ASSESSING THE CLASSROOM POTENTIAL OF THE KEYWORD METHOD

The keyword method of foreign language vocabulary learning has proven effective when implemented in highly structured laboratory-like settings. In contrast, the results of a recent study by E. J. Fuentes (1976) suggest that when the method is implemented in an actual classroom context, its effectiveness may be diminished. Several explanations for this diminution are offered and explored in the 6 experiments reported here. Four experiments involved high school students in 1st- and 2nd-yr Spanish courses and 2 involved 5th graders with no Spanish knowledge. The latter 2 experiments succeeded in producing keyword effects when the method was administered to either small or classroom-sized groups. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1979 American Psychological Association.