiment 18

2.2.2 Method 18

1) Subjects 18

2) Test design 18

3) Procedure 23

2.2.3 Results 23

1) The test data23

2) The questionnaire data25

2.3 Summary 26

Chapter 3: Discussion

3.1 Introduction 27

3.2 Summary of the results from Chapter Two27

3.3 Discussion of tests 27

3.4 Answering the research questions28

3.4.1 Research question 128

3.4.2 Research question 228

3.5 Implications 29

3.6. Limitations of the Experiments 29

3.7. Further research30

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3.8. Conclusion 30

References 31

Appendices 33

Abstract

People learn some information; numbers, faces, forms every day, and they say or write the information. However, they cannot remember all the information, and may forget it. This thesis discusses what the appropriate number of words in a set for the most effective recall is, by using the wordlist learning as an experimental tool.

In the first part of Chapter One, we described what is generally said about memory, forgetting and knowledge; the kinds of memory, the relationship between memory and forgetting, knowledge and so on.

In Chapter Two, we explained the process and the result of a test and questionnaire. To examine the best set size, Notre Dame Seishin University and Okayama University students were asked to take a test to memorize a wordlist and they answered the questionnaire by using their memory. Then we compared the scores of the tests.

In Chapter Three, we discussed the results of the tests and the

questionnaire in the detail. We found out it that the students have the

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ability memorize many things at one time, but they have limitation for

that. Also, the research questions were answered. We found out the

most effective set size for intentional learning was 9 words per set

and 4 times for remembering the 36 words. As we saw in Chapter One

frequent review can help retention, but over time, we still tend to

forget what we have learned. In order to store new words in Long-

term Memory, learners should memorize new words connecting the

words with something.

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Chapter One : Introduction to Human Memory

1.1 IntroductionToday, the world is becoming more globalized. Many people

learn languages. When people learn the new language, they have to

remember many words. If the word is unfamiliar, it is difficult to

memorize it soon. One of the important roles of brain is to memorize.

Memory is very difficult to understand. People have things to

memorize, but they sometimes cannot memorize. So, how long does

it stay in memory? What kinds of things can we memorize easily or

become difficult?

At first, we will find out what researchers say memory is. Here

is a definition.

“The use of a single term might seem to suggest that

memory is a unitary system, albeit a complicated one such

as the heart or the liver. It is not one system but many. The

systems range in storage duration from fractions of a

second up to a lifetime and in storage capacity from tiny

buffer stores to the long-term memory system that appears

to far exceed in capacity and flexibility the largest available

computer.” (Baddeley, 1990 p.4).

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People can memorize a lot of things but they also forget them.

They can also, memorize something for a long time but forget

something rapidly too. For example, people will not forget their family

name, boyfriend’s name. because these are called “long term

memories”. On the other hand, it is difficult to remember unknown

items, like friends’ phone number. People easily forget it. It is

generally called “weak memories”. Basically, Squire (1980) divided

memory into three types; sensory memory, short-term memory, and

long-term memory, so we will see in the next section about that.

1.2 What is memory?

1.2.1 Models of memory Psychologists distinguish between three necessary stages in

the learning and memory process: encoding, storage, and retrieval

(Melton, 1963). Encoding is defined as the initial learning of

information; storage refers to keeping information over time; retrieval

is the skill to access information when we need it. For example, when

someone tells us their name at a party, you have to encode their

names while you associate their name with their faces. Then you

need to maintain the information over time. If you see them a week

later, you need to recognize their face and have it serve as a signal to

retrieve their names. Successful acts of remembering require that

three stages all be functioning.Figure1; Stages of memory

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The multistore of model of memory was proposed by Atkinson

and Shiffrin (1968) and is a structure model (Figure 2). They proposed

that memory consisted of three stores: a sensory register, short-term

memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM). Information passes from

store to store in a straight way, and has been described as an

information processing model with an input, process and output.

Figure 2: Multi Store Model- Atkinson & Shiffrin

1.2.2 Kinds of memoryThis subsection is based on Atkinson & Shiffrin.Memory is our ability to encode, store, retain and recall. The

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classification is the difference between storage time, sensory

memory, working memory, and long-term memory.

Sensory memory

Sensory memory is an ability to retain impressions of sensory

information like sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. It is ultra-

short-term memory and decays or degrades very quickly, typically

in the region of 200 milliseconds after the perception of an item,

and certainly less than a second.

Short-term Memory (Working memory)

Working memory involves an ability to remember and process a

lot of information at the same time, for example when we look at a

telephone book or call someone. We remember a telephone

number as we dial, but after the call we forget it. Thus, working

memory holds a small amount of information for a short term.

Miller (1956) said the only a small amount information (7±2

words/ chunks) stays in working memory for about 20 seconds.

More recent researchers say it is 5±7 items but recently research

suggests it might be 4-6.

Long term memory(LTM)

This is a memory we keep for the long term, for example when

children try to remember their home telephone number for the

first time. At first, they forget it very quickly but they will repeat it

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again and again, and eventually they will not forget it forever.

Another classification concerns types of LTM. LTM is divided into

two types: declarative memory and procedural (non-declarative)

memory. It is called sometimes explicit memory and implicit memory.

Declarative memories are memories which we can say/ tell what

they are. There are two types: episodic memory (e.g.: stories,

experiences) and semantic memory (e.g.: the memory of meanings,

understandings, and other concept-based knowledge). Procedural

memory consists of processes or skills which we can’t always say/ tell

what they are. It is divided into two types: procedural memory and

priming memory.

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Figure 3: Types of Human Memory: Diagram by Luke Mastin

1.2.3 Episodic memory

Episodic memory receives and stores information about

temporally dated episodes or events, and temporal-spatial relations

among these events.Some examples of episodic memory:

• The first time you traveled by airplane

• Your first day at a new job

• The movie you saw on your first date with your wife

Tulving (1972) noted that semantic and episodic memories differ

in how they operate and the types of information they process. Also

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he observed that forming a new episodic memory is affected by

information in semantic memory.

1.2.4 Semantic memory

Semantic memory is the memory necessary for the use of

language. It is structured record of facts, meanings, concepts and knowledge.Some examples of semantic memory:

• Knowing that grass is green

• Remembering what a dog is

• Knowing how to use the phone

“If a person possesses some semantic memory information, he

obviously must have learned it, either directly or indirectly, at an

earlier time, but he need not possess any mnemonic information

about the episode of such learning,” (Tulving,1972).

1.2.5 Procedural memory

Procedural memory is a type of long-term memory of how to

perform different actions and skills. Essentially, it is the memory of

how to do certain things. Some examples of tasks dependent upon

procedural memory:• Playing piano

• Swimming

• Driving car

This memory is the memory that the body remembers rather than

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the mind. It’s not a specific memory you can recall, but rather the

memorizing and automatizing of the process. Language use is a

procedural memory as well.

1.2.6 Implicit memory

Implicit memory is sometimes referred to as unconscious

memory or automatic memory. Implicit memory uses past

experiences to remember things without thinking about them.

Examples of implicit memories• Performing simple cooking tasks, like boiling water for pasta

• Taking a familiar route each day, such as going to school or the

store where you shop frequently

• Buttoning a shirt

1.2.7 Priming

Priming means primary things has an effect on the following

things. For example, when people hear “teacher”, they recall

“student” or when people see the words “app_e”, they should

understand that “l” is left out. It may be “l” not “r”, but people

already know the word “apple”, so their brain interprets it as such.

Differences between implicit and explicit memoryImplicit memory differs from explicit memory, and also called

declarative memory, which involves a conscious attempt to retrieve

memories of past events. While implicit memory requires little if any

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effort to recall, explicit memory requires a more concerted effort to

bring memories to the surface. While most people can tick off the

days of the week from the time they are in grade school — which is

implicit memory — it takes explicit memory to recall that you have a

dentist appointment next Tuesday.Examples of explicit memory:

• Knowing that when the Civil War started

• Remembering your trip to Canada last summer

• Recalling the events of Tohoku disaster

1.3 Forgetting

1.3.1 ForgettingOur brain is designed not to remember but to forget. Working

memory works well when the learner has a strong will and feels a

great impact from the input.

Figure 4: The Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve

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The figure is proposed by Ebbinghaus (1885). He studied how words

were remembered, and how long they stayed in our memory. As we

can see from Figure 4, most forgetting happens immediately after we

learned it. The learners forget things very quickly at first, and

gradually forget less per day. The speed slows down. To retain this

knowledge, they need to re-learn it. It is called ‘rehearsal’. If people

don’t use the knowledge, and see again, they will forget soon. When

the learners really want to get some new words, they have to meet

them again and again.Savara (2010) has shown that reviewing at regular intervals

does increase retention and that over time, less frequent review is

needed.We can see this in Figure 5. It shows we should review what we

learned once after two weeks, or twice – after 2 weeks, and then after

a month.

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Figure 5: The Forgetting Curve

As we can see, the frequent review can help retention, but over time,

we still tend to forget what we have learned. This is why reviewing

and cramming for exams can caused problems in the short term. It

leads us to forget everything after we had quickly learned something.

We can say knowledge has relation to memory, so we also

show about knowledge.Knowledge is defined in the Oxford English dictionary as...

1. Special skills people get through experiences or educational.

Theoretical or practical understanding about a subject.

