Effects Of Practice Distribution On The Effectiveness Of Second Language Grammar Acquisition

The present study aims to examine whether practice distribution works better for the acquisition of grammatical knowledge when the ISI/RI ratio is 10%-30% as Rohrer & Pashler(2007)supported.After a pre-test,learners of Chinese as a second language are trained on Causative BA-Construction by the same instructor with the same teaching material and teaching methods for two practice periods with either 1-week ISI or 2-week ISI,followed with post-test1(RI=4weeks)and posttest2(RI=11weeks).Their scores in three tests are analyzed and the result doesn’t agree with the hypothesis that the optimal ISI/RI ratio is 10%-30%.It is found that the effects of practice distribution(ISI/RI ratio)on grammatical acquisition are mediated by a number of factors,including ISI and the complexity of tasks.This study shows that the 1-week group has a smaller decline of scores between the two post-tests,indicating that ISI has an effect on retention,and thus ISI should be limited to a certain range,as an overlong ISI might cause failure of retention.Different from the easier T/F test,there is no significant difference between the two groups in the rule applying test,indicating that distributed practice effect might be mediated by the complexity of tasks,and a higher complicity of tasks would lead to a greater distributed practice effect.