Duolingo-inspired pretesting with words and pictures improves vocabulary learning
Tabitha J. E. Chua, Steven C. Pan

TL;DR
Guessing word-image or image-word pairs with feedback improves vocabulary learning, similar to pretesting effects in memory research.
Contribution
Demonstrates that pretesting effects occur in word-image/image-word guessing exercises for language learning, even without prior knowledge.
Findings
Pretesting improved vocabulary recall and multiple-choice test performance compared to reading-only conditions.
Participants preferred pretesting over reading for learning second-language vocabulary, especially with word–image formats.
Pretesting benefits emerged even when learners had no prior knowledge or cue-target associations.
Abstract
Contemporary language learning applications such as Duolingo and Rosetta Stone often introduce vocabulary through guessing-with-feedback exercises in which learners match words and pictures. We investigated whether that process might yield a pretesting effect—that is, the phenomenon where guessing with correct answer feedback (pretesting) enhances memory. Across four experiments, adult online learners engaged in multiple-choice pretesting to learn Spanish word translations shown in word–image (Experiments 1–2) or image–word (Experiments 3–4) format. Relative to a read-only condition, pretesting yielded statistically significant performance improvements on subsequent cued recall (Cohen’s d = 0.18–0.40) and, in most cases, multiple-choice tests (d = 0.25–0.67), regardless of whether test formats were separately presented or intermixed. Participants also reported preferring pretesting over…
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Taxonomy
TopicsSecond Language Acquisition and Learning · Visual and Cognitive Learning Processes · Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism
