MLAT Paired Associate Memorization 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following conditions would MOST improve a test-taker's Paired Associates score compared to a baseline administration?
- Listening to classical music during the test
- Receiving 50% more study time before the recall phase (Correct answer)
- Taking the test in a group setting
- Using a pen instead of a keyboard to respond
Correct answer: Receiving 50% more study time before the recall phase
More study time allows more repetitions and deeper encoding of each pair, directly increasing recall accuracy.
Question 2: On the MLAT Paired Associates section, the artificial vocabulary is drawn from which source?
- Ancient Latin roots
- Randomly generated nonsense syllables designed to be pronounceable (Correct answer)
- Phonetic transcriptions of real languages
- Simplified Chinese characters transliterated into English
Correct answer: Randomly generated nonsense syllables designed to be pronounceable
The artificial words are invented nonsense syllables constructed to be pronounceable in English but unfamiliar to all test-takers.
Question 3: A test-taker remembers 'sug = water' by thinking 'sug sounds like suck, and you suck up water.' This is an example of which memory technique?
- Loci method
- Spaced repetition
- Keyword mnemonic (Correct answer)
- Interleaving
Correct answer: Keyword mnemonic
The keyword mnemonic links a new word to a familiar-sounding keyword and creates an image connecting that keyword to the meaning.
Question 4: In terms of language aptitude theory, Paired Associates performance is most closely related to which Carroll (1981) aptitude component?
- Phonetic coding ability
- Rote learning ability (Correct answer)
- Inductive language learning ability
- Grammatical sensitivity
Correct answer: Rote learning ability
Carroll identified rote learning ability as the aptitude component most directly measured by the Paired Associates subtest.
Question 5: A test shows that a learner's Paired Associates score declines when 30 pairs are tested vs. 15 pairs. What does this reveal?
- The learner has a reading disability
- Memory load and interference increase with more items (Correct answer)
- The learner performs better under pressure
- Fewer pairs are harder than more pairs
Correct answer: Memory load and interference increase with more items
More pairs increase cognitive load and inter-item interference, making retrieval of specific associations more difficult.
Question 6: Which of the following answer choices would be considered a GOOD distractor for the pair 'flem = sky' in a multiple-choice recall test?
- book
- sky (correct target)
- cloud (Correct answer)
- mathematics
Correct answer: cloud
A 'cloud' is semantically related to 'sky' and is a plausible distractor that tests whether the learner knows the precise meaning vs. a close associate.
Question 7: What does a very high MLAT Paired Associates score predict about a language learner's future performance?
- They will develop a native-like accent quickly
- They will acquire new vocabulary efficiently in formal study (Correct answer)
- They will excel at understanding native speaker humor
- They will prefer grammar-translation methods
Correct answer: They will acquire new vocabulary efficiently in formal study
High Paired Associates scores predict strong vocabulary acquisition efficiency, a foundational skill in structured language learning.
MLAT Paired Associate Memorization 5
Which of the following conditions would MOST improve a test-taker's Paired Associates score compared to a baseline administration?