Retrieval Practice Strategies in the World Language Classroom
French, Spanish, Italian World Language Retrieval Practice Strategies
Although immersion and comprehensible input-based teaching and learning strategies are essential components to language acquisition, it is important to remember that while students should be passively acquiring language, they should also be actively learning language—including vocabulary and grammar!—in order to be able to communicate effectively and accurately. Any seasoned language learner will concede that there is an element of memorization that is inherent in language learning, particularly at the beginning levels.
Polyglots who have mastered 5 or more languages often talk about the benefits of creating flashcards and taking advantage of spaced repetition programs, signaling that the cognitive component to language learning is critical and should not be overlooked. In this blog entry, I’m going to talk about retrieval practice, which is one of the most effective ways to help students bring old information to the front of their minds, review high-frequency vocabulary and core language structures, and benefit from multiple opportunities to access curricular content.
What is retrieval practice?
Retrieval practice is a research-based teaching and learning strategy that leads to long-term and long-lasting retention. Essentially, students are tasked with accessing previously-taught information from their memory, without using any other outside resources to assist them. This is one of the best ways for students to assess what they know and remember, as well as what they still need to actively practice and review. Retrieval practice can be a simple routine that you have students engage in daily during the first few minutes of class, or it can be a more elaborate activity that you have students complete periodically as an in-class activity.
Why should you start using retrieval practice strategies in your World Language classes?
Although specific numbers vary depending on the research you read, we can safely assume that students need around ~500 words in their active vocabulary in order to function as novice language learners, and around ~2500 words in their active vocabulary in order to be considered intermediate language learners. How are we going to ensure, then, that students learn these massive amounts of vocabulary, and more importantly, how are we going to ensure that these words get deposited in their long-term memory? Oftentimes, students are under the impression that they only need to learn information for their quiz or test, but after the assessment? It’s not so clear to them.
By using retrieval practice strategies frequently in our World Language class, we are ensuring that students are reviewing words constantly. They are pulling vocabulary and grammar structures from their memory that perhaps they learned last week… or last month… or last semester… or three years ago! Retrieval practice also ensures that students have multiple opportunities to learn content. Your Spanish 2 students should have learned family vocabulary last year, but maybe they didn’t… or maybe they learned it but forgot it. By giving Spanish 2 students 5 or 10 minutes worth of retrieval practice related to family vocabulary, you’re providing them with another opportunity to review and/or relearn old content. It’s an equitable teaching practice.
Side bar: I think what I love most about retrieval practice activities is that they are forms of active studying. So many of my students erroneously believe that studying means they need to stare at their class notes and pray that the information seeps into their brains. This is a passive studying technique, and it does not promote retention! Retrieval practice is an active studying technique that helps students retain information at a higher rate and in a more durable, long-lasting way.
Let’s be realistic. Just because we taught it, just because students were supposed to have learned it, and just because there was an assessment on it, does NOT mean that students have retained and truly mastered it! And it certainly does not mean that the information has been deposited in their long-term memory and that they are able to access it automatically. For this reason, retrieval practice is key!
Strategy #1: Daily Do-Nows & Bellringers
Creating and implementing a predictable and consistent routine is a cornerstone of effective classroom management. Students should enter your room, find their seats, take out their materials, and have a clear task to work on. Why not have this task center around retrieval practice?
In my World Language classes, students complete a 5-minute bellringer at the start of each block. They have a Do-Now packet that they take out as soon as they enter my room, and the Do-Now is projected on the board for them to begin working. The task is a short one: maybe they have to translate 5 or 6 words from English to French; maybe they have to conjugate a verb that they learned a few months ago; maybe they had a homework assignment where they had to learn a new language skill, and the Do-Now is a review of that skill; maybe we had read a story last class targeting several of the Super 7 Verbs (more on this in a future post!) and I need to see how well they have retained those verbs.
Students complete the Do-Now independently and without using their notes. After a couple minutes, I always project the answers on the board so that students can self-correct and self-reflect on how much they remembered. I reiterate frequently that the daily Do-Now is like a “mini quiz” that I am not collecting or grading. It is solely for their benefit, so that they are able to monitor and assess their progress in real time, which then informs the next steps they should take to get caught up and back on track.
