Search

There is a consensus in language learning and teaching that the concept of authenticity in the classroom is beneficial to the learning process. This phenomenology case study explored 31 EFL high school students' perceptions about the authenticity of using English as the language of instruction during synchronic lessons with U.S. teachers. Data was collected from two synchronous interactive lessons and students' open-ended reflections. A thematic content analysis was adopted to examine themes on perception, motivation, and participation. The findings revealed students' insights into their learning experiences through synchronous interactions with teachers, highlighting how authentic learning gave them opportunities to practice communication strategies and learn vocabulary incidentally. This study provides pedagogical implications for integrating authenticity in foreign language classrooms.

In Thailand, the traditional teaching approach used for English language classes has been to explicitly teach English grammar, but in recent years the strategy has begun to shift towards the implicit teaching of language via communicative techniques. Within academic circles, there has been minimal agreement on the suitability of approaches used. Today, the question of whether it is better to use an implicit or explicit approach remains open to debate. In this study, an explicit approach is used to teach English grammar to learners in the English Program at the Faculty of Education, Lampang Rajabhat University. These learners have experienced implicit teaching during their own learning of English grammar, but upon graduation will have to use explicit methods when they become teachers of English grammar themselves. Initially, it can be observed that their knowledge of English grammar is weak. Also, they may lack the pedagogical skills to teach English grammar explicitly. The target group in this study was 74 Year 1 students. This study involved multiple steps, namely content analysis, a pre-test, explicit English grammar tutoring, a post-test and data analysis. Test results were statistically analysed for percentages, means and standard deviations. Pre- and post-test scores revealed a difference of 360, or 12.16%, with the mean of 4.87 (SD = 9.96). It can be seen that English grammar learning skills of the target group can be developed by using the explicit teaching method and this can support pre-service English teachers to teach grammar more effectively.

Incidental learning is a type of informal learning occurring consciously with unintentional acts. Within the scope of this study, informal learning on a digital learning platform was examined in the context of cognitive load. The current study investigated the changes in incidental learning within two different scenarios: extraneous irrelevant content (V1) vs. extraneous relevant content (V2) represented in various modalities. Data were collected in a mixed manner using eye-tracker and electroencephalogram devices. Both incidental and actual learning scores of V2 group were higher than the V1 group. For the incidental learning context, visual modality was superior to other modalities, but the dynamic visuals were perceived as disturbing in comparison to static ones. The V1 group had higher number of errors during task engagement. The eye fixation patterns of both groups were similar to each other. Fixation durations on the dynamic visual extraneous content area were recorded the longest among all extraneous content. The V2 group reported higher mental effort. The efficiency metric calculations yielded contradictory findings depending on the cognitive load values obtained from self-ratings vs. cognitive load index (CLI).

Background: Vocabulary learning in a second language (L2) encompasses crucial aspects, including single words and collocations. Research indicates that L2 learners can incidentally learn single words from captioned videos, but less is known about the incidental learning outcomes of collocations, let alone the differences in learning gains for single words and collocations under different captioned conditions, as well as individual differences that may account for such differences. Objectives: This study aimed to fill this gap by comparing the learning gains of single words and collocations while investigating the influence of vocabulary knowledge (VK) and working memory (WM) on the learning results within diverse forms of captioning conditions: full captions, keyword captions, and no captions. Methods: The study involved 129 young Chinese ESL learners who completed vocabulary tests assessing their meaning recall before, immediately after, and 2 weeks after the study, as well as tests for VK and WM. Results and Conclusions: The results showed that full captions are the most efficacious condition for enhancing both single word and collocation learning. The depth of VK, as well as phonological and complex WM, were significant factors in the learning of new language items. Takeaways: Different types of captioning (full or keyword) contribute differently to the learning of various language items. Individual differences in WM and depth of VK among learners should be considered when utilizing captioned videos for language learning.

Emergentist, usage-based L2 research has witnessed that emphasizing formulaic sequences as entry points in meaning-based instructional contexts contributes to the development of linguistic comprehension and production. Related studies have thus far striven to find the most effective methods of highlighting these word strings. This study explored the effects of the focus on lexis (FonL) approach on L2 learners' development of phraseological competence. Furthermore, it probed whether incidental and intentional FonL approaches result in any differential effects on the learners' development of phraseology. Participants were 60 L2 learners in three intact classes randomly assigned to one control and two experimental FonL groups. Their general language proficiency was measured by administering a Cambridge PET Test. Additionally, a pre-test was used to measure their prior knowledge of phraseology. The control group received the mainstream typical instruction, whereas the experimental groups received incidental versus intentional FonL, differentially heightening noticing of conventionalized lexis expressions in L2 reading. A parallel posttest was administered to measure the development of learners' phraseological competence. ANCOVA results indicated that the lexis groups made greater gains in their phraseology as compared to the control group. Moreover, differential effects were evidenced specifically in favor of the use of intentional FonL. The findings indicate that the varied amount of attention L2 learners pay to aspects of formulaicity in language use can influence the extent to which lexis-based input and interaction lead to intake. Theoretical and pedagogical implications of the study are discussed at the end.

Study abroad programs around the world offer participants a plethora of learning opportunities, from the formal component of credit-bearing studies to informal and incidental learning opportunities that come from living and studying internationally. Despite significant research in the field, the educative value of study abroad continues to be questioned. Experiential learning practices that frame study abroad can offer intentional design approaches to support students to learn from their experiences. This study explores study abroad participants' perspectives on the concept of intentional design from their experiences of a one to two semester international study program, where academic courses are studied in a host university but the students are largely left to their own devices to make meaning of their informal and incidental learning opportunities. The study found that students felt the study abroad experience is a deeply personal learning journey that should not be governed by set learning objectives. The paper offers insights on how ways experiential learning practices can inform the design of study abroad so the experience is attractive to students yet structured enough to intentionally support transformational learning.

Previous studies on lexical focus on form (FonF) have mostly centred on FonF in reading with a few pre-selected lexical items. This study investigated the contribution of oral incidental FonF to developing learners' lexical knowledge in a free discussion EFL class. Incidental FonF was provided to 15 upper-intermediate learners who participated in 10 sessions of a meaning-oriented class. To gauge the retention rate of the lexical focus on form episodes (FFEs), two individualized multiple-choice achievement tests based on the lexical FFEs the learners reported to have no previous knowledge of in their uptake sheets were administered every five sessions, and two delayed posttests were given five weeks following each immediate posttest. Moreover, the participants were asked to compose two prompt-based writings on topics selected out of the covered themes in the posttests. Thematically relevant lexical FFEs extracted from each learner's uptake sheets made up the tailored prompts per learner. Results indicated rather high effectiveness of oral incidental FonF in developing learners' receptive and productive lexical knowledge in both short and long terms. The findings also revealed that learners fail to develop knowledge of the grammatical aspects of some lexical FFEs if their attention is merely drawn to their meaning aspects.

The prevalence of COVID-19 worldwide and the length of the global lockdown period deeply affected students' academic study. This unexpected scenario posed a challenge to a considerable number of academic institutions around the world to formally adopt a new education system based on e-learning platforms. Therefore, this study aims to investigate whether Malaysian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) undergraduates' incidental exposure to online platforms during the pandemic might have helped to arouse their interest in reading extensively on the internet. To help explore the issue, a quantitative approach using a descriptive survey design was implemented. Data were collected through a structured online questionnaire administered to 255 undergraduate EFL students majoring in a range of academic disciplines at the University Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) to express their interest in the research topic. To analyze the data, a two-tailed Pearson Correlation coefficient was undertaken and the researchers administered the standard multiple regression analysis to test its impact using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) (Version 25). The obtained findings indicated that the relationship between incidental exposure to e-learning and students' interest in online extensive reading during the COVID-19 pandemic was found to be high, positive, and statistically significant. Therefore, EFL undergraduates who had incidental exposure to e-learning classes also developed a significant interest in extensive reading on the internet. Moreover, carrying out reading and writing assignments assigned by EFL university teachers was one of the central reasons behind the Malaysian undergraduates' engagement with online extensive reading during this period.

This study investigated the effects of processing three types of texts, namely expository texts, narrative texts, and a combination of both known as twin texts, on incidental vocabulary acquisition and retention in L2 learners. College freshmen (N = 109), who were lower to upper intermediate learners of English, were assigned into a control group and three experimental groups representing different reading conditions. Over a period of seven weeks, the experimental groups engaged in two reading sessions to read their assigned texts accompanied by output tasks and input enhancement. The participants' receptive and productive vocabulary gains were measured with an immediate posttest and a delayed posttest to assess retention. Results revealed significant impacts of text genres on L2 incidental vocabulary learning and retention. Processing twin texts and expository texts yielded significantly greater vocabulary gains than processing narrative texts alone. These effects might be due to different processing mechanisms required for texts structured in distinct ways. Expository texts are informative and explanatory in nature, providing explicit and contextually rich information for word comprehension and retention.

Incidental acquisition of vocabulary has been extensively studied by many researchers through various media, such as employing reading comprehension. However, there is a dearth of studies that focus on the contribution of listening to the incidental acquisition of vocabulary. The current study aims to fill this gap. This study explored the effect of watching on-screen content on the incidental acquisition of vocabulary through listening. Participants were 49 Indian learners of English as a second language. Based on the survey on their frequency of watching videos, movies, or songs in English, we categorized them into viewer types. The different viewer types are associated with varying frequencies of listening to English. The participants were asked to take a vocabulary test. A one-way ANOVA was performed to test if the vocabulary scores differed among the groups. The between-group analysis of variance yielded a statistically significant value F (1, 47) = 79.56, p = 0.000, indicating strong evidence against the null hypothesis. The findings suggest that listening significantly contributes to the learners' incidental vocabulary acquisition and that their test scores vary based on the time they devote to listening.

With the aim of investigating effective approaches to extensive reading in Thailand, this study examined the vocabulary uptake and retention rate from reading 350 headwords graded reader. To determine the effects of reading a graded reader on students' vocabulary knowledge and retention, 20 words within four bands of different frequencies of occurrences were selected as target words in the study. The spelling of each word was changed to ensure that students have never seen these words before. 35 intermediate level Thai students volunteered to participate in the study. Three tests, which were word-form recognition, meaning recognition, and translation, were administered immediately after reading, then after 10 days, and then after a two-month delay. The results demonstrate that words can be learned incidentally, as the majority of the words were not learned from reading one graded reader. Words with more frequency were more likely to be learned and more resistant to decay. The data indicate that, on average, the meaning of only three of the 20 words will be recalled two months later. This study implies that just a little amount of new vocabulary is remembered after reading one graded reader, and that substantial amounts of reading are required to increase students' vocabulary.

The current research investigates the lexical coverage of reading passages required for achieving the minimal and optimal levels of reading comprehension in a foreign language. More specifically, the aim of the study is to identify the word frequency bands within the reading passages in the English tests of The Higher Education Institutions Examination that surpass the 95% and 98% lexical coverage thresholds needed for minimal and optimal reading comprehension. Fifty reading passages in the exams held in the last decade (2012-2021) were analyzed in the Compleat Web VP system to determine their lexical coverage. The results indicate that when the reading passages are analyzed separately, the vocabulary needed for minimal reading comprehension varies between 2,000 and 18,000 word families. Similarly, the vocabulary required to achieve an optimal level of reading comprehension ranges from 3,000 to 18,000 word families. In addition, upon analyzing reading passages grouped by year, it becomes evident that the word families necessary for achieving minimal and optimal levels of reading comprehension are found in the 4K and 8K word frequency bands, respectively. These findings suggest that when developing a curriculum for the entire high school period, emphasis should be placed on teaching the most frequent 8,000 word families to avoid inconsistency between taught and tested vocabulary. Furthermore, given the substantial number of word families to be addressed, it is important to establish opportunities for both intentional and incidental vocabulary teaching methods. Moreover, it is essential to acquaint learners with vocabulary learning strategies that enable them to acquire vocabulary indirectly.

