Research has begun to demonstrate that L2 words can be learned incidentally through watching audio-visual materials. Although there are a large number of studies that have investigated incidental vocabulary learning through reading a single text, there are no studies that have explored incidental vocabulary learning through viewing a single full-length TV program. The present study fills this gap. Additionally, three word-related variables (frequency of occurrence, cognateness, word relevance) and one learner-related variable (prior vocabulary knowledge) that might contribute to incidental vocabulary learning were examined. Two experiments were conducted with Dutch-speaking EFL learners to measure the effects of viewing TV on form recognition and meaning recall (Experiment 1) and meaning recognition (Experiment 2). The findings showed that viewing TV resulted in incidental vocabulary learning at the level of meaning recall and meaning recognition. The research also revealed that learning was affected by frequency of occurrence, prior vocabulary knowledge, and cognateness.

This study investigates whether congruency (+/-literal translation equivalent), collocate-node relationship (adjective-noun, verb-noun, phrasal-verb-noun collocations), and word length influence the learning burden of EFL learners' learning collocations at the initial stage of formmeaning mapping. Eighteen collocations were selected on the basis of a pretest. They were divided into 9 congruent and 9 incongruent collocations and into 6 verb-noun collocations, 6 phrasal-verb-noun collocations and 6 adjective-noun collocations. Forty-one EFL learners (first language: Dutch) were asked to read a word list containing the 18 target collocations, their translation and a sample sentence and to complete four online exercises, in which the 18 collocations were presented twice. Learning gains were measured at three levels of sensitivity: form recall test 1, form recall test 2 (+ clue), form recognition test. Although mixed findings were revealed, all factors seemed to affect the learning difficultly of the collocations. Incongruent collocations appeared to be more difficult to recall than congruent ones. Adjectivenoun collocations were better recalled and recognized than (phrasal) verb-noun collocations. Depending on the posttest, participants' vocabulary size and word length of the individual constituents making up the collocation also affected the learning process.

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The aim of this study is to investigate (1) how often Flemish English-as-a-foreign language learners are exposed to English language media outside of the classroom, (2) whether current out-of-class exposure to English language media is related to learners’ vocabulary knowledge, and (3) whether length of instruction (three or six years), gender, and out-of-class exposure to English language media affect Flemish learners’ vocabulary. Data were collected with 79 English-as-a-foreign language learners. They were administered a frequency-based vocabulary test and a questionnaire. The findings of this study show that Flemish English-as-a-foreign language learners are frequently exposed to English language media. The results also indicate a positive relationship between learners’ vocabulary knowledge and exposure to non-subtitled TV programs and movies, the Internet, and written print (books, magazines). Finally, both length of instruction and current out-of-class exposure to English language media had an effect on learners’ vocabulary knowledge, but out-of-class exposure had a larger effect than length of instruction.

Learning formulaic language from video: an exploratory study into incidental learning of single words and formulaic sequencesTelevision 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.(e.g. Montero Perez et al., 2014;Peters & Webb, 2018). Few studies have looked at the role of TV viewing for learning formulaic sequences, despite the ubiquity of formulaic sequences in spoken English (e.g. Lin, 2014) and the importance of formulaic language in the development of second language proficiency (Schmitt, 2010). This study aims to find out whether single words and formulaic sequences can be learned incidentally by watching English language television, and whether learners' prior vocabulary knowledge and item-related factors affect the learning process. Data were collected from 20 English-as-a-foreign-language learners (L1=Dutch) in their first year at university. A pretest-posttest, within-subject design was adopted. Learning gains were measured at three levels of sensitivity: a form recall test, a meaning recall test and a form recognition test. The results indicate that single words and formulaic sequences can be learned incidentally from TV viewing and that the learning is mediated by item-as well as learner-related factors.