Mnemonic-Supported Instruction and the Acquisition of English Temporal Prepositions: A Longitudinal Study within a Skill Acquisition Framework

Somaiyah Alghonaim

Advisor: Douglas J Wulf, PhD, Department of English

Committee Members: Cynthia Lukyanenko, James Blevins

Horizon Hall, #4225, https://gmu.zoom.us/j/91307212557?pwd=nqX5w2LK7cU5VftiCuaBklGIw9u82c.1
April 24, 2026, 12:30 PM to 03:00 PM

Abstract:

English prepositions are widely recognized as a persistent source of difficulty for second language (L2) learners because their meanings often extend across multiple semantic domains and often lack direct equivalents in learners’ first languages (L1). Guided by Skill Acquisition Theory (SAT), which proposes that declarative knowledge can gradually become proceduralized through practice and repeated retrieval, the present longitudinal dissertation investigates whether mnemonic-supported instruction can facilitate the learning and retention of English temporal prepositions such as at, on, in (in two distinct usage types), for, from/to, since, and until among intermediate-level English language learners (ELLs). The research consists of three related studies: a norming study, a main experimental study, and a pilot investigation. The norming study was conducted with native speakers (NSs) of English to verify that the visual stimuli used in the research reliably elicited the intended temporal prepositions and that the three test versions were comparable in difficulty. The main study then examined the effects of mnemonic-supported instruction on the acquisition and retention of temporal prepositions among intermediate-level ELLs. Participants were assigned to one of three groups: a mnemonic-supported instruction group (EXP), a rule-based instruction group (ACT), and a no-instruction control group (INACT). Learners completed a sentence-production task at three time points: pre-test, post-test, and delayed post-test. The pilot study explored whether instruction targeting temporal prepositions might influence learners’ interpretation of related spatial meanings. The main study results indicate that both the EXP and ACT groups improved following instruction. However, the EXP group demonstrated greater stability in performance at the delayed post-test compared to the ACT group, while the INACT group showed little change across tests. These findings are consistent with the predictions of SAT, suggesting that mnemonic cues may support the retrieval processes involved in the gradual proceduralization of grammatical knowledge. Overall, the findings suggest that mnemonic-supported instruction may provide a useful instructional strategy for supporting learners’ acquisition and retention of temporal prepositions.