What began in a library science course as a collection development project serendipitously transformed into varied learning experiences for students across disciplines and program levels. This article shares the journey of how a singular lesson idea blossomed into an unintentional, multidisciplinary project that led to unexpected learning outcomes for all involved. [The page range cited on the .pdf (p97-107) is incorrect. The correct page range is p95-107.]

The ability of the brain to extract patterns from the environment and predict future events, known as statistical learning, has been proposed to interact in a competitive manner with prefrontal lobe-related networks and their characteristic cognitive or executive functions. However, it remains unclear whether these cognitive functions also possess a competitive relationship with implicit statistical learning across individuals and at the level of latent executive function components. In order to address this currently unknown aspect, we investigated, in two independent experiments (N[subscript Study1] = 186, N[subscript Study2] = 157), the relationship between implicit statistical learning, measured by the Alternating Serial Reaction Time task, and executive functions, measured by multiple neuropsychological tests. In both studies, a modest, but consistent negative correlation between implicit statistical learning and most executive function measures was observed. Factor analysis further revealed that a factor representing verbal fluency and complex working memory seemed to drive these negative correlations. Thus, the antagonistic relationship between implicit statistical learning and executive functions might specifically be mediated by the updating component of executive functions or/and long-term memory access.

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.

Research shows that meaning-focused reading offers opportunities for incidental grammar acquisition. However, the number of such studies remains limited and none have examined the role of both in-text encounters with grammar structures and reading comprehension in this learning. The present study filled these gaps. Employing a between-group, pretest-posttest-delayed-posttest experiment, this study examined to what extent four groups of English-as-a-Foreign-Language adult learners (n = 132) in Vietnam learnt two specific grammar structures through meaning-focused reading in which they encountered these structures four, six, eight, or ten times. A control group (n = 30) was also added to this experiment to gauge test-taking effects. Grammar gain was measured by a self-report grammar-knowledge scale, while content comprehension by a topic-matching task. All treatment groups were found to make sizeable grammar gains, especially after six encounters with the structures. Reading comprehension could also predict the learning gains. These findings offer various useful pedagogical implications.

Poor implicit learning was suggested to be associated with poor orthographic knowledge. The current study examined the differences between twenty typical (age 8.68 ±0.15), and twenty poor readers (age 8.45 ±0.22) in implicit learning of novel graphemes. In the first stage, each participant was passively displayed with 80 pairs of real and artificial words. The artificial words were composed from artificial symbols. After the passive learning stage, each participant was tested with a grapheme matching decision task. The results showed that the accuracy levels which were recorded among the typical readers were significantly higher than those of the poor readers. The accuracy levels which were recorded among the poor readers showed a type of chance level of performance indicating an absence of implicit learning consolidation. However, the results did not show any significant differences in the response times between the two groups. In addition, significant larger individual standard deviations were recorded for the poor group of readers, for both accuracy and the response time of performance, indicating a non-solid type of implicit learning consolidation among this group. The results were discussed considering the association between poor implicit learning capacities and poor orthographic learning.

Prompted by the challenges faced by teachers in balancing grammar and content in English classes, coupled with the poor English proficiency of rural Odia medium school students, the study aimed to devise an intervention that could balance content and grammar, thereby enhancing the grammar competency and content comprehension of eighth-grade students. Based on quasi-experimental research with a pretest-posttest nonequivalent group design, two groups were assigned treatment conditions: the 5E Model with Planned-Incidental Grammar Teaching Approach (experimental group) and the traditional Grammar Translation Method (control group) during class instructions. Data were collected from 100 school students, with 52 in the experimental group and 48 in the control group, using pretest and posttest assessments. The mixed ANOVA test results revealed significantly higher posttest scores in the experimental group compared to the control group, highlighting the positive impact of the intervention on students' grammar proficiency. The t-test for the comprehension test suggested comparable levels of comprehension in both groups, indicating the efficiency of the new pedagogical strategy in seamlessly integrating grammar instruction into regular classroom teaching, optimizing instructional time and ensuring balance between content and grammar, making it particularly valuable for educators facing time constraints. This study underscores the need for professional development opportunities to enhance teachers' pedagogical skills and knowledge. Further research is warranted to explore the intervention's impact on various language skills and assess its applicability in diverse contexts, contributing to a broader understanding of its implications.

This study investigates the role of emotional linguistic input in learning novel words with abstract and concrete denotations. It is widely accepted that concrete words are processed more easily than abstract ones. Several theories of vocabulary acquisition additionally propose a critical role of sensorimotor and emotional information during novel word learning. In this study, proficient adult speakers of English read novel words denoting concrete and abstract words (e.g. "boat" vs "religion") embedded in informative passages with different emotional valence (positive, neutral, and negative). After five exposures to each novel word in an emotionally consistent context, participants were tested on orthographic and semantic vocabulary learning, and provided valence judgments of these novel words. A concreteness advantage was seen in both tasks measuring semantic learning. Critically, valence of linguistic contexts was more influential for novel words with concrete denotations. In line with previous reports, the transfer of context emotionality to novel words (i.e. semantic prosody) took place in concrete stimuli but it was not found in abstract stimuli, even though both were embedded in emotional contexts. An equal advantage was seen for semantic learning of novel words with both concrete and abstract denotations seen in positive contexts. These findings provide support for weak embodied theories of cognition, which propose experiential and linguistic information as critical for concrete and abstract novel word learning.

This article explores notions of spatiality, race, and productive disruptions of whiteness; focusing on two dinners which were one component of a mixed method study on racism, teaching, and implicit race bias with secondary teachers in Toronto, Canada. The dinners were focused on cross race dialogue. White teachers experienced the dinners as uncomfortable, motivating, and in one case upsetting. The dinners offer a unique look at White experiences of racial spatial disruption. Drawing on reflections, interviews, and dinner transcripts, this article sketches a messy typology of these experiences to flesh out connections between White teachers' racial (dis)engagements with/in race dialogue, and related (dis)engagements with antiracism. The paper theorises three distinct but related postures of White self-location, and takes up the implications of each for teacher self-identity and engagement with antiracism. Critically engaging the notion of spatiality, this work is guided by critical race theory, and critical phenomenological approaches.

