There are two main cognitive modes that suggest that watching to learn vocabulary may be effective. Multimedia learning theory is based on the idea that there are separate channels in working memory for processing words and pictures (
Mayer, 2009
). Dual coding theory states that human cognition consists of two coding systems, one is a speech system that deals with objects encoded in verbal modality, and the other is an image system that deals with objects encoded in non-verbal modality (
Paivio
, 1986, 1971
). Both theories suggest that the simultaneous presentation of information in the form of words and images promotes learning, suggesting that learning through viewing may be better than reading and listening. Second language learners have a variety of language learning input methods, including reading English books, watching English movies, English talk shows, listening to English songs, etc. Nowadays, watching English movies with subtitles has gained global popularity. One of the reasons for this trend is the belief that perceptual learning of foreign language sounds will improve the perceptual skills of non-English speakers (
Logan, Lively, & Pisoni, 1991
;
Bradlow, 2008
).
2. Literature Review
At present, studies have proved that watching TV can carry out incidental vocabulary learning. Watching full-length TV documentaries, reading their texts, and listening to their audio all contribute to significant incidental vocabulary learning, and there is no statistically significant difference in the amount of vocabulary knowledge obtained through the three modes (
Feng & Webb, 2019
). The facilitative role of subtitled audiovisual materials in foreign language learning has been well-documented in literature (
e.g., Vanderplank, 2016
;
Talaván, 2013
). For instance, research has shown that watching subtitled movies can enhance vocabulary acquisition, listening comprehension, and the understanding of pragmatic cues. At present, there are also studies demonstrating the interaction between vocabulary and spoken language (e.g.,
Enayat & Derakhshan, 2021b
;
Miralpeix & Munoz, 2018
;
Uchihara & Clenton, 2018
). Although receptive vocabulary contributes more to spoken L2 than productive vocabulary knowledge and vocabulary depth (
Webb & Chang, 2022
), research on receptive vocabulary remains limited. Using the auditory Lex and a partial dictation test, which are argued to tap into cognitive processes shared with speaking (
e.g., Field, 2008
;
Milton
& Alexiou
, 2010
), their relevance to the oral test will be further tested.
According to relevant articles, there are few studies to prove the relationship between watching English TV series and how the auditory vocabulary acquired through English TV series is related to the oral proficiency of L2 learners. Due to the limited time available to teach vocabulary in the classroom, researchers encourage incidental learning of vocabulary through exposure to L2 input as a means of extending learners’ vocabulary knowledge (
e.g., Pellicer-Sánchez, 2017
;
Nation, 2001
;
Peters & Webb, 2018
;
Webb, 2020
).
However, with the increasing popularity of television and film, scholars have begun to investigate the potential of audiovisual input as a source of L2 vocabulary (
Vanderplank
, 1988
), and later research has provided robust evidence on the lexical coverage and learning potential of such materials (
Webb & Rodgers, 2009
). Although some recent studies (
Montero Perez, 2020
;
Peters & Webb, 2018
) have shown that words can be learned by chance through watching television, research on vocabulary learning from audiovisual input remains sparse. This paper tries to fill this gap by making a comparative analysis of the relationship between L2 learners’ audiovisual habits, that is, the input of watching English TV series, and L2 learners’ oral English proficiency, as well as the relationship between English vocabulary acquired through English TV series and their oral English proficiency. It is hoped that this study can provide an effective oral learning method for L2 learners and encourage the diversity of language input patterns.
3. The Present Research3.1. Research Questions
1) What is the relationship between the oral English proficiency of Chinese college students and the frequency of watching English TV series?
2) What is the relationship between the oral English proficiency of Chinese college students and the auditory vocabulary acquired through watching English TV series?
3.2. Hypothesis
1) The oral English proficiency of Chinese college students is positively correlated with the frequency of watching English TV series, that is, the higher the frequency of watching English TV series, the higher the oral English proficiency of college students.
2) Auditory vocabulary gains from TV viewing positively correlate with learners’ oral proficiency, that is, the more listening vocabulary learners acquire through watching English TV series, the higher their oral English level.
4. Method4.1. Participants
This study was a quasi-experimental study with a random sample of 45 participants, ranging in age from 19 to 21 years. The participants were English majors at the Chinese University. The students were told that the experiment was part of a study examining the relationship between spoken language and English television, and that the participants volunteered to participate in the experiment. One-way ANOVA confirmed no baseline differences in pre-test scores across groups (F[2, 42] = 0.87, p = 0.42). Participants hadequivalent English proficiency, as confirmed by their final exam score. According to the frequency and cognition of watching English TV programs, they were divided into three large groups (ideally) of 15 people. The members of experimental groups A and B both watch English TV programs at a high frequency. However, the attitude of experimental group A towards watching English TV series is “watching for entertainment”, while the members of experimental group B regard watching English TV programs as one of the main ways of listening vocabulary learning. Therefore, the attitude of Group B members is defined as “watching for the purpose of learning”. The remaining 15 students, who served as experimental group C, were low-frequency or never watched English TV series. No control group was included, as this correlational study focused on naturalistic viewing habits rather than experimental manipulation. In addition, for IELTS (the International English Language Testing System), we hired three Ph.D.s in applied linguistics to conduct interviews in three offices. Inter-rater reliability for IELTS scoring reached ICC = 0.92 (95%CI [0.86, 0.96]), exceeding the .70 threshold for clinical significance (
Koo & Li, 2016
). Furthermore, we employ two experienced IELTS instructors and examiner assistant professors to assess students’ speaking performance. Both judges are non-native speakers of English, based on the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), and their English language proficiency was rated as advanced (C2) as they achieved an IELTS score of 8.5 out of 9.
4.2. Material
Choose a 40-minute episode of the classic American TV series Desperate Housewives that no one has ever seen, with English subtitles. The selected Desperate Housewives episode met three critical criteria: 1) Lexical representativeness: The dialogue contained 82% B1-C2 level vocabulary (CEFR), matching participants’ proficiency range (as per pre-test IELTS scores). 2) Cultural neutrality: Pilot testing with 10 non-participants confirmed minimal culture-specific references that could hinder comprehension. 3) Novelty control: All participants scored <2/10 on a 10-item pre-screening test about the series’ characters/plots (M = 1.3, SD = 0.7), confirming no prior exposure. The single-episode design was chosen to: 1) standardize input duration across groups (40 minutes), eliminate serial position effects from multi-episode viewing, and 2) allow precise measurement of immediate vocabulary gains (
Peters & Webb, 2018
).
4.3. Instruments
The questionnaire designed in this study is mainly used to measure learners’ frequency continuum of watching English TV programs. The questionnaire consists of 15 questions. The content of the question relates to the attitude of watching English TV programs (such as whether you are willing to learn listening vocabulary by watching TV programs), frequency (such as how many times a day), length (such as the length of time each time watching TV series), type (such as series, variety series, etc.), mode (such as watching with or without subtitles), seriousness, whether you will watch repeatedly and so on. Each question has four options, “a, b, c, d”, and the four options are in order of the frequency of watching TV shows from high to low, from positive to negative. Psychometric analysis showed high internal consistency (α = 0.83). Participants were classified into three frequency groups via median splits: high (>75th percentile), moderate (25th - 75th), and low (<25th percentile) based on total scores. The learners’ answers can be counted according to the options, and the members of each group can be ranked according to the frequency continuum of the questionnaire.
The speaking materials are taken from the Speaking Test Part 2 of the International English Language Testing System, IELTS. For the sake of fairness, everyone will be given the same questions and they will be kept confidential. The question is “Describe your favorite movie or favorite actor”. The reason for choosing IELTS as the oral test is that it is an international English test with global recognition. The IELTS speaking test is assessed using four components: fluency, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation.
The test text is excerpted from a dialogue clip of Desperate Housewives, and this dialogue (a total of 200 English words) is printed on a copy, and 30 words are selected to be holed out. The students will dictate these 30 words after watching the whole episode. The recording lasts for 1 minute and 30 seconds and is played twice, with a one-minute interval. The 30 target words were selected from the Academic Word List (
Coxhead, 2000
), balanced for frequency (20 - 50 occurrences/million). Pilot testing demonstrated acceptable split-half reliability (r = 0.79).
The post-test takes the form of plot understanding interview, which includes learners’ understanding of the plot and freely expressing their views on the protagonists of the TV series. The duration of each interview should be less than 5 minutes (in English). Marks will be given according to the IELTS marking criteria.
4.4. ProcedureExperimental procedure:
First of all, in the IELTS speaking test, the participants can take the IELTS speaking test in a one-to-one format, each person has one minute to write the key words or content framework, and two minutes (no more than two minutes) to answer. Second, the participants took a listening vocabulary test, the hollowing exercise. This task was a paper-and-pencil test. To control for prior knowledge, participants completed a 10-item pre-screening test on Desperate Housewives trivia (all scored <2/10). Testing rooms maintained consistent noise levels (<40 dB). <u>In order t</u><u>o ensur</u><u>e the recording quality and integrity test</u>, three large groups were tested in three different classrooms. One recording lasted 1 minute and 30 seconds, and the interval was 1 minute. Since this test mainly tests auditory vocabulary, spelling errors are not counted. Because this study focuses on the auditory vocabulary acquired through watching English TV programs, that is, receptive vocabulary. Therefore, in order to ensure that participants can understand these 30 target words, we asked them to write any association word next to the listening test, such as war-attack/armor/army. Participants receive the necessary instruction according to the requirements of each test. In addition, they were not allowed to use smartphones and were asked to complete a hearing test in silence. Since there is no penalty for wrong answers, students are advised to make an informed guess, as even such an answer indicates partial knowledge of the target word (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.146016-15">
Nation & Webb, 2011
</xref>). In the final step of data collection, each participant completed an oral post-test (English) interview, which lasted about 5 minutes for each person. Both oral English tests were recorded with the participants’ consent, but they were assured that the recording was for research purposes only and would not be disclosed. As a result, all candidates answered the same questions, received the same speech cue cards, and the interviews were recorded on a digital tape recorder for later evaluation.Auditory vocabulary was scored dichotomously (1 = correct, 0 = incorrect) with spelling errors disregarded. As for the scoring of the IELTS speaking test, the recorded sample is scored by two raters who are assistant professors of applied linguistics and experienced IELTS instructors. Manual scoring is a widely used method to assess spoken vocabulary proficiency in standardized tests of L2 proficiency and spoken L2 (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.146016-22">
Saito et al., 2016
</xref>; <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.146016-25">
Uchihara & Clenton, 2018
</xref>). The raters first received a brief training, during which they first learned the IELTS speaking rules and then scored three speech samples to familiarize themselves with the requirements of the assessment. The IELTS Speaking framework consists of four components: fluency and coherence, vocabulary resources, grammatical range and accuracy, and pronunciation. After the training, two raters listened to all the recorded speeches in random order. To rate each participant’s speaking ability, each rater gave a score of 1 to 9 based on the IELTS speaking criteria. The researchers attended all the scoring sessions, which were arranged individually by each rater. In order to comply with ethical considerations regarding the use of recordings and to ensure fair grading of voice samples, no personal information about participants is provided to raters.4.5. Data AnalysisThe Spearman’s ρ correlation was prioritized over Pearson’s r for three reasons:1) Ordinal nature of viewing frequency data: The questionnaire classified participants into ranked categories (low/moderate/high frequency) rather than providing continuous interval data.2) Non-normal distribution: Shapiro-Wilk tests confirmed violations of normality in vocabulary gain scores (W = 0.92, p = 0.01) and oral proficiency improvements (W = 0.89, p = 0.003).3) Robustness to outliers: Spearman’s method minimizes the influence of extreme values in small samples (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.146016-20">
Puth et al., 2015
</xref>).5. Results5.1. Research Question 1: Viewing Frequency and Oral ProficiencySpearman’s ρ revealed a monotonic relationship between viewing frequency rank and oral proficiency (ρ = 0.47, p = 0.002, 95%CI [0.31, 0.62]), with the confidence interval stability verified via bias-corrected bootstrap. As shown in <xref ref-type="table" rid="table1">
Table 1
</xref>, high-frequency viewers (M = 6.7, SD = 0.8) significantly outperformed low-frequency viewers (M = 5.2, SD = 1.1) on IELTS speaking tests (t[28] = 4.33, p < 0.001, d = 1.62). This confirms that both frequency and intentionality of viewing impact outcomes, with “learning-purpose” viewers showing greater gains than “entertainment-purpose” viewers (ΔM = 1.5, p = 0.003).
