The present study aimed to construct the piloting phase of a more extensive investigation on the effectiveness of the keyword technique, rote memorisation and semantic mapping as vocabulary learning methods in word retention rates of 16 third-grade pre-service teachers studying at English Language Teaching Department of a large Turkish university. The effectiveness of the methods for vocabulary learning was tested using three experimental learning conditions; the conditions were administered to all the participants for their learning of carefully selected 24 low-frequency English words. The results from the immediate post-tests indicated that the keyword technique provided the highest success in recalling the target words. Besides, the rote memorisation method was as successful as the keyword technique. However, the semantic mapping technique has created moderately lower scores both in immediate and delayed post-tests. After an interval of seven weeks, no significant differences were observed between methods. The study yielded suggestions for future larger-scale studies regarding the sample group's size, the field of study, and variety in the target language.