Vocabulary is often considered as a key predictor of second language ability, and how teachers and learners' beliefs and conceptualizations about vocabulary affect their teaching and learning has recently gained unprecedented momentum in the field of second language education. However, despite their importance, there is a paucity of research that has combined data from teachers and learners to illuminate their beliefs and conceptualizations. The main aim of this quantitative study is to combine data from English language teachers and learners to explore their beliefs and conceptualizations about vocabulary learning and knowledge. The study voluntarily recruited 113 learners and 91 teachers from a major Saudi university to fill out an online questionnaire. The findings revealed that both teachers and learners generally valued vocabulary on a par with grammar, listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and that both groups showed a general understanding of the basic components of word knowledge; however, their beliefs differed significantly. The results also indicated that despite showing an awareness of the role of textbooks and the incidental approach to vocabulary learning, there were significant differences in teachers and learners' beliefs. The study concluded with a range of suggested implications, as well as suggestions for further studies on how to address the present lacunae in the field.

Knowledge of academic words, academic formulas and general formulas is essential for second language learners, but resources for incidental learning of these lexical items are very limited, especially in English as a Foreign Language contexts. This study employed a corpus-driven approach to examine the potential of online news for incidental learning of core academic words, academic formulas, and general formulas. Twenty-six corpora were created from voice of America (VOA) news to represent the amounts of reading that learners with the reading speed of 200 words per minute (wpm) and those with the reading speed of 150 wpm could complete within certain periods of time if they read VOA news regularly for 40 minutes per day and 5 days per week. Then, occurrences of core academic words, academic formulas, and general formulas represented by well-known lists in each corpus were counted with corpus-based tools. Analysis showed that the number of core academic words, academic formulas, and general formulas increased steadily as more input was added. Depending on the kind of target vocabulary and the reading speed, reading VOA news regularly for 3 months to 3.5 years would likely offer learners opportunities to encounter nearly all target words/formulas and encounter at least 80% of them 12 or more times in their reading. This finding suggests that online news is a useful resource for incidental vocabulary learning. It also indicates the minimal amounts of reading needed for incidental learning of core academic words, academic formulas, and general formulas.

While the study of serious games has received due attention, few studies have investigated their potentials of simultaneously offering a route to both content and language acquisition. Understanding the interdisciplinary educational affordance of serious game play is significant, as it might provide game designers and teachers with insight into how to best design and implement serious games. In our study, the serious game "Saving Lives" was used to teach healthcare knowledge and English vocabulary to Iranian nursing students in an experimental group (N = 80), while control group students were taught healthcare knowledge and English vocabulary using traditional methods (N = 80). Using a mixed-methods approach (pre- and post-tests, an open- and closed-ended questionnaire), intentional content learning, incidental vocabulary acquisition, and learners' perceptions of digital game play were investigated. Results showed statistically significant improvement in participants' healthcare knowledge and incidental vocabulary acquisition in the experimental group compared to the control group. Vocabulary and content knowledge gains in the experimental group were the result of students' positive attitudes toward game play, the multimodal contextual clues provided during game play, and repetitive exposure to target words in the game instructions. Using serious games to integrate content and language teaching for specific purposes, such as nursing, was found to be both a viable option for teachers and a preferable medium for fostering students' learning and engagement.

Despite empirical evidence from research showing that the use of text-picture combination is beneficial for second language (L2) learning, little is known about the effectiveness of reading comic books for incidental vocabulary acquisition. This study investigated the effects of engaging with comic books on incidental learning of L2 Italian vocabulary. Using a pretest-posttest design, we collected data from 35 Iranian learners of Italian as a foreign language, 25 of whom read and then read while listening to four comic books in a four-week period. Additionally, after reading each book, students completed two follow-up meaning-focused activities focusing on learners' unprompted use of vocabulary. The results revealed that engaging with comic books was beneficial for incidental vocabulary acquisition. The findings suggest that comics are a valuable and effective source of language learning, and their inclusion in L2 teaching and learning can be particularly advantageous to L2 learners, including novice learners.

This paper contributes to a research program within extensive reading (ER) and "Reading in a Foreign Language" using corpora to simulate ER input to develop vocabulary through incidental learning to 9,000 words. This helps researchers/teachers evaluate ER. If corpora indicate no 'pathway' from smaller to larger vocabulary sizes through authentic ER input, with vocabulary recurrence rates sufficient for incidental learning, then graded readers or other pedagogy appear essential. Studies offer different conclusions due to modeling issues. This study replicates previous research on a larger corpus of general fiction, with improved modeling. For every vocabulary size, a substantial amount of comprehensible fiction is found, with enough repetition of vocabulary from subsequent levels that pathways from smaller to larger vocabulary sizes are possible without graded readers. Prior estimates of approximately 3 years to acquire 9,000 words at 1 hour a day are underestimates, with modeling indicating 2 hours a day would be required.

