Variables in the mnemonic effectiveness of pictorial elucidation

Abstract

In this chapter we examine ways in which the pictorial elucidation of the literal sense of a word or expression can help learners remember its figurative usages. We report a series of experiments the results of which reveal the interplay of a number of variables in the pedagogical effectiveness of this CL-inspired imagery approach. One of those variables is the cognitive style of the learners. Learners who have a relatively strong inclination to think in mental pictures appear generally to be more susceptible to the mnemonic benefits offered by CL-inspired pedagogy. Encouragingly, learners who tend to show a preference for thinking in words can be helped to reap similar mnemonic rewards if input is supplemented with pictures. Our data suggest though that pictorial elucidation of target expressions is beneficial mostly for learners' retention of meaning. As for recollection of form, it appears that pictorial elucidation may even have a counter-facilitative, distractive effect, especially in the case of expressions which are relatively long and complex. Much may depend, however, on where in a sequence of learning activities the pictures are presented.SCOPUS: ch.binfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe