Keyword method (KWM) has received significant attention over the past few decades to explore the memory and retrieval of second language vocabulary. A great deal of research has yielded valuable insights into the KWM; however, a consensus has not been reached on its effectiveness on L2 vocabulary memory. This study explored the effectiveness of the keyword method in comparison with the context method. In addition, in order to answer the reason for inconsistent results in the seemingly similar studies in the past, the present study included four learning-test conditions (1. KWM - word definition recall 2. KWM - sentence completion in L2 3. context method - word definition recall 4. context method - sentence completion in L2). The results show that there was no statistically significant difference in the efficacy of the KWM and the context method in the immediate and the delayed recall. There was, however, a statistically significant difference among the different learning―test conditions, observed both in the immediate and delayed recall test. The recall was more effective in the conditions in which the relation between the learning method and the test type was consistent. The findings suggest implications for the design of future empirical research.