Role of Massed Versus Distributed Practice in Learning Novel Foreign Language Utterances

Abstract

The current study compared the role of massed versus distributed practice in learning novel foreign language utterances. Fifty healthy native English-speaking participants were randomly assigned to either massed or distributed practice groups. All participants practiced eight novel French utterances 25 times each for a total of 200 times, with the spacing of practice sessions differing between the two groups. Both the groups completed an immediate retention as well as a delayed retention test. Participants’ learning was evaluated based on phonetic accuracy and naturalness of the French utterances. The findings revealed that participants involved in distributed practice demonstrated better learning over participants involved in massed practice. Future research should aim to extrapolate these findings in treating speech disorders.