Virtually overcoming grammar learning with 3D application of Loci mnemonics?

The importance of contextual information for memory organization has been advocated by memory research and ancient mnemonic techniques (e.g., method of loci), yet it remains overlooked in most current study environments. Here, German noun gender was presented to 48 participants without prior knowledge of German, either without or within a provided spatial context consisting of a simulated virtual environment that could be explored freely. The three main findings were: in addition to reduced forgetting rate, memory was significantly enhanced when acquisition had occurred with a spatial context than without, in immediate, and delayed cued recall, as well as in delayed free recall. Second, visualization ability predicted spatial context efficiency as a memory aid for cued recall. Lastly, performance of the method of loci-based method correlated with its perceived efficiency. This is the first study to experimentally demonstrate the potential effectiveness of computer-induced spatial context on grammar learning.