The Effect of Spaced Repetitions on Korean Elementary Students` L2 English Vocabulary Learning = The Effect of Spaced Repetitions on Korean Elementary Students` L2 English Vocabulary Learning

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

In this article, the effect of spaced review on Korean elementary students` English vocabulary learning is investigated in an attempt to find an optimal way of teaching and presenting new words in the context of textbook-based instruction. Sixty fourth graders participated in Experiment 1. They learned new vocabulary through four classroom activities on three different spaced schedules: four 10-minute presentations with one activity each, two 20-minute presentations with two activities each, and one massed 40-minute presentation with all four activities. It was found that there was no significant interaction between review spacing and vocabulary gain. Experiment 2 replicated the procedure of Experiment 1 with new words and participants (n = 57), the results of which reaffirmed the earlier finding. This indicates that spaced learning may not bring about a strong facilitative effect on beginner-level foreign language learners` vocabulary acquisition and that there exist many other variables modulating the effect to a larger extent than the sheer frequency of repetition.