Discovering a meaning versus applying the keyword method: Effects on recall

The keyword method of learning new vocabulary was compared to learning new vocabulary when the meaning of the vocabulary items had to be inferred from a meaningful context (context method). The context method included preliminary instruction concerning techniques for how to infer meaning from verbal contexts. For the keyword method, the definitions provided were dictionarylike entries (rather than one-word definitions). The keyword method produced significantly greater definition recall than the context method when recall was cued with the vocabulary word, even when such recall was conditional on context subjects' correct discovery of the words' meanings. No significant differences between the keyword method and the context method were found for free recall of definitions or free recall of the vocabulary words. A postexperimental questionnaire revealed that some control and some context subjects spontaneously employed keyword-like strategies. Within each condition, subjects employing keyword-like strategies displayed higher cued recall than subjects who did not employ keyword-like strategies.