2. Facts and information

3. Recognition through people get through facts or situations.

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1.4 The use of memory in learning words effectively

Previous research into vocabulary learning methods

1.4.1 Learning types - Intentional learning and Incidental learningThere are two ways to learn a second language.

One view is intentional study. It means committing to memory

thousands of words (their meanings, sounds, and spellings) and some

of grammar rules by plan or intention. The other is incidental study. It involves the picking up of the

words and structures, by engaging in a variety of communicative

activities, especially reading and listening activities, while which

learner’s attention is focused on the meaning rather than on the form

of language (Hulstijn, 2003). It means much of the burden of

intentional learning can be taken off the shoulders of the language

learner by processes of incidental learning.

1.4.2 Word Card Method, Wordlist MethodFukuda (2010) mentioned that there were some benefits of

word card learning below.1. Learners can memorize the words in random order by

shuffling the cards. Learners can memorize the words in

various sequences incidentally (Nation, 2001).2. Learners can classify the words as memorized words or not,

so that they intensively learn words they have not

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memorized (Nakata, 2008).On the other hand, he also noted the good point of the wordlist

method is that learners can see the unknown words all together.

However, the weak point is the word order is in serial order, so as we

remember the list order, the retrieval practice effect often happens

(Baddeley, 1997).

Mnemonics

1.5 MnemonicsMnemonic devices are methods to aid memory. The word

Mnemonic originated from the ancient Greek word uvnuocikos

(mnemonikos) which means “memory”. It is a type of intentional

learning and helps us retain and recall larger pieces of information. Mnemonics improves memory, and helps to store information

in long term memory to make it easier to recall because our brain has

evolved to code and interpret complex information such as images,

colors, positions, emotions, and languages. Miller (1967) showed that mnemonics increases recall. In this

experiment mnemonics were taught to learners in advance as it takes

only 15-20 seconds to memorize the mnemonic that will help learners

remember. The test was given 2-3 weeks later, and the learners who

used mnemonics increased their test score up to 77%. There are many types of mnemonics. It is difficult to show all

mnemonics, but here are some examples.

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Music mnemonics

People can remember lyrics. Music can used to help students

recall important details for main ideas and many learners have

made songs out of information when a list of items must be

learned. For example: some children learn the ABC's by singing

the "ABC" song. Other children learn all the states in alphabetical

order using the "50 Nifty United States" song.

Name Mnemonics

In a Name Mnemonic, each of the initial letter is used to make

a name of a person or thing. For example: ROY G. BIV = colors

of the spectrum (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo,

Violet.)

Names of Expressions Mnemonics

This is the most popularly used mnemonic. To make an Expression

or Word mnemonic, the first letter of each item in a list is arranged

to form a phrase or word. For example: The 7 coordinating

conjunctions are For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So = FANBOYS

Spelling Mnemonics

Here is an example of a spelling mnemonic: A principal at a school

is your pal, and a principle you believe or follow is a rule. Another

example: to spell Mississippi, many learners combine a Rhythm

Mnemonic with a Spelling mnemonic: M-iss-iss-ipp-i.

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1.6 Previous research on the learning of word in sets

There is little evidence to support set size standards. Gordon

(2003) showed that learning rates decrease above a set size of about

6-9. In EFL it is standard to ask students to learn in sets no larger than

12, with a common number being 8-10 (personal communication,

Waring 2017).Nation (2000) proposed that learning related words at the

same time makes learning them more difficult. We can avoid this

difficulty if related words are learned separately, as they are when

learning from normal language use. Nation recommended we should

learn words of related meanings together so that learners can see the

distinctions between them and gain a reasonably complete coverage

of a defined area of meaning. We do should not teach opposites (e.g.,

hot-cold, long-short, old-young), and lexical sets (e.g., banana-orange-

apple). Of course, we have good points to learn in set.The justification of doing this way• requires less learning to learn words in a set (Neuner, 1992);

• is easier to retrieve related words from memory;

• helps learners see how knowledge can be organized (Dunbar,

1992);

• reflects the way such information is stored in the brain; and

• makes the meaning of words clearer by seeing how they

relate to and are different from other words in the set.

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However a growing body of research indicates that this way of

presenting new vocabulary is making learning much more difficult

than it should be.According to this research, it takes longer to learn words that

relate to each other in certain ways than it takes to learn words that

are unrelated to each other or that are related to each other in a kind

of story line. Nation noted that learning related words in sets is not a

good idea for initial learning. As learners’ knowledge becomes more

established, seeing related words in sets can have a more positive

effect.

1.7 Research Questions

We have seen what memory and forgetting is, and the

differences of kinds of memory and knowledge. However, the

students may not know how much unknown information they can

memorize, and what is the optimal size when learning new semantic

information such as words.

The experiment in this thesis will try to discover the most appropriate

number of words in a set for the most effective recall.

1. What set size is best for the intentional learning of wordlists?2. What do the subjects think about the variables in the

experiment?

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1.8 Conclusion

In this chapter, we have looked at the types of memory. There are

several views about working memory span. Miller (1956) said 7±2

things are memorized at one time in adult average. In Chapter Two,

we will examine to see how many words in a set leads to the most

effective recall.