Today, the Common European Framework of Reference (2009), and with it the action-based approach, underlies English Language Teaching (ELT) curricula throughout Europe. However, actual teaching practices are likely to vary according to factors such as the educational level and supra-national differences, including legal guidelines and the level of extramural English, i.e. out-of-school use of English (Sundqvist, 2009). Those factors presumably influence the role of grammar teaching in foreign language classrooms, which has been the subject of continuous debate (see Graus & Coppen, 2016; Thornbury, 1999; Ur, 2011). Such potential differences in teacher-reported ELT practices across Europe have not yet been investigated in instructed second language acquisition research. Therefore, the present study aims to compare the type of instruction in lower vs. upper secondary school in Sweden, Austria, and France, countries ranking differently in the EF Proficiency index (Education First, 2019). 615 secondary English teachers across the three countries filled in an online questionnaire designed to assess their use of planned vs. incidental form focus, implicit vs. explicit, and inductive vs. deductive instruction (Ellis, 2001a, 2009; Long, 1991). Results seem to indicate that (1) in lower secondary, Swedish teachers teach less explicitly than teachers in Austria and France; (2) Sweden provides ELT that is more implicit-fluency-based than does Austria and France; (3) incidental (rather than planned) grammar teaching is more dominant in upper than in lower secondary across countries and in Sweden and France as compared to Austria; and (4) French teachers differ from the other groups in their application of more inductive rather than deductive instruction. We argue that both the educational level and a country's language policies and ideologies -- and consequently also the extent to which they encourage use and exposure to extramural English -- may be determining factors in the type of instruction applied in ELT.

Incidental learning is a well-known process of acquiring new knowledge, vocabulary, or information without intention. Traditional or intentional learning is widely practiced in classroom environments, while incidental one receives less attention from educators, schools, and scholars. English Language Learners encounter various problems when they start learning the second language, including culture shock, lack of understanding of foreign culture, different contexts, and ineffective teaching strategies implemented by teachers. Many English Language Learners cannot communicate in a second language outside the classroom, yet, they are exposed to a variety of media, including cartoons and animated films, when they are at home. By using cartoons as the means of incidental learning among English Language Learners to acquire second language vocabulary, students could learn a foreign language faster. The current paper critically analyzes the benefits of incidental learning, the evidence of its effective implementation in the classroom with English Language Learners, and the results of previous studies using cartoons as the method of incidental learning among students, including English Language Learners. The paper recommends using incidental learning as one of the strategies to acquire second language vocabulary among English Language Learners. However, teachers must pair this practice with intentional learning to retain the results. Also, it is recommended to use cartoons with subtitles for students with basic or limited knowledge of a second language for effective accommodation and scaffolding of English Language Learners in general classrooms.

The pedagogy of language has since time immemorial majored in the use of pens and other printed materials. However, there occurred a separation of the teaching culture into two major categories; the "big C" and "little c", meaning high and popular culture. Over the years, advancements in various pedagogical techniques have made this boundary separating the two cultures thinner and thinner. It is now blurred with the result that one may not tell which teaching culture is applicable in various circumstances. The leading cause of these changes is sociocultural issues. Present-day evaluations of the humanities have caused a shift towards a broader view to accommodate anthropological and sociological approaches. This shift has also had an influence on the techniques which are used in teaching within the classroom setting. The current study focused on providing a comprehensive picture of various sociocultural problems affecting Maltese as a second language (ML2) pedagogy and the depth to which the reported sociocultural issues are significant to ML2 and any second language teaching and learning. This study investigated the challenges experienced by thirty-five ML2 adult learners. Participant interviews constituted the sole data collection tool. The participants, who came from all walks of life and spoke a variety of first language linguistic systems, including Semitic, Romance, Germanic, Slovanic, Indo-European, Indo-Aryan, and Indo-Iranian, experienced challenges regarding their linguistic abilities, culture shock, personalities, memory, and the teaching method. The current study was required to investigate challenges encountered by adult learners of ML2 and to make some recommendations for improving instruction for adult learners.

Recently vocabulary studies have mainly focused on two forms of vocabulary acquisition: incidental and intentional vocabulary acquisition. For incidental vocabulary acquisition, Task-induced Involvement Load Hypothesis (TILH) was put forward by Hulstijn and Laufer (2001) to investigate the vocabulary tasks by comparing their levels of involvement load to each other. To test this hypothesis, the current study utilized six different vocabulary tasks with varying levels of involvement load. On the other hand, in order to investigate the task type effect, each task with another task from the other task type group was compared. The last part of the study was designed specially to test the task type effect which was neglected by the hypothesis as the hypothesis suggested that only involvement load levels affect the results. The findings concluded that different involvement load levels yielded varying results most of which provided support for the hypothesis. However, task types did not provide evidence in favour of the hypothesis by not leading to similar results for the tasks who shared the same involvement load index. The study concluded with some pedagogical implications and suggestions for further studies.

Education outcomes for L2 students in academic preparation programs, undergraduate studies, and graduate work are directly influenced by the learning and use of academic vocabulary. Among 15 Saudi graduate students studying in New Zealand, this study investigated at their perspectives with academic vocabulary learning. Students in Saudi Arabia who are enrolled at New Zealand universities were asked about their difficulties in learning academic vocabulary. According to this study, a new perspective on academic vocabulary can be gained by studying students' assessments of their problems in learning academic vocabulary. Four research questions are the focus of the study: 1) When it comes to mastering academic vocabulary, what are the most common challenges faced by postgraduate students? 2) What methods do these Saudi postgraduate students employ in order to increase their knowledge of academic language? 3) Do students who perceive the most difficulty in learning a new language likely to have had the least effective ways for learning vocabulary. 4) Saudi graduate students confront what kinds of problems in learning academic vocabulary? Academic vocabulary is typically a problem for graduate students in a number of areas. These challenges were addressed utilizing a qualitative approach, that comprised an exploratory study, personal face-to-face questions, and a group discussion. A wide range of academic circumstances were found to be problematic for all 15 participants, regardless of language proficiency. It was difficult to find time to read for writing when there was so much emphasis on paraphrasing. (Hirvela, 2016) Aside from that, participants had no prior experience with academic vocabulary learning and only a limited number of strategies at their disposal to assist them. In contrast, the results of this study do not support the concept that merely being revealed to academic language can increase the chances of incidental vocabulary development; somewhat more, they recommend that deliberate vocabulary knowledge is needed, so such learning should be based on sound academic skills, including the use of vocabulary study materials; and unsuitable vocabulary acquisition strategies could indeed risk causing unhappiness and loss of vocabulary knowledge.

