Abstract
Some learners perform better on listening tests that include visual input instead of only audio (Wagner, 2008) while others have found no difference in the performance of participants in the two test formats (Batty, 2015). These mixed results make it necessary to examine the role of using audio and video in listening comprehension (LC). This study examines the effect of input modality on the learning of new vocabulary with intermediate L2 learners. The study gave four versions of the same text: a baseline in audio format, a baseline in video format, a redundancy-enhanced version in audio format and a redundancy-enhanced version in video format. Three hundred sixty two intermediate learners of Spanish participated in this study over a period of three consecutive semesters. Results about input modality indicated audio or video does not seem to matter in responding correctly to the vocabulary items. However, the redundancy-enhanced version in audio and video formats helped learners to respond correctly to vocabulary items when enrolled in face2face-blended courses compared to online-hybrid courses.
Highlights
For years I have been observing and evaluating language classes as one of my responsibilities for directing first and second Spanish courses at a Midwest medium-size research university
There was no significant difference on vocabulary items between the audio group and the video group (p= 0.6759) indicating that the effect of audio versus video did not seem to matter
R.Q.2., Looking at specific groups based on instructional formats in Table 3, we learn that the face-2-face-blended group working with videos with redundancy performed better answering vocabulary items compared to other groups
Summary
For years I have been observing and evaluating language classes as one of my responsibilities for directing first and second Spanish courses at a Midwest medium-size research university. Language instructors incorporate visual support in their lesson plans (Batty, 2015) for teaching listening, grammar, vocabulary and culture (Pardo-Ballester, 2012), and to prepare students before an assessment. Well-known publishers supplement their textbooks with online learning management systems to fit every learning style Platforms such as WileyPlus, McGraw-Hill Connect, and others include online exercises and assessment using visuals and videos. My personal experience, observing and evaluating courses as some of my service responsibilities in my position as a faculty member at the Department of World Languages and Cultures, reveals that for the listening section of the test, the instructor still reads aloud a scripted text instead of using an audio-only file or audiovisual file (i.e., still pictures and graphics, or a video with non-verbal communication such as body gestures and facial cues). It makes sense that if students learn the foreign language using visual support, they should be tested in the same way (Lee & Van Patten, 2003)
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