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Chapter 2: The Experiment

2.1 Introduction

In this chapter, we will find out the best memorizing sizes and

sets for subjects.

2.2 The (experiment / questionnaire)

2.2.1 Introduction to the experiment

The experiment was designed to find out the appropriate

number of words in a set for the most effective recall. The appropriate

number will be determined by data from the test and comparing the

immediate test with the delay test. Also we examined the correlation

between effective memorization and memorizing preference by

comparing with their test score.

2.2.2 Method

1) Subjects

45 third or fourth grade students in Notre Dame Seishin

University and Okayama University participated in this experiment.

The students of Notre Dame Seishin University had studied English for

more than eight years, and their major was English linguistics or

literature.

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2) Test design

In this experiment, three set sizes for memorizing methods

were tested. The first was 6 sets of 6 words 6 (totaling 36 words). The

second was the same 36 words tested as 4 sets of 9 words, and the

same 36 words tested as the third set was 3 sets of 12 words. The

aim was to see whether students learned better in bigger or smaller

set. In the 6 set method, everybody memorized 6 verbs at one time,

each followed by quizzes about the world, which acted as distractors.

All questions were designed by the researcher. First, they were asked

to memorize 6 verbs that they hadn’t know with Japanese translations

by google form as much as they want to use time. After that, they

were asked to do quizzes about the world. This is the break time

without English, and on the next page, they were asked to write the 6

verbs with Japanese translation. Here is an example.

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Please learn these words.Render ～の状態にする

Dilute 希薄 (化)する

Confound 混乱させる

Overlap 重なる

Please go to next page if you finished memorizing these words.

Please do these quizzes.Q. Which is the biggest country in the world?

Russia United states Canada

Etc…

Test A The instructions were “Please write the Japanese words for

these English words. (Please DO NOT use like dictionary and internet

because want to know exactly what you remember.) If you don’t

know the answer, please write “I don’t know.” Here are two

examples*

Dilute __________________Confound __________________

9bPlease learn these words.

Dilute 希薄化する

Inhibit 抑制する

Decay 腐敗する

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Audit 監査する

Dissolve 溶ける

Undermine 徐々に弱らせる

Accelerate 加速する

Mediate 仲介する

Swell 腫れる

Please do these quizzes.

Q. Where is the country the most visit to Japan?

China United states Korea

Etc…

In the 9 set method, everybody memorized 9 verbs at one

time, each followed by quizzes about the world, which acted as

distractors. All questions were designed by the researcher. First, they

were asked to memorize 9 verbs that they hadn’t know with Japanese

translations by Google Forms as much as they want to use time. After

that, they were asked to do quizzes about the world. This is the break

time without English, and on the next page, they were asked to write

the 9 verbs with Japanese translation. Here is an example.

Test B

The instructions given were “Please write the Japanese words

for these English words. (Please DO NOT use like dictionary and

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internet because want to know exactly what you remember.) If you

don’t know the answer, please write “I don’t know.” Here are two

examples*

Audit ___________________

Dissolve ____________________

In the 12 set method, everybody memorized 12 verbs at one

time, each followed by quizzes about the world, which acted as

distractors. All questions were designed by the researcher. First, they

were asked to memorize 12 verbs that they hadn’t know with

Japanese translations by google form as much as they want to use

time. After that, they were asked to do quizzes about the world. This

is the break time without English, and on the next page, they were

asked to write the 12 verbs with Japanese translation. Here is an

example.

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12c

Please learn these words.


Dissolve 溶ける


Allocate 割り当てる

Deceive 欺く

Interfere 干渉する

Degrade (人に)敬意をもたずに接する

Precipitate 引き起こす

Transcribe ～を文字に起こす

Manipulate 操る

Flip 素早く (さっと)動く

Weave 織る

Please do these quizzes.

Which country is the best GNI per a person?

Qatar

Switzerland

Norway

Etc

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Test C

The instructions given were “Please write the Japanese words

for these English words. (Please DO NOT use like dictionary and

internet because want to know exactly what you remember.) If you do

not know the answer, please write “I don’t know.” Here are two

examples*

Mediate ______________________

Allocate _______________________

In the end of the test, the questionnaire was designed to figure

out their interest and consciousness and memorizing.

Here is the questionnaire.

1. Please answer the questions below.

2. How many words did you know before take this test?

Almost

Many

A little

Almost never

3. This test was…

Easy

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Difficult

4. Remembering 6/9/12 words at one time is

Too much

Perfect

Too little

5. If you have any comments about this test, please

write here.

3) Procedure

The students were asked to write their names on the test. There

was no time limit. Most of the students did this test in about 30

minutes. The student could not use their dictionaries and go back to

the previous page. All the data were collected by Google forms. The

questions appear in the Appendix.