This study investigated the lexical demands of English-as-an-additional-language (EAL) and general-audience podcasts and their potential for incidental vocabulary learning. Two corpora (i.e., one EAL and one general-audience) comprising 1,188,512 tokens were analyzed to determine the necessary vocabulary knowledge to reach 90% and 95% coverage. The results indicated that 2,000 and 3,000 word families plus proper nouns (PN), marginal words (MW), transparent compounds (TC), and acronyms (AC) covered 90% and 95% of words in podcasts, respectively. The results also showed that EAL and general-audience podcasts required 1,000 and 2,000 words families to reach 90% coverage, respectively. Regarding 95% coverage, knowledge of 2,000 (EAL) and 3,000 (general-audience) word families was required. The results also demonstrated almost 60% of word families from the 2,000-word level were encountered 15+ times in each corpus, suggesting podcasts may hold relatively great potential for learning such words incidentally. Furthermore, our findings indicated that there was some potential for incidentally learning words from the 3,000-word level in both corpora, while general-audience podcasts may hold greater potential in this regard. Implications for using podcasts in language pedagogy are also discussed.

Vocabulary knowledge is very crucial for learners who want to be competent in a language. Vocabulary knowledge means having the knowledge of or command over words of a language and their usages in real-life contexts. Vocabulary knowledge can be gained incidentally and intentionally. The paper compares the effectiveness of the reading-only condition and reading-while-listening condition in incidental vocabulary acquisition. It seeks to find out whether students acquire more vocabulary knowledge by reading a text only or reading the text while listening to it. It also disseminates the effect of word exposure frequency. By applying four vocabulary tests, it proves that learners can gain vocabulary knowledge in both the conditions; but the reading-while-listening condition can result in more gain of vocabulary knowledge. The paper also shows that the more the number of encounters with words in context, the more the vocabulary gains. Studies with students from different levels of education and gender based studies can be conducted. This is a pioneering study on this topic in Bangladesh, so the paper will pave a way for the researchers who want to work on the same topic.

Knowledge of multi-word units (MWUs) helps facilitate communicative fluency, and research on them has gained more and more attention in recent years concerning teaching methods and designing materials for second language (L2) acquisition. Incidental and intentional vocabulary learning are two dominant approaches to acquiring MWUs. In lexical studies, much research has examined the effects of these methods in various contexts. However, a gap in the research remains concerning materials development. This study aims to discuss various interventions that affect the teaching and learning of MWUs. This paper will highlight how more exposure and focusing learners' attention on particular MWUs is essential to the efficient acquisition of MWUs fluency. It can be achieved through intentional learning activities such as appropriately designed specialist digital flashcard-style computer applications and smartphone apps. Specifically, pedagogical implications are discussed when such applications employ either spaced repetition or a Leitner algorithm.

English-medium instruction (EMI) is gaining popularity among EFL higher education institutions. However, not all EMI programs provide the same English immersion as those in the Anglosphere. The researcher targeted English medium university textbooks as a research focus, since they are first and foremost learning material of specialist knowledge and offer EFL non-English-major students a channel for exposure to English. A 6-million-token textbook corpus of civil engineering (CE) compulsory courses was compiled and the vocabulary level thereof along the word frequency scale of the British National Corpus and the Corpus of Contemporary American English was measured. Then the researcher sought to estimate how many new words CE majors with EMI can encounter often enough to have an opportunity of learning them. Results show that CE textbooks reached the 5th 1000-word-family level at 95% text coverage and stretched to the 10th 1000 at 98% coverage. Beyond the first 3000 word families, only 3,433 word families occurred 12+ times. This frequency was assumed as a benchmark for incidental learning to occur. For EMI practitioners who are concerned with their students' vocabulary development, the results can serve as a reference for future investigations into other disciplines.

The present study investigated the lexical demands of scripted and unscripted television programs. To that end, two corpora consisting of 286 episodes from 14 different programs, both scripted and unscripted, were analyzed. The results indicated that the 1,000 most frequent word families, plus proper nouns, marginal words, transparent compounds, and acronyms, were required to reach 90% coverage in both scripted and unscripted programs. Furthermore, knowledge of the 2,000 most frequent word families accounted for 95% coverage in the unscripted programs, while, to reach the same threshold in the scripted programs, a vocabulary size of the 3,000 most frequent word families was needed. Regarding 98% coverage, vocabulary knowledge of 4,000 and 6,000 word families was required for the unscripted and scripted programs, respectively. A corpus-driven investigation was also conducted to explore the potential of both types of television programs for incidental vocabulary learning. Accordingly, the results showed that both types of programs may hold relatively great potential for learning words from the 2,000- to 3,000-word levels and might have some potential for the incidental learning of mid-frequency words (i.e., 4,000- to 9,000-word levels). Implications for using both types of television programs in language learning and teaching processes are discussed.

Open access academic lectures are potential sources for incidental vocabulary learning. These lectures are available in various formats (transcripts, audios, videos, and video with captions), but no studies have compared the learning of vocabulary in these lectures through different input modes. This study adopted a pretest-posttest design to compare learning at the meaning recall level of 50 words in the same academic lecture through five input modes: reading, listening, reading while listening, viewing, and viewing with captions. One hundred sixty-five English for Academic Purposes learners in China were assigned to five experimental groups and a control group. The experimental groups received the treatment with the assigned input mode while the control group received no treatment. Results show that although learning occurred through all input modes, only viewing significantly contributed to the learning gains. Frequency of occurrence and type of vocabulary significantly predicted the learning gains, but the type of verbal elaboration and nonverbal elaboration did not. This study provides further insights into the value of academic lectures for incidental vocabulary learning and supports the multimedia learning theory and its principles.