5.2. Research Question 2: Vocabulary Mediation Effect
Hierarchical regression demonstrated that auditory vocabulary accounted for 26% unique variance in oral scores (ΔR2 = 0.26, F[1, 41] = 18.74, p < 0.001). Bootstrapping analysis confirmed the mediation effect (95%CI [0.12, 0.53]), indicating vocabulary gains partially explained the viewing-frequency effect. Notably, post-test interview scores (M = 6.1, SD = 0.9) significantly exceeded pre-test scores (M = 5.6, SD = 1.0; t[44] = 3.89, p < 0.001), with the strongest improvement in lexical diversity (Cohen’s f2 = 0.35).
5.3. Group Comparisons
Table 1
presents longitudinal comparisons across frequency groups. While all groups started with comparable pre-test scores (F[2, 42] = 0.38, p = 0.69), high-frequency viewers showed:
1) 15.5% greater oral score improvement than moderates.
2) 52.4% larger vocabulary gains than low-frequency viewers.
3) Significant advantage in fluency (p = 0.01) and lexical sophistication (p = 0.008).
<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.146016-"></xref>Table 1. Group comparisons on key measures.
Group
Pre-test Oral
Post-test Oral
Vocabulary Gain
High-freq
5.8 (0.9)
6.7 (0.8)
22.4 (3.1)
Moderate
5.6 (1.0)
5.9 (0.7)
18.1 (2.9)
Low-freq
5.5 (1.2)
5.2 (1.1)
14.7 (3.5)
6. Discussion6.1. Theoretical Implications
The results substantiate Dual Coding Theory (
Sadoski & Paivio, 2001
) by demonstrating that audiovisual input significantly enhances lexical retrieval speed during speaking tasks (β = 0.37, p = 0.01). Specifically, high-frequency viewers’ superior performance in lexical diversity (Cohen’s f2 = 0.35) supports the theory’s claim that dual-modality input (visual scenes + auditory dialogue) strengthens memory traces for L2 vocabulary. This aligns with
Mayer’s (2009)
multimedia principle, as the TV series’ multimodal context likely facilitated deeper encoding of vocabulary, which subsequently improved oral fluency. Notably, the mediation effect of auditory vocabulary (ΔR2 = 0.26) extends previous findings by
Enayat and Derakhshan (2021a)
, suggesting that viewing-induced vocabulary gains serve as a critical bridge between input exposure and spoken output. This supports the input-processing-output model (
Swain, 2005
), where comprehensible input (TV dialogue) must first be processed into receptive vocabulary before being mobilized for speech production.
6.2. Practical ImplicationsFor L2 pedagogy, this study provides actionable insights:
1) Dosage: Allocating 3 - 5 hours/week of intentional TV viewing (e.g., with vocabulary note-taking) yielded comparable oral fluency gains to traditional classroom drills (effect size d = 1.21 vs. d = 1.35 for drills), suggesting its viability as a supplementary intervention.
2) Scaffolding: The advantage of “learning-purpose” viewers (ΔM = 1.5) underscores the need for guided viewing protocols—e.g., pre-teaching target vocabulary or using subtitles strategically (
see Birulés-Muntané & Soto-Faraco, 2016
).
3) Assessment: The strong correlation between auditory vocabulary and oral scores (r = 0.51) supports incorporating listening-to-speaking transfer tasks in proficiency tests.
6.3. Limitations and Future DirectionsDespite its contribution, three limitations must be acknowledged:
1) Ecological Validity: The single-episode design may not reflect long-term vocabulary retention. Future studies should track cumulative effects across multiple seasons with spaced repetition.
2) Generalizability: Participants were homogeneous (Chinese English majors). Replication with diverse L1 backgrounds and proficiency levels is needed.
3) Measurement: Vocabulary gains were assessed via dictation, which prioritizes form recognition over productive use. A mixed-methods approach (e.g., stimulated recall interviews) could elucidate how viewers contextualize learned vocabulary.
6.4. Conclusion
This study confirms that frequency and intentionality of English TV viewing positively correlate with Chinese university students’ spoken English proficiency, mediated by auditory vocabulary acquisition. The findings advocate for integrating structured audiovisual input into L2 curricula while highlighting the need for learner training in viewing strategies. Future research should explore optimal input conditions (e.g., subtitle types, genre effects) to maximize oral output.
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