Deploy spaced-repetition vocabulary practice as a low-burden daily supplement of a few minutes without changing existing pedagogy¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The article recommends using computer-based spaced repetition as a supplementary activity that takes only minutes a day and requires no modifications to usual classroom pedagogy. Participants were asked to spend at least 10 minutes daily, but "activity log analysis revealed that, on average, they actually spent 174 seconds (just under 3 minutes) per day", and acquisition of each unit took a median of 71 seconds, which the authors call a reasonably short time suggesting high practical value. This keeps the tool supplemental, avoiding controversy over the behavioral pair-associate paradigm.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• The system must support instructor wordlists, due dates, and automatic activity generation so practice can run alongside unchanged curriculum.

Constraints¶

• The recommended duration of 10 minutes per day was not sufficiently substantiated; the authors call for research to refine it in terms of cost/benefit ratio. The study was carried out in a specific-purpose marine engineering English context with a mix of general vocabulary and terminology.

Target Learners¶

• EFL students with limited contact time and limited target-language exposure

Target Learning Goals¶

• Supplemental long-term vocabulary retention

Related Strategies¶

• Daily Review
• Use technology to facilitate active participation rather than replace face-to-face learning, potentially creating greater synchronicity between modes

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Evgeny Chukharev-Hudilainen and Tatiana A. Klepikova. (2016). The effectiveness of computer-based spaced repetition in foreign language vocabulary instruction: a double-blind study. calico journal vol 33.3. https://doi.org/10.1558/cj.v33i3.26055