Although many neurotypical children acquire untaught word-object relations incidentally from naturally occurring environmental experiences, many children with and without developmental disabilities require specific intervention. This study examined the effects of rotating listener (match and point) and speaker (tact and intraverbal-tact) responses with added echoics during multiple exemplar instruction (MEI) with training sets of stimuli on the acquisition of Incidental Bidirectional Naming (Inc-BiN). Listener-speaker MEI procedures reported in Hawkins et al. "European Journal of Behavior Analysis," 10(2), 265-273, (2009) were replicated with procedural modification, new instructors, and new participants (four preschoolers with and without disabilities). The listener-speaker MEI with added echoics consisted of rotating across four response operants: match-with-echoics, point-with-echoics, tact, and intraverbal-tact responses. We measured the establishment of Inc-BiN through the number of the correct untaught listener (point) and untaught speaker (intraverbal-tact) responses for untaught stimuli during the listener-speaker MEI with added echoics. We found that listener-speaker MEI with added echoics was effective in establishing Inc-BiN for 3 of 4 participants.

English-medium instruction (EMI) has become a nationwide trend in Taiwan's higher education institutions. Behind this rapid growth is the widespread belief that EMI provides English immersion, which facilitates incidental learning of the target language. However, not all EMI programs in EFL contexts provide the same immersion as those in the Anglosphere. English-medium university textbooks were therefore targeted as a research focus in that they offer non-English subject majors a sustainable channel for exposure to English in the EFL context. The researcher compiled two 4- million-token accounting and civil engineering textbook corpora and measured the vocabulary levels and amounts along the BNC/COCA word-frequency scale. Results show that accounting textbooks reached the 5th 1000-word-family level at 98% text coverage while civil engineering textbooks stretched to the 9th-10th 1000 level. Twelve repetitions were used as a benchmark for incidental learning. Only 1,479 word families beyond the first 3000 occurred 12+ times in the accounting corpus versus 3,397 word families in the civil engineering corpus. For EMI practitioners who are concerned with their students' vocabulary development, the results may serve as a reference for future investigations into other disciplines.

In the late 1980s Batia Laufer worked with teachers who believed that to understand a text it was enough to understand 80% of the text's word tokens. In response, Laufer set out to calculate the minimal text coverage, i.e., percentage of running words in a text the reader should understand to comprehend it reasonably well. In 1992, she explored the second facet of lexical threshold, the number of words learners should know receptively to reach reasonable comprehension. Two decades later, Laufer examined the relationship between text coverage, vocabulary size of the learners, and reading comprehension, by combining the three variables into one design. Based on the combined evidence, the current suggestion is that an optimal coverage for reading of any text is 98% of word tokens and that the minimal coverage is 95%. Recently (Laufer, 2020), Laufer found that 95% coverage could be reached with an initial knowledge of 90% words in the text and inferring an additional 5%. The findings regarding the lexical thresholds, in terms of coverages and learners' vocabulary size, can be used in planning lexical syllabi, grading reading texts in terms of lexical difficulty, matching particular texts to particular learners, dividing learners by lexical knowledge, and researching comprehension, inferencing and incidental acquisition. Based on her findings, Laufer presents her arguments (specifically responding to Stuart McLean's 2021 article) in three sections: (1) Coverages, thresholds, and comprehension: Incorrect assumptions? (2) Matching texts to learners' level: A need for rigid mastery levels? and (3) The lexical load of texts and the lexical knowledge of learners: An inappropriate word counting unit? She concludes that it is rewarding to see that issues pertaining to lexical difficulty of texts, and learners' lexical knowledge necessary to comprehend them continue generating interest and discussion three decades after she started working on them. Scholarly activity involves revisiting and refining existing concepts and tools and applying different approaches to the same issue. However, older, and newer approaches do not have to be either right or wrong, appropriate or inappropriate, valid or invalid. They are complementary, not mutually exclusive. [For McLean's article, "The Coverage Comprehension Model, Its Importance to Pedagogy and Research, and Threats to the Validity with Which It Is Operationalized," see EJ1296462.]

Second language (L2) learners comprehend more when they are prepared for novel vocabulary that they encounter in a text. Input-based incremental (IBI) vocabulary instruction (Barcroft, 2012) provides L2 instructors and learners with a means of achieving this goal by (a) presenting optimal input to learners at the right time during a reading-focused lesson and (b) promoting the gradual development of different aspects of word knowledge over time. The approach draws on theoretical advances and research findings related to lexical input processing, including the benefits of acoustically varied input and opportunities for target word retrieval. This paper explains the IBI approach and demonstrates how it can be applied when teaching authentic texts, using as an example L2 German and "Wo Europa anfängt" (1991) by Yoko Tawada, a narrative that addresses themes such as transnationalism, migration, borders, and cultural identity.

This paper uses Vygotsky's cultural-historical development theory to examine the theoretical lineages that influenced Marsick and Watkins' (1990) model of informal and incidental learning. After discussing the context of each influence, the paper applies cultural-historical development theory to the many updates that Marsick, Watkins, and collaborators have contributed, moving the model into a theory. In 1990, Marsick and Watkins named the work of Dewey, Lindeman, Lewin, Knowles, Polanyi, and Argyris and Schön as primary influences for the formation of their informal and incidental learning model. By focusing on the context of each of the theorists who influenced the original Marsick and Watkins model and sketching the connections between the theorists' ideas and experiences, this paper fulfills the twofold purpose of exploring the context of Marsick and Watkins' model-turned-theory and providing a model for Vygotsky-informed literature reviews.

This study investigates how implicit and explicit learning and knowledge are associated, by focusing on the salience of target form--meaning connections. The participants were engaged in incidental learning of artificial determiner systems that included grammatical rules of [± plural] (a taught rule), [± actor] (a more salient hidden rule), and [± animate] (a less salient hidden rule). They completed immediate and delayed post-tests by means of a two-alternative forced-choice task with subjective judgments of source attributions. Awareness during the learning phase was identified through analysis of thinking aloud protocols. The results did not support a one-to-one relation between either explicit learning and conscious knowledge, or implicit learning and unconscious knowledge; rather, they indicated that implicit and explicit learning are intricately linked to conscious and unconscious knowledge mediated by the salience of form-meaning connections in target items. This result also suggests the possibility of the later emergence of knowledge without any conscious awareness of it.

