Journal Article

Incidental Vocabulary Learning Through Reading While Listening in the Chinese EFL Classroom Context: A Longitudinal Study

Wei, Ran, Hu, Dan

2025

Overview

This longitudinal mixed-method study investigated effects of the reading-while-listening mode on the incidental learning of two dimensions of vocabulary knowledge, namely receptive knowledge and productive knowledge, in a Chinese EFL classroom context. Additionally, EFL learners’ attitudes toward the reading-while-listening mode of incidental vocabulary learning were examined. Seventy-eight Chinese EFL students with typical vocabulary sizes around 2,000 from two intact classes at a senior high school participated in the study and assigned as the experimental and the control groups. Over a 10-week intervention, the experimental group engaged in incidental vocabulary learning through reading while listening, whereas the control group retained a traditional reading-only mode. The results from three vocabulary tests showed that the reading-while-listening mode was more effective for incidental vocabulary learning and retention than the traditional reading-only mode on the dimensions of sound recognition, meaning recognition, and meaning recall but not on the dimension of form recall. Questionnaire and interview data unveiled that Chinese EFL learners have positive attitudes toward reading while listening as a means of incidentally learning vocabulary. Through reading while listening, they developed learning interest, increased classroom engagement, improved learning efficiency, and built confidence in English learning. The study contributes empirical evidence supporting multimodal language learning approaches, offering practical recommendations for EFL instructional design and vocabulary learning strategies. Plain language summary The effect of reading-while-listening mode on incidental vocabulary learning in an EFL classroom context This study looked at how learning vocabulary by reading and listening at the same time works for Chinese students learning English as a foreign language (EFL). Two groups of students were prepared: one group learned vocabulary by reading and listening, and the other group learned by just reading. The study found that the reading-while-listening method helped students better remember the sounds and meanings of new words, but not so much the spelling. The students also liked this method because it made them more interested in learning, more engaged in class, more efficient in learning, and more confident in their English skills.

• Publisher: SAGE Publications,SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC,SAGE Publishing
• Subject: Acknowledgment / Attitudes / Chinese languages / Classrooms / Context / Control Groups / English / English (Second Language) / English as a second language / English as a second language learning / English as a second language tests / English language / English Learners / Experimental Groups / Foreign languages / Groups / Incidental learning / Instructional design / Knowledge / Language / Language acquisition / Learner Engagement / Learning / Learning outcomes / Learning strategies / Listening / Listening comprehension / Longitudinal studies / Meaning / Reading Attitudes / Reading preferences / Recognition / Second language reading / Second language vocabulary learning / Secondary schools / Semantics / Spelling / Students / Vocabulary / Vocabulary Development / Word meaning