Language & Cognition seminar - Dr Jakke Tamminen

Testing shapes newly acquired lexical representations

Learning a new word involves memory processes that include not only episodic memory but also key functions of semantic memory such as generalisation and memory integration. In this talk I will present studies examining the impact of the "testing effect" on different aspects of adult word learning. The testing effect refers to the well-established finding that an attempt to retrieve a memory provides an opportunity not only to test the accessibility of the memory but also to strengthen it. Encoded items that have been tested are remembered more reliably than items that have merely been studied. The studies presented in this talk show that word learning also benefits from testing. However, this benefit is not restricted to better memory of the tested information. Testing also facilitates generalisation and reduces fragmentation of new words as we begin to forget them. There are limits to these benefits however: testing may not help in connecting the new representations to the existing mental lexicon.