The Effect of Context Clues on Word Recall - Term Paper Example

?The Effect of Context Clues in Word Recall I. Epigraph “We remember what we understand; we understand only what we pay attention to; we pay attention to what we want." This is one of the strongest words that came from Edward Bolles on the relationship of comprehension or recall to context clues (Keeley, Meg. Memory and the Importance of Review. Faculty Bucks. N.p., n.d.). Bolles is a specialist in the study of memory and have proven the strong relationship of both. II. Introduction A lot of people say that a person’s ability to have a good memory has a lot to do with genetics. One who is a child of both parents who have ample exercise of mind and not have any stagnant brain activity is more likely to have a stronger information retention than those whose parents are intellectually inactive. Aside from that, some people believe that memory is influenced by the food one takes in where peanuts and bananas are just some that would improve it. However, scientifically speaking, though each person’s capability to remember could be influenced by good genes, a good memory can be earned or trained. This is no other than constant practice and at the same time training of the brain in proven effective techniques. III. Experiment Methodology In line with this, I have conducted an experiment to find out the independent and dependent factors that would point us towards the real relationship of context clues with our memory. I had a group of subjects for this experiment where I showed them a number of words arranged randomly. They were allowed to see the words for a short period of time and were tasked to remember them. After the words were removed, they were told to write down as many words as possible that they remembered seeing. This was the first experiment I did. The next was that the same group of people was shown the same set of words. This time though, the words wereorganized in related groups. The words were then removed after a short period of time and the subjects were told to write the words that they remembered again. In this experiment, I was able to conclude that the subjects would recall more words after they were showed words grouped according to their meanings or those that have related meanings compared to those words that are shown randomly. IV. Factors/Theories Affecting Word Retention A. Comprehension Based on the data I have gathered, I am able to conclude that there is a significant effect on one’s ability to recall words when they are given context clues from other similar words. This is supported by so many theories as well. One of which would be the theory of Meg Keeley which says that when we are able to go beyond just seeing but at the same time understanding a group of words, our brains are better able to take in, process, and remember information because of the context clues we get (Keeley, Meg. "Memory and the Importance of Review." Faculty Bucks. N.p., n.d.). Understanding how human memory works will allow us to see the strong point Keeley is making. First of all, our memory works on two different levels: short term and long term memory. Short term memory is associated with what you focus on in the moment or what gets your attention. Most people today, according to certain researches are able to hold about 7 items of information using short term memory. In the hypothesis that was derived from my experiment, it supports this because most of the subjects I had were able to recall the words that they last saw instead of the words that were revealed to them first. Thus, this just shows that these people had their short term memory at work. The second level of memory would be the long term memory. Long term memory encompasses all the information one is able to remember even after the exposure of an idea or a thing and also allows humans to go back to a certain memory whenever they wish to. To be able to retain a certain information, one would need to transfer an idea from short term to long term memory (Keeley, Meg. "Memory and the Importance of Review." Faculty Bucks. N.p., n.d.). This again, supports the result I had when I showed the same group of people words that are grouped according to their meanings. Because of the fact that they are not only seeing random words but are able to shape meaning and understanding through the interconnected words, they are able to grasp more words. Another strong reason why people are inclined to react this way is because of the fact that they are able to establish relationships from one word to another that allows them to comprehend better that increases recall. B. Dual Coding Theory The second theory that would prove the relationship of context clues with better memorization ability would be that of the Dual Coding theory. This was postulated by Allan Paivio that holds human cognition to consist of two subsystems that process information which are the verbal subsystem and the visual subsystem. The verbal subsystem stores linguistic information whereas the visual subsystem stores images and pictorial information. Though the two subsystems could work independently, these two working altogether would help one better comprehend a certain knowledge ("Dual Code - An eLearning Company." Dual Code - An eLearning Company. N.p., n.d.). Relating this to the experiment I did, I would say that the only subsystem used is the visual because of the fact that I just showed them cards containing words. However, the groups were able to remember more words when showed related meanings even when they just used the visual subsystem because of the fact that they were able to draw a certain image in their mind based on the similarities of the words’ meanings. C. Context Clues Another relevant theory that would support my hypothesis would be that of the power of context clues that enhances our memory’s retention to details. It says that though mature readers are able to identify words at a remarkable speed compared to young readers, context clues still affect both of these two types of reader’s fluent word identification ("Word Recognition Skills and Strategies." Education Place®. N.p., n.d.). Thus, in the experiment I did where the first set of words were totally unrelated to each other, the people used slow analysis of each word ‘s meaning to be able to remember, which usually drains one’s memory and at the same time takes so much time for the brain to absorb. However, in the next exposure of related groups of words to the same group, the repeated exposure to the same set of words and at the same time giving them context clues that are more specific such as perhaps a group of words that contain the words cat, tail, purr, and whiskers, allowed them to form a certain story in their mind that they could easily follow through from every word they left off from. This is what is called Semantic or Meaning Clues which are context derived from words that are translated to be reasonable or making sense. Another kind of context clues that was established in the second experiment I did would be that of the word-part clues which for example contained words that has sounds associated with J and MP which helps in the identification of the given words. Structure of words is also considered to be part of the context clues. Thus, the many groups of letters that are seen frequently in the groups of words such as similar prefixes, suffixes, and inflectional endings allow readers to associate what they see with the sound that their mind allows them to hear while reading it that causes rapid word identification ("Word Recognition Skills and Strategies." Education Place®. N.p., n.d.). D. Retrieval Theory Retrieval theory, says that a forgotten fact has not faded instead, it is just misplaced in a certain corner of your mind that hinders one from using or even remembering it. Thus, even when the first experiment I did with the random words were seen by the group of people at a certain limit of time, they are not able to write all of the words because a lot of which fall into that “forgotten corner” of one’s memory ("Word Recognition Skills and Strategies." Education Place®. N.p., n.d.). However, the second experiment on the related group of words somehow defeats this tendency of our memory because it is now being aided by the understanding being established by similar words, whether it is because of meaning, sound, or context that allows the words to be exposed and flee from the “forgotten corner” of our mind as understanding the connection of words sparks interest in the readers. This is the same with the theory of Interference which is based on the principle of limited space. It supports that as you keep adding new information, the mind now struggles to absorb anything, that unless a certain information shines above others, it would hardly be remembered. V. Conclusion Indeed, there is a strong connection between context clues and the ability of one to remember. This is because of the fact that context clues will allow one to create a story through phrases or sentences which are visual organizers that enhance and insures understanding which assure memory of the information. Bibliography: "Dual Code - An eLearning Company." Dual Code - An eLearning Company. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 May 2012. . Keeley, Meg. "Memory and the Importance of Review." Faculty Bucks. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 May 2012. . "Word Recognition Skills and Strategies." Education Place®. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 May 2012. . Read More