The impact of text-audio synchronized enhancement on collocation learning from reading-while-listening: an extended replication of Jung and Lee (2023)

Abstract This study attempted to extend Jung and Lee’s (2023. Incidental collocational learning from reading-while-listening and the impact of synchronized textual enhancement. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching .) study to gain further insight into the pedagogical potential of text-audio synchronized enhancement on L2 collocation learning from reading-while-listening. Eighty-seven Cantonese ESL speakers read two English stories under one of four conditions, i.e., reading-only, reading-while-listening, reading-while-listening with colouring, and reading-while-listening with synchronized colouring. The stories contained 12 target adjective-pseudonoun collocations, and participants’ learning was assessed with immediate and one-week delayed posttests that consisted of recall and recognition tests. Lastly, two participants from each group produced stimulated recall comments. The results revealed that both colouring techniques significantly promoted receptive knowledge about the target collocations in the immediate posttest. Synchronized colouring, in particular, was also effective in improving immediate pseudonoun meaning recall scores and reducing reaction times to collocation recognition tests. Stimulated recalls indicated that synchronized colouring allowed for more uninterrupted processing of the stories in close alignment with the audio.