This study examines the effect of textual enhancement on learners' attention to and learning of multiword units from captioned audiovisual input. We adopted a within-participants design in which 28 learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) watched a captioned video containing enhanced (underlined) and unenhanced multiword units. Using eye-tracking, we measured learners' online processing of the multiword units as they appeared in the captions. Form recall pre- and posttests measured learners' acquisition of the target items. The results of mixed effects models indicate that enhanced items received greater visual attention, with longer reading times, less single word skipping and more rereading. Further, a positive relationship was found between amount of visual attention and learning odds: items fixated longer, particularly during the first pass, were more likely to be recalled in an immediate posttest. Our findings provide empirical support for the positive effect of visual attention on form recall of multiword units encountered in captioned television. The results also suggest that item difficulty and amount of attention were more important than textual enhancement in predicting learning gains.

Vocabulary learning constitutes an essential component of language learning and teaching. The type of input students receive is one of the factors that affect the pace and range of this learning. In the incidental vocabulary learning process, learners have been shown to benefit from exposure to a variety of input types to varying degrees. In this study, we examine the effects of three different input modes on learners' incidental vocabulary acquisition in a classroom setting. One hundred 5th-grade students in a state school in Turkey were assigned to one of the three experimental groups (reading, viewing, and viewing with the transcript) or a no-treatment control group. Learner gains were measured using a pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest design. Based on the results of the study, reading and viewing the transcript produced the same level of incidental vocabulary learning, while viewing alone did not yield significant results.

There is a great deal of variation in gains found between studies of second language (L2) incidental vocabulary learning, as well as many factors that affect learning. This meta-analysis investigated the effects of exposure to L2 meaning-focused input on incidental vocabulary learning with an aim to clarify the proportional gains that occur through meaning-focused learning. Twenty-four primary studies were retrieved providing 29 different effect sizes and a total sample size of 2,771 participants (1,517 in experimental groups vs. 1,254 in control groups). Results showed large overall effects for incidental vocabulary learning on first and follow-up posttests. Mean proportions of target words learned ranged from 9-18% on immediate posttests, and 6-17% on delayed posttests. Incidental L2 vocabulary learning gains were similar across reading (17%, 15%), listening (15%, 13%), and reading while listening (13%, 17%) conditions on immediate and delayed posttest. In contrast, the proportion of words learned in viewing conditions on immediate posttests was smaller (7%, 5%). Findings also revealed that the amount of incidental learning varies according to a range of moderator variables including learner characteristics (L2 proficiency, institutional levels), materials (text type and audience), learning activities (spacing, mode of input), and methodological features (approaches to controlling prior word knowledge).

This article addresses visual literacy as a crucial competence for fostering intercultural literacy and intercultural dialogue. Visual literacy has been defined as a combination of skills needed to interpret the meaning of images, latent reasons behind their making and their impact on audiences. Individuals need to develop such skills to critically read the 'vocabulary' (content) and 'grammar' (composition) of images they are constantly flooded with to fully understand and appreciate the underlying meaning of visual representations of their own culture and other cultures, as well as the people belonging to different cultural groups. The Council of Europe's "Autobiography of Intercultural Encounters through Visual Media" (AIEVM) has been designed to promote interculturality through the reflection on the other, as portrayed in visuals. By analysing AIEVMs produced by 18 adult learners of English in two contexts -- featuring explicit intercultural training prior to AIEVM completion vs. its application without such previous input -- the present study examines the impact of pertinent training in visual and intercultural competence development. The data suggest heightened levels of metacognition and critical thinking in the former context. Results for both groups also disclose the development of a powerful sense of self-discovery and empathy toward alterity, induced by the commonalities detected between the respondents themselves and the depicted. Overall, implementing the AIEVM seems to narrow the gap between the intercultural awareness discerned in both contexts, yet the dissimilar depth of the narratives produced corroborates the value of prior intercultural learning. The article concludes with a critical overview of the potential of the AIEVM, comprising prospective courses of action to supplement this instrument to sharpen users' visual literacy and boost deeper intercultural reflection.

Since speech is a continuous stream with no systematic boundaries between words, how do pre-verbal infants manage to discover words? A proposed solution is that they might use the transitional probability between adjacent syllables, which drops at word boundaries. Here, we tested the limits of this mechanism by increasing the size of the word-unit to four syllables, and its automaticity by testing asleep neonates. Using markers of statistical learning in neonates' EEG, compared to adult behavioral performances in the same task, we confirmed that statistical learning is automatic enough to be efficient even in sleeping neonates. We also revealed that: (1) Successfully tracking transition probabilities (TP) in a sequence is not sufficient to segment it. (2) Prosodic cues, as subtle as subliminal pauses, enable to recover words segmenting capacities. (3) Adults' and neonates' capacities to segment streams seem remarkably similar despite the difference of maturation and expertise. Finally, we observed that learning increased the overall similarity of neural responses across infants during exposure to the stream, providing a novel neural marker to monitor learning. Thus, from birth, infants are equipped with adult-like tools, allowing them to extract small coherent word-like units from auditory streams, based on the combination of statistical analyses and auditory parsing cues.

This article reports on a longitudinal study on the impact of reading mode on incidental collocation learning and predictors of learning gains. The experiment lasted 11 weeks and involved 118 Vietnamese EFL learners who were assigned to an experimental group and a no-treatment control group. The experimental group encountered 32 target collocations in three graded readers in three reading modes: reading-while-listening, reading with textual input enhancement (i.e., underlining), and reading-while-listening plus textual input enhancement in a counterbalanced fashion. Incidental learning was assessed at the level of form recall. The findings indicated a significant effect of reading mode on the learning of collocations. Significantly more collocations were learned in reading-while-listening plus textual input enhancement and reading with textual input enhancement modes than in reading-while-listening mode. Reading-while-listening plus textual input enhancement, however, did not differ significantly from reading with textual input enhancement. The results also revealed that learners' prior vocabulary knowledge and collocational congruency significantly affected learning.