This study aims to investigate the effects of a text-reproduction task called Story Retelling (SR) on Japanese high school students’ English language learning. On the basis of previous studies, two research questions are set: Does SR help students to learn the words and expressions in the text they have read and does it help students to retain the words and expressions they have learned after a certain period of time? Eighty-five Japanese junior high school students learning English (aged 12–13) participated (42 were the control group and 43 the experimental group). The experimental group was provided with opportunities for SR after reading a text, while the control group engaged in reading aloud tests. Two post-tests (one-week delayed and one-month delayed) were conducted, and the scores were compared by t-test. The results showed that there was no significant difference in the one-week delayed test (there was some possibility of a ceiling effect) but that the control group significantly exceeded the experimental group in the one-month delayed test. This implies that SR leads students to focus more on the meanings and functions of language in the text and to pay less attention to the forms. Considering this implication, it is suggested that students be more exposed to the text before SR and receive explicit instructions about the target words or phrases in the text.