Students often struggle to memorize these four important irregular French verbs. I have them conjugate these verbs in the present at least once a semester to keep the conjugations fresh in their minds. Interested in French 1 Bellringers & Do-Nows? Check them out here!
Strategy #2: The Brain Dump
Certainly not the most glamorous name for a retrieval practice activity, but definitely one of my favorites! Have students take out a sheet of paper or open up a blank Google Doc on their computers. Give them a task or prompt in which they must write down everything that they remember on a particular topic or subject without seeking help from you, a classmate, or from their notes. Here are a few examples:
After you’ve read a story in class, have them write down everything they remember about the story at the start of the following class.
Two classes ago, you taught your Italian students how to conjugate -are verbs. Today, you ask them to take out a sheet of paper and write down the procedure for conjugating regular -are verbs, as well as all of the -are verbs they remember. You also ask them to conjugate at least one verb of their choosing.
Last semester, you taught the Spanish School Unit to your Spanish 1 students. Students learned las asignaturas y los útiles escolares. Today, you ask them to take out a sheet of paper and fold it in half vertically. On the left side, they write Las asignaturas; on the right side, they write Los útiles escolares at the top of the paper. Give them 5-10 minutes to write down all of the vocabulary they remember related to both of those themes.
Next, you can have students take out a different pen and talk to two or three of their classmates, sharing concepts that each of them remembered and adding on to their own lists. You can also have students locate the information in their class notes, correct any mistakes they may have made, and add on to their work.
Strategy #3: Use flashcards effectively
I spend quite a bit of time talking to my students about effective studying techniques. This is an important feature of my pedagogical approach for two reasons:
Inevitably, students who study better end up doing better in my class.
Students may not continue learning the target language once they leave my class, but they most certainly will have to learn new content in other disciplines. Equipping them with effective studying techniques helps them learn better in their other classes and in future academic pursuits.
Many of my students come into my class not knowing how to effectively use flashcards. They just sort of passively go through their Quizlet sets or spend hours making flashcards only to use them for a few minutes the night before an assessment. Students need to learn how to actively study while using their flashcards! Here are some effective retrieval practice strategies that students can use with their flashcards:
Create three piles: the Mastery pile, the Practice pile, and the Learn pile. Flashcards in the mastery pile don’t need to be reviewed all that often because students are able to demonstrate mastery of the term(s) on each card; cards in the practice pile need to be reviewed from time to time as students have not yet fully mastered them; cards in the learn pile need to be reviewed consistently and frequently because students are still learning them.
Go from Target Language --> English, and then from English --> Target Language as they improve and increase mastery. Being able to recognize a word in the target language is good, but it’s not great. Being able to actively recall the target language word and produce it (both in written AND oral contexts) is much more important.
Studying for 10 minutes a day on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday is better than cramming for 30 minutes a day on Wednesday. Have students go through their flashcards for just a few minutes a day, rather than attempting to cram information into a single study session.
Make flashcards interactive! Have students quiz each other using their flashcards. Tell students that they can have a parent or sibling quiz them at home using their flashcards. Studying independently can be solitary and boring, especially for your extroverted students, so it is important to make flashcards more of an interactive and social experience.
I hope that you’ll be able to walk away from this blog post with a few practical strategies that you can implement in your French, Spanish, or Italian class to help your students retain more information from your instruction. Implementing consistent retrieval practice activities has been an absolute game-changer in my classes. Students retain information much better, which in turn leads to higher test scores and feelings of self-efficacy and competence. We want students to feel like they are capable of excelling in our classes, and building consistent opportunities for students to practice retrieving previously taught content is one way to build confidence and help students make progress in their language learning endeavors.
I’m curious: do you already use retrieval practice techniques in your World Language classroom? If so, which ones are your favorite? I’d love to hear about them! Feel free to leave a comment below. :)
Happy teaching,
~ Michael
