A Rote Strategy in Memorizing Vocabulary for ESL Learners

The author devises a wordlist vocabulary learning method with detailed procedures, Cyclical Repetition Technique. A comparative experiment involving 50 Chinese ESL college students with pre-test, post-test 1 and post-test 2 was conducted to verify the technique. Compared to national survey data of average 3,000 English words for most Chinese college graduates, the research finding, 1,855.37 words acquired in 20 days and 90.79% retention rate in a delayed post-test 2 two months later, demonstrated that CRT helped experimental Chinese ESL college students memorize English vocabulary quickly, effectively and perpetually. This paper also reveals some facts of English education in China. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.