2019/03/14 by Marion Durbahn, Durbahn, Marion
Arts and Humanities · #Subtitles and Audiovisual Media #captioning #incidental learning #recall #recognition #vocabulary
paper · doi:10.35588/ayr.v1i1.3776
openalex publication_date 2019/03/14 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
This study investigated the incidental acquisition of second language (L2) vocabulary through the viewing of a 30-minute science documentary and the effect of captioning on this process. Thirty-four English language learners watched two documentaries (one captioned and one uncaptioned) and were then assessed on their knowledge of a set of words appearing in the documentaries. Results of the Vocabulary Tests (Form-recall/Spelling, and Meaning recognition) showed that documentary viewing led to significant acquisition of new vocabulary and that the captioning condition had a significant effect on this learning. Captioning boosted the gains on meaning recognition, form recall and spelling. Results indicated that relative gains in the captioning condition are 8% significantly higher than in the uncaptioned condition.