Measuring the visual in audio-visual input: The effects of imagery in vocabulary learning through TV viewing

Abstract

This exploratory study investigates the effects of imagery on word learning through audio-visual input. A total of 82 adolescent EFL learners were exposed to 8 episodes of a TV series under four conditions, depending on the language of the on-screen text (L1 or L2) and whether they were pretaught target words or not. The effects of co-occurrence of the word with its image, and the image time on screen (ITOS) were explored, alongside frequency, proficiency, and learning condition variables. Results showed that both image-related variables and frequency predicted word-form learning, while only ITOS predicted word-meaning recall, with a longer exposure to image associated to higher gains, suggesting that, at this age and proficiency level, the images associated with the words can be conducive to learning.