2.2.3 Results

1) The test data

The data for all subjects in the three conditions is shown in

Table 1.

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Table 1: Data for all the subjects in the three conditions

6 Times 9 Times 12 TimesMean 23.20 28.96 23.68Standard Deviation 10.34 5.92 5.43

n=15 n=14 n=14

The data shows us that the mean score across the six times for

learning wordlists was 23.20 (s.d. 10.34) and nine times for learning

wordlists was 28.96 (5.92) and twelve times for learning wordlists was

23.68 (5.43). From Table 1, we can see the highest score is the 9 set

method, on the other hand, the lowest score is the 6 set method.

However, two subjects in the 6 times group had significantly

lower scores that the others. The suspicion is that they gave up or did

not try and therefore their data have been removed. Table 2 shows

the revised data.

Table 2: Data for all the subjects except the outliers

6 Times 9 Times 12 TimesMean 25.96 28.96 23.68

Standard Deviation 8.12 5.92 5.43

n=13 n=14 n=14

The data shows us that the mean score across the 6 times for

learning wordlists was 25.96 (s.d. 8.12) and 9 times for learning

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wordlists was 28.96 (5.92) and 12 times for learning wordlists was

23.68 (5.43) From table 2, we can see the highest score is the 9 set

method, on the other hand, the lowest score is the 12 set method.

2) The questionnaire data

Also the subjects were asked how they thought about the

tests.

Table 3: How many words did you know before take this test?

6 9 12 TotalA few 8 10 10 28 65%A lot 1 1 0 2 5%None 6 3 4 13 30%

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Many subjects answered that they didn’t knew most of the words.

Table 4: This test was…

6 9 12 TotalDifficult 12 12 13 37 86%Easy 3 2 1 6 14%

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Many subjects answered that this test was difficult.

Table 5: Remembering 6/9/12 words at one time is…

Opinion 6 9 12 Total

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Too little 1 0 0 1 2%perfect 7 6 8 21 49%Too many words 7 8 6 21 49%

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2.3 Summary

In this chapter, we have looked at the experiment conducted

to determine the rate of learning words using list of words. From this

experiment, we could know many things. From the questionnaire, we

could know about that few subjects tend to forget the meaning of

words, while doing other tasks such as doing the distractors.

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Chapter 3: Discussion

3.1 Introduction

In Chapter One, we learned about human memory. In Chapter

Two, we looked at the appropriate set of words by using wordlists, by

asking NDSU students and Okayama University students to take tests.

In this chapter, we would like to analyze the results of the test and

described, and limitations of the research will be started.

3.2 Summary of the results from Chapter Two

In Chapter Two, we looked at the results for the questionnaire

and the test. All the subjects took a test one time with the wordlists

which the researcher made and decided what they should do. The

retention scores by the 9 words set method were highest in all of

tests, even though 57.1% people felt it was too much to remember 9

words at one time. It is the highest percentage of the three set sizes.

The result means the learners thought it had been enough to

remember 9 words and 4 sets at one time.

3.3 Discussion of tests

In this section, we will discuss the results of the test in detail.

As we saw in the previous research on the learning of word in sets,

the common number was 8-10 in this test. The subjects prefer to use

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the method of 9 word sets, because it was the most effective amount

to remember by using wordlist. The subjects of using 6 word sets

method, they had only 6 words at one time in one set, but have to

learn 6 times, so they felt it was too long. Compared to that, the

subject using the 12 word set method, they had to learn 3 times, but

felt it was too many words to remember at one time. Also if they

thought that they had could remember the meaning of words, while

doing distractors, they would forget some information. Also, in this

test, 85% of the subjects answered this test was difficult, and 65% of

the subjects answered that they did not know the most of words, and

30% of the subjects did not know any of the words selected. It means

it was very hard for them to remember the new word at one time.

3.4 Research questions

We will now answer the research questions one by one.

3.4.1. What set size is best for intentional learning of wordlists?The most effective set size was 9 words per set and 4 times for

remembering the 36 words. As we saw in Chapter One frequent

review can help retention, but over time, we still tend to forget what

we have learned. In order to store new words in LTM, learners should

memorize new words connecting the words with something.

3.4.2. What do the subjects think about the variables in the

experiment?

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Most subjects answered it was difficult. Some subjects left the

comment that it is take a long time to remember. Also some of the

subjects mentioned it is easy to forget the meaning of words after the

distractors, so I have to choose a better way to store the information

correctly.

3.5 Implications

People memorize and forget something every day. In this time,

the subjects took the test when they had free time, so some people

could focus on this test, but someone did not which may change their

feeling, physical condition, and so on. However, to keep memorizing

words permanently, they must study again and again because people

memorize many things in our daily life and then forget the

information.

3.6. Limitations of the Experiments

These are limitations to the experiment. First, we do not record

the time, so could not know how long it actually took this time. They

did not have the time limitation, so someone might take very long

time to remember the wordlist.

