This study investigated vocabulary coverage and the number of encounters of lowfrequency vocabulary in television programs. Eighty-eight television programs consisting of 264,384 running words were categorized according to genre. Television shows were classified as either British or American and then put into the following genres: news, drama, situation comedy, older programs, children's programs, and science fiction. The results showed that knowledge of the most frequent 3,000 word families plus proper nouns and marginal words provided 95.45% coverage, and knowledge of the most frequent 7,000 word families plus proper nouns and marginal words provided 98.27% coverage. The vocabulary size necessary to gain 95% coverage of the different genres ranged from 2,000 to 4,000 word families plus proper nouns and marginal words; 5,000 to 9,000 word families plus proper nouns and marginal words to gain 98% coverage. The analysis also indicated that there was great variation in coverage between episodes. The results showed that there were relatively few encounters with low-frequency vocabulary. However, if learners knew the most frequent 3,000 word families and they watched at least an hour of television a day, there is the potential for significant incidental vocabulary learning.There is little doubt that television provides a massive amount of first language (L1) input. Research suggests that people watch television in their native language from 3 (Statistics Canada, 2004) to 7 (Literacy Trust, 2006) hours a dayThe authors wish to thank Paul Nation, Victoria University of Wellington, for his helpful comments on an earlier draft of this article, and the anonymous reviewers, for their useful comments.

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In this study, the scripts of 288 television episodes were analyzed to determine the extent to which vocabulary reoccurs in related and unrelated television programs, and the potential for incidental vocabulary learning through watching one season (approximately 24 episodes) of television programs. The scripts consisted of 1,330,268 running words and had a total running time of 203 hours and 49 minutes with a mean running time of 42 minutes. The vocabulary from a single season of six individual television programs (142 episodes) was compared with six sets of random television programs (146 episodes). The results indicated that, when there are an equivalent number of running words, related television programs are likely to contain fewer word families than unrelated programs. The findings also indicated that word families from the 4,000-14,000 levels were more likely to reoccur in a complete season of a television program than in random television programs. The percentage of lowfrequency word families encountered 10 or more times was higher, and the percentage of word families encountered once was fewer in all six programs than in the random television programs.

Previous research investigating L2 incidental vocabulary learning from video has primarily focused on short videos from genres that may be conducive to vocabulary learning. The research provides evidence that L2 incidental vocabulary learning can occur through video. However, it is uncertain whether viewing episodes of full-length television programs can contribute to incidental learning. This study investigated the effects of viewing 7+ hours of television on incidental vocabulary learning as well as the effects of the frequency and range. One-hundred and eighty-seven Japanese university students viewed ten 42-minute episodes of an American drama. Two vocabulary tests at differing sensitivities were used in a pre- and post-test design measuring receptive knowledge of the form-meaning connection of 60 word-families. The results indicated that (a) viewing television contributed to significant gains in vocabulary knowledge and (b) there was a positive relationship between frequency of occurrence and vocabulary learning. Pedagogical implications are discussed in detail.

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