Comparing the effect of different timing of brief dual explicit (FonF) exposure and incidental learning on new lexical learning: A study of adult EFL learners

Dual vocabulary approach via both explicit (focus on form) and incidental learning of new words has been shown to be more beneficial for new vocabulary learning than incidental learning only. Most previous studies implemented focus on form (henceforth FonF) after incidental learning. However, the present study introduced incidental learning and FonF simultaneously. The motivation for the present study came from the Interaction hypothesis and arguments put forward by Long (1996; 2015) and Doughty (2001), who claim that brief shifts of learners’ attention to form (explicit learning) during a meaning-focused activity (incidental learning) is of paramount importance to help learners make the form-meaning connection. In other words, incidental learning and explicit learning need to be simultaneous. The present study examined the impact of different timing of dual explicit (FonF) exposure to 20 new words and incidental learning via listening to a podcast containing these words. The study contrasted three possible timings: when listening is preceded by explicit exposure to new words (FonF+Listening), when listening is followed by explicit exposure (Listening+FonF) and when explicit exposure is simultaneous with listening to the podcast (FonF while listening). These conditions were additionally compared to an explicit-only condition. One hundred and thirteen Algerian adult EFL students were assigned to one of the following experimental groups: FonF+Listening, Listening+FonF, FonF while listening and a comparison group (explicit-only). Participants in each group completed a vocabulary pre-test, and after a one-week interval, each group received one treatment session. Participants within the experimental groups completed a listening comprehension task to test whether they were focused on meaning while listening to the podcast, and were exposed, in a different order, to a list of the 20 new words along with their L1 translation on-screen. Participants within the comparison group were only exposed to the list of the new words on-screen. Based on immediate post-testing, the FonF while listening group showed a higher form recognition ability than the remaining two groups, while there was no significant difference in meaning recall between the three experimental groups. Lexical performance in the three incidental and explicit groups was not better than that in the explicit-only group, suggesting that a dual vocabulary approach can be as effective as a single approach. Finally, the present study showed a clear advantage for the learning of nouns over learning of verbs and adjectives.