Secondly, the subjects were only juniors and seniors in the

university. It would have been better to research a wider range of

ages, especially not only university students. Because of this, there

may be a difference in the results of tests, and we could compare

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different age groups.

Thirdly, the way to remember in the test was not clear. In this

test we do not know how they remembered the words such as writing

sometimes, or only reading, or if they used mnemonics, or something

else. If there had been more information, we could get more data to

analyze. Also, using mnemonics with word test may have been a good

idea.

3.7. Further research

There are some ideas to follow up this research. Firstly, we can

research to see if there is a different optimal set size between

university students and elementary students, due to the changing

function of their brain.

Secondly, if there are differences of optimal set size by their

learning level. So, in order to make stronger evidence, it would have

better to ask many more wide range of learners to take the test and

collect more data.

3.8. Conclusion

From this experiment, it can be said that the students have the

ability memorize many things at one time, but they have limitation for

that. Some of the subjects are easy to forget the meaning of words

after the distractors. In this research, the best size was 9 set size

32

method, but it is difficult to say it is the best set size, because it

depends on the types of words, or their knowledge, or condition of

their body and so on.

33

References

Books and articles

Baddeley, A.D. 1990. Human memory. Newbury House

Coady. J. T, Huckin. 1996. Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition: A Rationale for Pedagogy

Dunbar, S. 1992. Developing vocabulary by integrating language and content.

福田昇 2010.『中学生を対象とした第二言語語彙習得に対するフラッシュ

カードの影響』

http://www.kairyudo.co.jp/general/data/contents/06-information/07-nakamuraeigo/58/58-02.pdf

Gordon, P. 2004. Numerical Cognition Without Words: Evidence from Amazonia

http://staff.um.edu.mt/albert.gatt/teaching/dl/gordon04_numerical-cognition-without-words.pdf

Hulstijn, J. 2003. Incidental and intentional learning University of Amsterdam

34





Manktelow, J. 2007. Mind Tools, essential skills for an excellent career

Miller, G. 1994 The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information

Nakata, T. 2008. English vocabulary learning with wordlists, word cards and computers: implications from cognitive psychology research for optimal spaced learning. ReCall, 20(1), 3-20

Nation, P. 2000. Learning Vocabulary in Lexical Sets: Dangers and Guidelines

Neuner, G. 1992. The role of experience in a content- and comprehension-oriented approach to learning a foreign language. In P. J. L. Arnaud & H. Béjoint, Vocabulary and applied linguistics (pp. 156- 166). London: Macmillan.

Nishi, S. 2014, Human memory.

http://www.robwaring.org/classes/seminar_class/presentations/sachiko_HUMAN_MEMORY.doc

Tulving, E. (1972) Episodic and Semantic Memory

Zimmermann, K. Live Science Contributor Memory Definition & Types of Memory Accessed August 27, 2017

https://www.livescience.com/43713-memory.html

Webpages

35



McDermott, K. and H.. Roediger III Washington University in St. Louis. Memory (Encoding, Storage, Retrieval) Accessed September 15, 2017

http://nobaproject.com/modules/memory-encoding-storage-retrieval

Merritt, A. Foreign languages: how to memorise vocabulary, Accessed October 18, 2017

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationadvice/9816185/Foreign-languages-how-to-memorise-vocabulary.html

Savara, S. The Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve – And How To Overcome It. Accessed September 25, 2017

https://sidsavara.com/the-ebbinghaus-curve-of-forgetting/

PicturesAQA AS Psychology Unit 1 Memory. Multi Store Model - Atkinson &

Shiffrin Environmental Input Sensory Input (sights, sounds, etc.) Accessed November 29, 2017

Mastin, L. The Human Memoryhttp://www.lukemastin.com/humanmemory/processes.html,

Accessed November 29, 2017

Scheafer, P. Why Google Has Forever Changed the Forgetting Curve at Work Accessed November, 29, 2017

