Investigating the Impact of Mnemonic-based Instruction on Saudi University Students’ Attitudes Towards Vocabulary Learning

Abstract

Vocabulary learning plays an essential role in foreign language learning. It is also central to language teaching and is of paramount importance to a language learner. Mnemonic is a technique that is used to instruct vocabulary and it helps learners remember better. The association of images and sounds with mnemonics can make it more powerful and effective to help language learners remember better and for a longer time, this can be achieved through applying a method called the keyword method. This study was designed to investigate university Saudi students’ attitudes towards the mnemonic keyword method. By employing a survey research design to discover the attitudes of the students enrolled in the preparatory year program at Taibah University. A questionnaire about ‘Students’ Attitudes towards Keyword Method (SAKM) having four Likert scales was used as an instrument for data collection from a sample of 40 students. Descriptive statistics (mean, median, mode, standard deviation.) and independent-sample t-test were exploited to analyze the data. The results of the study showed that Saudi students have positive attitudes towards the mnemonic keyword method that was used to instruct vocabulary.