Importance of situational context and response in memory retention and recall: reader performance in an English as a foreign language learning context

Taking an example from an English as a foreign language (EFL) learning context, this paper makes an argument for the importance of situational context and response in memory retention and recall. Limited data from a website analysis study carried out for six weeks as in-class assignments in an EFL course at a Japanese technical university suggest that for analytical assignments readers use different systems such as online/paper dictionaries or translation software, alongside different strategies such as reading headings/topic sentences or skimming and scanning body text for main ideas, to obtain information in a given learning context. The use of such systems and strategies seems to reduce dependence on information retention and recall based on memory. However, it does not necessarily lead to performance improvement, even with massed practice. For this, the elimination of redundancy in assignments and the inclusion of instructor feedback might also be necessary.