This longitudinal study investigates the effect of mode of reading on the incidental learning of collocations and factors that affect learning. One hundred Vietnamese pre-intermediate learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) were assigned to either an experimental group or a control group (no treatment). In 9 weeks, the experimental group…

The present study explores the incidental learning of formulaic sequences (FS) from audio-visual input and factors affecting the learning of FS. A pretest-posttest, within-participant design was adopted. English-as-a-foreign-language learners (L1 = Dutch; n = 42) watched a one-hour English-language documentary without subtitles. Learning gains…

It is thought that in order to comprehend general conversation at the native-speaker level, it is necessary to know thousands of word families. Vocabulary learning is therefore a vital component to attaining proficiency in a language. Technological advances have greatly expanded the resources available to language students. In particular, learners…

Learning style matching is a neglected factor that may affect the complex process of second language (L2) incidental vocabulary acquisition through reading. The purpose of the current study is to investigate whether there is any difference in L2 incidental vocabulary acquisition and retention through reading when learners' perceptual learning…

This study used a pretest-posttest-delayed posttest design at one-week intervals to determine the extent to which written, audio, and audiovisual L2 input contributed to incidental vocabulary learning. Seventy-six university students learning EFL in China were randomly assigned to four groups. Each group was presented with the input from the same…

Television is considered an important source of comprehensible input for second language learners of English and there is some evidence that L2 words can be learned incidentally by watching television. Few studies have looked at the role of TV viewing for learning formulaic sequences, despite the ubiquity of formulaic sequences in spoken English,…

This study investigated the effectiveness of incidental focus on form in promoting second language development in text-based live chats. Sixteen college-level Taiwanese English language learners were partnered with American college students to complete two communicative tasks via synchronous chats on Instant Messenger. Language-related episodes…

Research has shown that second language (L2) learners that become aware of linguistic features during grammar-based tasks are better able to process these features on a posttest compared to learners that do not focus on these features. However, much L2 input does not come in the form of grammar-based tasks. This study investigates whether learners…