36

http://www.lukemastin.com/humanmemory/processes.html

https://sidsavara.com/the-ebbinghaus-curve-of-forgetting/

Appendices

Set Size Test 1調査にご協力頂き、ありがとうございます。

このテストは、① 9 個の英単語を覚える ②世界に関するクイズを解く（正答率は問

いませんので気軽に選択してください）③覚えた単語の試験　という流れで進んでい

きます。テストは a から d まであります。

*必須

名前 *

あなたの回答を調査のために使用しますがよろしいですか。 *承諾

拒否

Please learn these words.6aRender 〜の状態にする

Dilute 希薄化する

Confound 混乱させる

Overlap 重なる

Manipulate 操る


個人のペースで、覚えれたと思ったら次に進んでください。

以下の質問に答えてください。

面積が 1 番大きい国　

ロシア

アメリカ

カナダ

37

面積が 1 番小さい国

モナコ Vバチカン

ソウル

世界一長い川

ナイル

長江

アマゾン

世界一ひろい湖

スペリオル湖

カスピ海

ビクトリア湖

世界一高い山

ゴドウィンオースチン（カラコルム）

カンチェンジュンガ（ヒマラヤ）

エベレスト（ヒマラヤ）

以下の単語の日本語訳を書いてください（単純にどれくらい覚えているか知りたいので、

何も見ずに答えてください。）

もしどうしても思い出せなければ”分からない”と書いてください。

Dilute *

Confound *

Overlap *

Render *

38

Manipulate *

Inhibit *

Please learn these words.6 ｂ


Degrade　 (人に)敬意をもたずに接する

Allocate 　　割り当てる

Swap 交換する

Decay 腐敗する

Diagnose 　診断する

Compensate 　補償する


以下の質問に答えてください。以下の質問に答えてください

人口が一番多い国

インド

アメリカ合衆国

中国

人口が一番少ない国

ニウエ

ツバル

バチカン

人口増加率が一番高い国

ニジェール

レバノン

39

オマーン

平均寿命が二番目に長い国

スイス

シンガポール

日本

国民総所得（GNI）が一番高い国

中国


日本

以下の単語の日本語訳を書いてください（何も見ずに答えてください）


Decay *

Diagnose *

Compensate *

Degrade *

Allocate *

Swap *

Please learn these words.6 ｃ


Drift 　　あてもなくさ迷う

40

Audit 監査する

Merge 合併する

Converge 　集まる

Flip 　　素早く動く

Dissolve 　溶ける


以下の質問に答えてください。以以下の質問に答えてください

1 人あたりの国民総所得（GNI）が一番多い国

カタール

スイス

ノルウェー

世界の消費税（付加価値税）の税率が一番高い国

ハンガリー

アイスランド

クロアチア，スウェーデン，デンマーク，ノルウェー

米の生産量が一番多い国（モミ量）

中国

インドネシア

インド

小麦の生産量NO.1中国

インド

ロシア

バナナの生産量NO.1中国

41

インド

フィリピン

以下の単語の日本語訳を書いてください（何も見ずに答えてください。）


Merge *

Converge *

Flip *

Dissolve *

Audit *

Drift *

6dPlease learn these words.


Deceive 欺く

Initiate 始める

Undermine 徐々に弱らせる

Correlate 相互に関連がある

Utilize 利用する


以下の質問に答えてください。以

以下の質問に答えてください

42

カカオ豆の生産量が最も多い国

ガーナ

コートジボワール

インドネシア

羊の頭数が最も多い国

インド

中国

オーストラリア

自動車の輸出台数が最も多い国

日本

フランス

ドイツ

産業用ロボット稼働台数が最も多い国・地域


日本

中国

造船竣工量が最も多い国・地域

中国

韓国

日本

Test d以下の単語の日本語訳を書いてください（何も見ずに答えてください。）


Initiate *

Undermine *

Precipitate *

43

Deceive *

Correlate *

Utilize *

6e

Reinforce (軍隊を)増強する

Accelerate 加速する

Uplift 元気づける

Denote 示す

Weave 織る





鉄道が一番長い国


ロシア

中国

1 日あたりの原油の生産量が一番多い国

サウジアラビア

ロシア


1 日あたりの石油の消費量が一番多い国

中国

44


インド

金の産出量が一番多い国


中国

ロシア

インターネット利用者数割合が一番多い国

ノルウェー

アイスランド

デンマーク



Denote

Weave

Mediate

Reinforce

Accelerate

Uplift

6fPlease learn these words.



45

Articulate 考えをはっきり言う

Swell 腫れる

Sophisticate 洗練させる

Embed 埋め込む


以下の質問に答えてください。

以に答えてください

日本からの訪問者が一番多い国・地域

中国


大韓民国

日本への入国者が一番多い国・地域

台湾

大韓民国

中国

日本人が一番多い国


中国


日本語学習者が一番多い国・地域

インドネシア

大韓民国

中国

歴代外国人相撲力士の出身が一番多い国・地域

ブラジル

モンゴル


46



Interfere *

Articulate *

Swell *

Sophisticate *

Embed *

Transcribe *

このテストを受ける前にあなたはどのくらいの単語を知っていましたか？ *ほとんど

たくさん

少し

全く

このテストは *簡単だった

難しかった

6 個の単語を一度に覚えるのは *多すぎる

ちょうどいい

少な過ぎる

もしこの調査の関してコメントがあれば書いてください。

47




きます。テストは a から d まであります。

*必須

名前 *


拒否

9aPlease learn these words.

