Exploring the effects of repetition and time of posttest administration on EFL learners’ form recall of single words and collocations

This study examines how form recall of target lexical items by EFL learners is affected 1) by the number of occurrences (1, 3 or 5 times), 2) by the type of target item (single words versus collocations), and 3) by the time of post-test administration (immediately or one week after the treatment). Whereas previous research has tended to focus on frequency effects during reading (Chen & Truscott, 2010; Waring & Takaki, 2003; Webb, 2007), the present study examined frequency during explicit, vocabulary-focused instruction. Unlike previous studies, the present study explored form recall and not meaning recall/recognition (Laufer & Rozovski-Roitblat, 2011). In addition, the focus was on both single words and collocations. The effect of frequency on collocations has not been studied yet. The learning treatment consisted of non-communicative, (partly) decontextualized activities, in which the target items (12 single words and 12 collocations) occurred once, three or five times. In all activities, participants had to supply the target items’ form. Data were collected in a classroom setting in two groups differing only in the time of test administration. In group 1, participants took two unannounced post-tests, one test immediately after the experimental treatment and the second one two weeks later, whereas participants in group 2 took their first unannounced post-test only one week after the experimental treatment and the second test two weeks after the treatment. The findings showed a large, positive and durable effect of frequency that was independent of the time of post-test administration. The difference in recall scores of items occurring once or five times appeared to be crucial in both groups and for both single words and collocations. Moreover, the results indicated that collocations were more difficult to learn than single words. The findings are interpreted in light of processing theories and instructed SLA theories. References Chen, C. & J. Truscott (2010). The effects of repetition and L1 lexicalization on incidental vocabulary acquisition. Applied Linguistics, 31 (5), 693-713. Laufer, B. & B. Rozovski-Roitblat (2011). Incidental vocabulary acquisition: The effects of task type, word occurrence and their combination. Language Teaching Research, 15 (4), 391-411. Waring, R. & M. Takaki (2003). At what rate do learners learn and retain new vocabulary from a graded reader. Reading in a Foreign Language, 15 (2), 130-163. Webb, S. (2007). The effects of repetition on vocabulary knowledge. Applied Linguistics, 28, 46-65.status: publishe