Implementing optimal spaced learning for English vocabulary learning: Towards improvement of the low-first method derived from the reactivation theory

Abstract

The spacing effect is known to be one of the most robust phenomena in experimental psychology, and many attempts have been made to realize effective spaced learning for L2 vocabulary learning. This study, by incorporating structural elaboration as corrective feedback, attempts to improve a computer program for L2 vocabulary learning based on the Low-First Method, an algorithm which was developed to realize optimal spaced learning. The present experiment revealed that although structural elaboration did not contribute to effectiveness or time-efficiency, it significantly decreased the number of errors during learning. The effects of corrective feedback were also found to interact with individual differences in learners.