Vocabulary acquisition through repeated documentary watching : a case study

Abstract

 This case study aimed to investigate the effects of repeated watching of documentary clips on intentional vocabulary learning. The researcher incorporated 12 online documentary clips with an average length of 5 minutes as the language input, and involved three Chinese EFL learners to take part in a six-week project. There were pre- and post-tests devised to measure different aspects of word knowledge, including form and meaning recognition, and form and meaning recall. Participants were instructed to watch one video repeatedly in two days and required to take three tests (one pre-test and two delayed post-tests) for each video to examine effects of the video watching on vocabulary learning. The results indicated that learners had their testing scores improved after the two-day video watching experience and that over 50% of the newly-learned words can be used in productive skills. The implication is that language learners should be encouraged to watch captioned authentic videos like documentaries to enlarge their vocabulary and that it is necessary for learners to watch the same video multiple times if they want to use the new words in difficult skills like writing.