The DOI matches its Crossref record; 15 of the 15 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Effects of Massed and Distributed Practice on the Learning and Retention of Second-Language Vocabulary
Abstract
High school students enrolled in a French course learned vocabulary words under conditions of either massed or distributed practice as part of their regular class activities. Distributed practice consisted of three 10-minute units on each of three successive days; massed practice consisted of all three units being completed during a 30-minute period on a single day. Though performance of the two groups was virtually identical on a test given immediately after completion of study, the students who had learned the words by distributed practice did substantially better (35%) than the massed- practice students on a second test given 4 days later. The implications of the findings for classroom instruction and the need to distinguish between learning and memory are discussed.
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In the citing paper
“For example, in studies utilizing distributed practice for language or vocabulary learning (e.g., Bloom & Shuell, 1981), repeated exposure was simply a re-presentation of the same words.”
From The Distributed Practice Effect on Classroom Learning: A Meta-Analytic Review of Applied Research (2025) · cites this paper as Bloom & Shuell, 1981
In the citing paper
“The average observed benefit from distributed practice (over massed practice) in these studies was 15 percent, and it appeared to hold for children (Bloom & Shuell, 1981; Childers & Tomasello, 2002; Edwards, 1917; Fishman, Keller, & Atkinson, 1968; Harzem, Lee, & Miles, 1976) as well as adults.”
From Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks: A review and quantitative synthesis. (2006) · cites this paper as Bloom & Shuell, 1981
Citations
Cites
The Influence of Length and Frequency of Training Session on the Rate of Learning to Type
BADDELEY, A. D., & LONGMAN, D. J. A. (1978) · Ergonomics · doi:10.1080/00140137808931764 · Cited by 291
Ten years of massed practice on distributed practice.
Underwood, B. J. (1961) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/h0047516 · Cited by 148
Effects of repetition and spaced review upon retention of a complex learning task.
Reynolds, J. H., & Glaser, R. A. (1964) · Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0040734 · Cited by 111
Delay-retention effect in natural classroom settings.
Surber, J. R., & Anderson, R. C. (1975) · Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0077003 · Cited by 78
Studies of distributed practice: XXIV. Differentiation and proactive inhibition.
Underwood, B. J., & Ekstrand, B. R. (1967) · Journal of Experimental Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0024779 · Cited by 51
Keppel, G. (1964) · Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior · doi:10.1016/s0022-5371(64)80027-x · Cited by 48
Shuell, T. J., & Lee, C. Z. (1976) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 47
Self-citationLearning ability and retention.
Shuell, T. J., & Keppel, G. (1970) · Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0028756 · Cited by 36
Self-citationThe effect of mnemonic upon the retention of paired-associate verbal material
Olton, R. M. (1969) · Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior · doi:10.1016/s0022-5371(69)80009-5 · Cited by 33
A reconsideration of the extinction-recovery theory
Keppel, G. (1967) · Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior · doi:10.1016/s0022-5371(67)80004-5 · Cited by 24
Underwood, B. J., & Richardson, J. (1958) · Journal of Experimental Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0040662 · Cited by 20
Experimental analysis of coding processes
Postman, L. J., & Burns, S. (1973) · Memory & Cognition · doi:10.3758/bf03208917 · Cited by 17
Houston, J. P., & Reynolds, J. H. (1965) · Journal of Experimental Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0021792 · Cited by 10
Distribution of Practice and Retroactive Inhibition in Free-Recall Learning
Shuell, T. J. (1981) · The Psychological Record · doi:10.1007/bf03394771 · Cited by 7
Self-citationList differentiation and distributed practice.
Houston, J. P. (1966) · Journal of Experimental Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0023640 · Cited by 4
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013) · Psychological Science in the Public Interest · doi:10.1177/1529100612453266 · Cited by 3,138
Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks: A review and quantitative synthesis.
Cepeda, N. J., Pashler, H., Vul, E., Wixted, J. T., & Rohrer, D. (2006) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.132.3.354 · Cited by 1,888
Bae, T. J., Qian, S., Miao, C., & Fiet, J. O. (2014) · Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice · doi:10.1111/etap.12095 · Cited by 2,033
Hulstijn, J. H. (2001) · Cognition and Second Language Instruction · doi:10.1017/cbo9781139524780.011 · Cited by 769
“Studies by Bloom and Shuell (1981) and Dempster (1987) on L2 vocabulary learning have shown, not surprisingly, that if some 40 vocabulary items (consisting of a L2 word form and a L1 translation) had to be learned in a single learning session, massed presentation or practice (e.g. the presentation…”
BackgroundA meta-analytic review of the distribution of practice effect: Now you see it, now you don’t
Donovan, J. J., & Radosevich, D. J. (1999) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-9010.84.5.795 · Cited by 696
Metadata
- Authors
- Bloom, K. C., & Shuell, T. J.
- Affiliations
- University at Buffalo, State University of New York (US)
- Venue
- The Journal of Educational Research
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 1981-03
- Volume
- 74
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 245-248
- ISSN
- 0022-0671 (ISSN-L)
- 1940-0675
- OpenAlex
- W2056513446
- Cited by
- 243
- References
- 15
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 37 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 7
- FWCI
- 0.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Journal of Educational Research (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Second Language Acquisition and Learning
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning
- Keywords
- massed practice, distributed practice, second language vocabulary, vocabulary acquisition, retention, spaced practice, French as a second language, high school students, classroom teaching
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