The effect of audio annotations on vocabulary learning using 360° pictures

Annotating immersive 360° pictures is a novel and potentially effective approach to vocabulary learning. This between-subject study compared two learning conditions in which 110 beginner learners of French as a second language studied vocabulary embedded in immersive 360° pictures. The experimental group studied vocabulary with text and audio annotations, and the control group studied vocabulary with text annotations only. This mixed-method study yielded quantitative data based on participants’ immediate and two-week–delayed productive as well as receptive vocabulary posttests. The post-intervention survey and semi-structured focus group interviews provided qualitative data on learners’ perceptions of their learning experience. The results of the multivariate analysis of covariance, confirmed by mixed effects modeling, indicated that the effect of audio annotations was not significant either on immediate or delayed tests. The paper discusses various aspects of learning with 360° pictures, including practical implications of using this type of pictures in computer-assisted language learning (CALL) and instructional design.