Gorlet Learning Resources

Scientific Studies

Linkword works!

That's what scientists have learned in study after study.

Here's a sampling of some of the over 65 studies conducted on the effectiveness of the Linkword© Method since it was introduced almost 25 years ago.

Second Language Research
Volume II, Number 2
pp. 112 - 120
1995
“Retention of foreign vocabulary learned using the keyword method: a ten-year follow-up”
Alan Beaton, Michael Gruneberg, Nick Ellis

This article assesses one individual’s level of recall for foreign vocabulary learned ten years previously using the keyword method. Without any review at all, he remembered 35% of the test words with spelling fully correct and over 50% with only very minor errors of spelling. After 10 minutes spent looking at a vocabulary list, recall increased to 65% and 76% respectively. After a period of review lasting an additional 1 ½ hours, recall was virtually 100%. This level of recall was maintained for at least one month. The results indicated 1) that the keyword method (as incorporated in Linkword courses) may be used to learn a large list of vocabulary; and 2) this method of learning is not inimical to retention in the long term. Some theoretical aspects of the findings are discussed.

PhD Dissertation
University of Leicester
2004
“THE EFFECT OF THE INTEGRATED KEYWORD METHOD ON VOCABULARY RETENTION AND MOTIVATION”
Joern Hauptmann

This thesis investigated whether results in Keyword Method research, past and present, can be transferred to genuine classroom situations and whether the Keyword Method also affects the motivation of the learners. Some theoretical aspects of the findings are discussed. The results of this cross-disciplinary literature research allow the conclusion that the apparent effectiveness of the Keyword Method is based on sound scientific principles. He found that the Keyword Method enhances vocabulary retention to a great extent compared with comparison groups, and that it has a beneficial affect on the motivation of the learners.

Provides an extensive list of other studies on the effectiveness of the keywork method. Access the complete paper here.

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory
Volume I
pp. 126-133
1975
“An application of the mnemonic keyword method to the acquisition of Russian vocabulary”
Atkinson, R. C., & Raugh, M. R

In an experiment (1975) the subjects (college students) had to learn 120 Russian words, divided into three comparable 40-word sub-vocabularies for presentation in separate days (three study-test trials). The control group, which used their own learning strategies, received the Russian word and its English equivalent on a computer screen, the keyword group was additionally presented with a keyword. In the test phase the subjects were presented with the Russian word and had to produce the English equivalent within 15 seconds. A test for all 120 words was conducted on the fifth day and, as a surprise to the subjects, again on the sixth. As the graphs in the study show, the keyword group scored significantly better. After the fifth day, retention was 72% compared with 46% of the control group and after the sixth day the result was 43% compared with 28%. The paper also showed that only eight of the total 120 words were better retained by the control group than by the keyword group.

US Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences.
1980
“The keyword method of vocabulary acquisition: An experimental evaluation”
Griffith, D. (1980, cited in Sperber 1989)

Griffith conducted an experiment with soldiers of the US Army, taking (3) different levels of intelligence into account (GTscores/General Technical Aptitude Test, a test of intelligence). The subjects had to learn 15 Korean words. Level one and two did significantly better than the control group and level three still outperformed the control group, but to a lesser extent. This contradicts findings that the KWM is suitable mainly for weak and inexperienced learners (e.g. Hall et al., 1981). The keyword group also outperformed the control group in the time needed to learn these words. On average they needed 787 sec. compared with 933 sec. for the control group. Griffith draws the conclusion that the KWM is highly effective, regardless of the intellectual aptitude of the subjects. In fact, if the SER (study efficiency ratio = number of correctly translated words divided by overall learning time x 1000) is employed, the keyword group’s performance is 79% better than that of the control group.

Language Learning Journal
September 1991
“Individual differences and attitudes to the keyword method of foreign language training”
Michael Gruneberg and Robert Sykes

This paper reports the students’ attitudes to learning a foreign language using the keyword method, and also examines some individual differences. The particular variation of the keyword method examined, the Linkword Language Course (Gruneberg 1985, 1987), involves the keyword method for learning vocabulary, which is then integrated with grammar. In this study 46 First Year Psychology students were presented with 25 Greek words and sufficient grammar to enable them to translate simple sentences in a 45 minute session. Results show that the majority of students found the method to be faster, easier and more enjoyable than conventional methods, and show self-rated imagery ability and self-rating of language competence to be related to subsequent performance.

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