Dilute 　　希薄化する

Inhibit 　　抑制する

Decay 　　腐敗する

Audit 　　監査する

Dissolve 　　　　　溶ける

Undermine 　　　徐々に弱らせる

Accelerate 　　　加速する

Mediate 　　　　　仲介する

Swell 　　腫れる




48

日本からの訪問者が一番多い国・地域

中国


大韓民国

日本への入国者が一番多い国・地域

中国

台湾

大韓民国

日本人が一番多い国


中国


日本語学習者が一番多い国・地域

インドネシア

大韓民国

中国

歴代外国人相撲力士の出身が一番多い国・地域

ブラジル

モンゴル


Test a以下の単語の日本語訳を書いてください（単純にどれくらい覚えているか知りたいの

で、何も見ずに答えてください。）


Audit *

Dissolve *

Undermine *

49

Accelerate *

Mediate *

Swell *

Dilute *

Inhibit *

Decay *

9bPlease learn these words.

Overlap 重なる


Compensate 補償する

Converge 集まる

Deceive 欺く


Denote 示す


Embed 埋め込む




50



ロシア

中国



ロシア



中国


インド



中国

ロシア


ノルウェー

アイスランド

デンマーク



Deceive *

Utilize *

Denote *

51

Interfere *

Embed *

Overlap *

Allocate *

Compensate *

Converge *

Please learn these words.9cPlease learn these words.

Confound 　混乱させる

Degrade 　　　(人に)敬意をもたずに接する

Diagnose 　診断する

Merge 　合併する

Precipitate 　引き起こす

Correlate 　相互に関連がある



Sophisticate 　洗練させる




52


ガーナ


インドネシア


インド

中国



日本

フランス

ドイツ



日本

中国


中国

韓国

日本

c以下の単語の日本語訳を書いてください（何も見ずに答えてください。）


Uplift *

Transcribe *

Sophisticate *

53

Diagnose *

Merge *

Precipitate *

Correlate *

Confound *

Degrade *

Please learn these words.9dPlease learn these words.

Render 〜の状態にする

Manipulate 　操る

Swap 交換する


Flip 　　素早く動く

Initiate 　　　始める

Reinforce 　(軍隊を)増強する

Weave 織る

Articulate 　考えをはっきり言う



54



カタール

スイス

ノルウェー


ハンガリー

アイスランド



中国

インドネシア

インド


インド

ロシア


インド

フィリピン



Drift *

Flip *

Initiate *

55

Render *

Manipulate *

Swap *

Reinforce *

Weave *

Articulate *


たくさん

少し

全く


難しかった

9 個の単語を一度に覚えるのは *多過ぎる

ちょうどいい

少な過ぎる


56




きます。テストは a から c まであります。

*必須

名前 *


拒否

12aPlease learn these words.


Dissolve 溶ける



Deceive 欺く


Degrade (人に)敬意をもたずに接する



Manipulate 操る

Flip 素早く動く

Weave 織る


57




カタール

スイス

ノルウェー


ハンガリー

アイスランド



中国

インドネシア

インド


インド

ロシア


インド

フィリピン

以下の単語の日本語訳を書いてください（単純にどれくらい覚えているか知りたいの

で、何も見ずに答えてください。）


Mediate *

Allocate *

58

Deceive *

Inhibit *

Dissolve *

Manipulate *

Flip *

Weave *

Interfere *

Degrade *

Precipitate *

Transcribe *

se learn these words.12b

Please learn these words.Dilute 希薄(化)する

Audit 監査する

Accelerate 　　加速する

Overlap 　　　　重なる

Converge 　　集まる

Denote 　　　　示す

59

Confound 　　混乱させる

Merge 合併する


Render 〜の状態にする


Reinforce 　 (軍隊を)増強する



問に答えてください


ガーナ


インドネシア


インド

中国



日本

フランス

ドイツ



日本

中国


60

中国

韓国

日本



Denote *

Confound *

Merge *

Uplift *

Render *

Drift *

Reinforce *

Dilute *

Audit *

Accelerate *

Overlap *

Converge *


61

12cPlease learn these words.

Decay 腐敗する

Undermine 　　徐々に弱らせる

Swell 腫れる

Compensate 　　補償する


Embed 埋め込む

Diagnose 　　診断する

Correlate 　相互に関連がある

Sophisticate 　　洗練させる

Swap 　交換する

Initiate 　始める

Articulate 　　考えをはっきり言う





ロシア

中国



ロシア



62

中国


インド



中国

ロシア


ノルウェー

アイスランド

デンマーク



Diagnose *

Correlate *

Sophisticate *

Swap *

Initiate *

Articulate *

Decay *

Undermine *

63

Swell *

Compensate *

Utilize *

Embed *

Set Size Test 3*必須


たくさん

少し

全く


難しかった

12 個の単語を一度に覚えるのは *多すぎる

ちょうどいい

少な過ぎる


Thank you for taking the test.

64

Documents

docx · Web viewWe found out the most effective set size for intentional learning was 9 words per set and 4 ... like boiling water for pasta. ... due to the changing