Combining textual and pictorial glosses improves incidental vocabulary learning more than single-mode glosses¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · reviewr2·q2
Currency · newest study 2015 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q2 i? Shahrokni found that a combination of text and still images resulted in improved incidental vocabulary learning compared with text-only or picture-only glosses. → Restrepo Ramos 2015
Evidence¶
Restrepo Ramos 2015¶
Restrepo Ramos, F. D. (2015). Incidental vocabulary learning in second language acquisition: A literature review. PROFILE Issues in Teachers' Professional Development, 17(1), 157-166. http://dx.doi.org/10.15446/profile.v17n1.43957
q2 · i? · review · r2
Shahrokni's (2009) empirical study assigned 90 Iranian EFL learners to three groups of 30 exposed to the same text with textual, pictorial, or combined glosses of 25 target words, then tested immediate recall; the review reports the combined condition improved learning.
"The findings suggested that a combination of text and still images resulted in improved incidental vocabulary learning. Furthermore, these results confirmed that multimodal annotations support components of reading conducive to incidental vocabulary learning"
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Earlier meta-analyses, as reported second-hand, find that glosses improve L2 vocabulary learning and that text-and-picture glosses outperform single-mode glosses — a broader claim this one bears on
- Reading with marginal glosses is the most beneficial task condition for incidental vocabulary acquisition gains — related
- Multimedia glosses improve EFL students' immediate vocabulary acquisition relative to reading the same texts without glosses — related
- Adding relevant pictures or graphics to text improves learning from it, with a small pooled effect on reading comprehension, though whether dual coding explains the benefit is disputed — a broader claim this one bears on
- Multimedia Principle Improves Learning — a broader claim this one bears on
- Tasks with higher involvement load, involving search and evaluation, are conducive to better word retention, with marginal glosses efficient for incidental learning — related
- Textual prompts yield significantly stronger continuing motivation than pictorial prompts — related
- Captioning second-language videos produces large benefits for comprehension and vocabulary acquisition — related
- In Chun and Plass's CyberBuch studies, the text + picture annotation group significantly outperformed text-definition and text + video groups on a vocabulary test — related
- In Lomicka's think-aloud study, no statistical differences emerged among no-gloss, single-gloss, and multiple-gloss groups despite apparent vocabulary gains from multiple annotations — related
- Pictorial narratives are comprehended better than textual narratives across all education and age groups — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
multimodal-glosses-improve-incidental-vocabulary-learning |
title |
Combining textual and pictorial glosses improves incidental vocabulary learning more than single-mode glosses |
description |
Combining textual and pictorial glosses improves incidental vocabulary learning more than single-mode glosses |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
weak |
newest_evidence |
2015 |
source_checked |
2026-10-20 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-09-27 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — restrepo-ramos-2015 |
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