Incidental L2 vocabulary learning from audiovisual input: the effects of different types of glosses

Despite increasing number of studies on incidental vocabulary learning through viewing in a foreign language, glosses, which have been proven to have facilitative effects in incidental vocabulary learning via other modes of input, have remained underexplored in audiovisual input. The current study investigates the effects of (1) traditional gloss (TG), (2) multiple-choice gloss (MCG) and (3) no gloss (NG) conditions on incidental L2 vocabulary learning through viewing animated short videos. Turkish-L1 upper-intermediate to advanced EFL learners (N = 127), who were randomly assigned to three conditions, watched three short, animated videos twice. The results revealed that while the MCG group and the TG group significantly outperformed the NG group in vocabulary meaning recall test, there was not a significant difference between the glossed conditions. The results also suggested that the participants learnt new words through interacting with MCGs. Furthermore, the participants’ prior vocabulary knowledge positively correlated with incidental vocabulary learning from the videos. The results are discussed within the framework of previous research and the Involvement Load Hypothesis.