Individuality in Higher Education: The Use of the Multiple-Mnemonic Method to Enhance ESP Students' Vocabulary Development (Depth and Size) and Retention

Abstract

Vocabulary learning is considered to be the most comprehensive and the most difficult part of<br /> language learning for all the students especially for ESP students. These students complain that<br /> vocabulary items are too many and are easily forgotten after they are learned. Mnemonic<br /> devices, a group of mental strategies, are developed to facilitate vocabulary learning and<br /> retention for such students. These students, however, have varied needs and interests and if<br /> vocabulary teaching and learning are planned to be effective and enjoyable, various methods<br /> and strategies must be employed. To this end, the multiple-mnemonic method was developed<br /> and studied. Two intact groups of ESP students participated in this study. In the experimental<br /> group the multiple-mnemonic method was used while in the control group the vocabulary<br /> items were just taught and reviewed. The results of the study showed that the multiplemnemonic<br /> method group significantly performed better than the control group in terms of<br /> vocabulary development and retention. EVKS was also further evaluated and used in this study<br /> as a measure of vocabulary size and vocabulary depth.