The Impact Of Different Learning Method And Semantic Context On Children's Lexical Memory

Memory is a process in which individuals encode,store and extract external information(Huang,2007).Memory is not only one of the most basic cognitive processes,but also the carrier of individual rational and perceptual experience,which plays an extremely important role in the survival and development of individuals.A large number of studies have shown that memory activities not only have an important impact on the cognitive development of young children(Passolunghi,& Costa,2016;Vugs,& Verhoeven,2014;Banai,& Yifat,2012),but also closely related to their social development(He,Guo,Zhai,Shen,& Gao,2018;Blankson,et al.,2013).Therefore,it is of great scientific and practical significance to explore suitable learning and teaching methods for children's memory through empirical research.So far,researchers have focused on the effects of three learning methods on memory,namely,massed learning,spacing learning,and retrieval practice.Among them,massed learning refers to the learning process without any interference items or time intervals.That is,the time intervals between learning materials presented successively are extremely short(Gerbier,& Toppino,2015).Spacing learning refers to the total learning process with he insertion of interference items or time intervals.That is,dividing the learning time into shorter time periods,so that the learning materials can be repeated after the appropriate time interval(Cepeda,Pashler,Vul,Wixted,& Rohrer,2006).However,retrieval practice refers to the extraction of memory(with or without feedback)in the same time period,rather than re-learning(Rowland,2014).In general,previous studies have found that compared with massed learning,spacing learning and retrieval practice are more beneficial to memory retention(Jürgen et al.,2014;Roediger,& Butler,2011;Roediger,& Karpicke,2006).However,(1)most previous studies have focused on adults,and few studies on children.But there are significant differences between children and adults on memory characteristics(Ceci,Fitneva,&Williams,2010;David,Margaret,&Janice,2005).Moreover,there is almost no research system toinvestigate and compare the effects of three learning methods on children's memory effects(Goossens,Camp,Verkoeijen,Tabbers,& Zwaan,2014;Wing,Marsh,& Cabeza,2013;Coane,2013).In addition,it has been found that there is a significant interaction between individual working memory ability and learning methods(Bui,Maddox,& Balota,2013).So will the memory effect of different learning methods be affected by children's working memory ability?(2)Children often acquire a large amount of vocabulary knowledge not through deliberate acquisition,but mainly through unintentional learning in daily life,such as social interaction,reading picture books(Blewitt,& Langan,2016;Chow.B.,Mcbride-Chang,Cheung,&Chow.C.,2008).However,previous studies have shown that the role of semantic context in children's vocabulary learning and memory is controversial(Goossens,Camp,Verkoeijen,&Tabbers,2014;Horst,Parsons,& Bryan,2011),which needs to be further explored.To sum up,this study attempts to deeply explore the following two questions:(1)This study will systematically examine the impact of massed learning,spacing learning and retrieval practive on children's lexical memory(immediate recall,1 day,5 day),and further explore whether the memory effect of the three learning methods will be affected by working memory(study 1);(2)On the basis of study 1,adding semantic context factors to investigate the differences in lexical memory effects of chilidren between story context and without-semantic context(study 2).In study 1,we systematically examine the impact of massed learning,spacing learning and retrieval practive on children's lexical memory.Firstly,we randomly selected 59 6-year-old children from a kindergarten,using 3(learning methods: massed learning,spacing learning,retrieval practive)×3(recall interval: immediate recall,1day,5 days)within-subjects design.In addition,the frequency of occurrence of strange words,the length of study,and other disturbances in learning activities are strictly controlled.The experiment requires children to learn and memorize unfamiliar vocabulary under three different learning methods.In the test phase,three time points are selected to test children's free recall and cue recall performance.Secondly,in order to further investigate whether the memory effects of the three learning methods will be affected by working memory,this study also uses the digital back task to measure the working memory ability of all children,and according to the working memory scores,children were divided into three groups:high,medium and low woking memory ability.Results in study 1 shown that(1)For massed learning,there was no significant difference in children's vocabulary memory performance under different recall intervals;But for spacing learning and retrieval practive,both of them showed the obvious "reminiscence";(2)Different learning methods have different memory effects under different recall retention.Specifically,for immediate recall and 1 day delay,the performance of lexical memory underVII spacing learning was significantly higher than that under massed learning and retrieval practice,and there was no significant difference between massed learning and retrieval practice;while for 5days delay,the performance of lexical memory under spacing learning and retrieval practice was significantly higher than that under massed learning,and there was no significant difference between spacing learning and retrieval practice;(3)Children's working memory does not affect the memory effect of the three learning methods.In study 2,we explore the effects of different semantic context conditions on children's lexical memory and long-term retention.We randomly selected 80 6-year-old children from a kindergarten,using 2(semantic context:story context,without-semantic context)×3(learning methods:massed learning,spacing learning,retrieval practive)×3(recall interval: immediate recall,1day,5days)mixed design.On the basis of study 1,by manipulating the semantic context conditions,one group of subjects learned unfamiliar vocabulary in the story context,while the other group in the non-semantic context(simple vocabulary-picture pairing learning).Results in study 2 shown that(1)In story context,children's vocabulary learning effect showed obvious "reminiscence".Meanwhile,in without-semantic context,children's vocabulary learning effec also shows a trend of "reminiscence";(2)Semantic context affects the memory effect of the three learning methods.Specifically,for massed learning and spacing learning,under immediate recall,the lexical memory performance under the story context is significantly lower than that under without-semantic context;while under 1 day delay and 5 days delay,there was no significant difference between story context and without-semantic context.However,for retrieval practive,under immediate recall and 1day delay,there was no significant difference between two semantic contexts;while under 5 days delay,The lexical memory performance in story context is higher than without-semantic context(marginal significance).In conclusion,the present study indicated that:(1)Under the two learning methods(spacing learning,retrieval practice)and story context,the long-term memory retention of children presented an obvious phenomenon of " reminiscence ";(2)Under immediate recall,spacing learning is most beneficial to lexical memory,while under delayed recall,the effect of the retrieval practice on the long-term retention of lexical memory began to be highlighted,and it gradually approached the effect of lexical memory under spacing learning;In addition,whether immediate recall or delayed recall,the lexical memory performance of massed learning is the worst;(3)Children's working memory does not affect the memory effect of the three learning methods;(4)In immediate recall,without-semantic context are more conducive to children's lexical memory;while in delayed recall,the story context is more benificial to children's " reminiscence".This study systematically investigated the impact of three learning methods on children's lexical memory,and revealed thelaw of children's memory change at different time points under the three learning methods,which has important scientific value,and it also helps to explore an effective learning method that is most suitable for children's memory.At the same time,combining with the realistic situation of children acquiring vocabulary knowledge,this study investigated the impact of semantic context on children's vocabulary learning,provides educational guidance for the future children's lexical teaching with story materials,which has important practical significance.