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The Effect of Instructional Method on Second Language Acquisition: An Examination of Some Contributing Factors
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by Laura M. Morett—Washington College
Category: Education | Developmental
A mini-lesson in Spanish vocabulary was taught to participants unfamiliar with the language using stimuli representative of one of two instructional methodologies, the grammar-translation approach or the communicative approach. Participants taught using the communicative approach recalled significantly more Spanish vocabulary words than those assigned to an uninstructed control group on a short-term post-test, but no significant differences emerged between any other groups on this measure. No differences in recall were found between any of the groups on a long-term post-test. Participants demonstrating some prior knowledge of Spanish recalled a significantly greater number of vocabulary words on the short-term post-test than participants unfamiliar with Spanish. The results suggest that instruction and prior knowledge of a second language can facilitate the early stages of second language acquisition.