Reading versus listening: Which one is more effective for incidental vocabulary learning?

Abstract The article examines incidental vocabulary acquisition, focusing on the differential impacts of input modalities—reading versus listening—on learning of single words and multi‐word expressions. Eighty‐eight university students of L2 Italian were assigned to one of the three groups: (a) reading half of an authentic Italian novel, (b) listening to an audiobook of the same segment of the novel and (c) control group. Participants were assessed on three dimensions of vocabulary knowledge—form recognition, meaning recall and meaning recognition—before the exposure to the input and then immediately and 3 weeks after exposure. The results showed that incidental vocabulary learning occurred through both reading and listening, with gains retained 3 weeks after engagement with the content. Notably, listening to the audiobook led to significantly higher vocabulary gains than reading the novel. Highlighting the potential benefits of authentic audiobooks to foster incidental L2 vocabulary learning and retention, the study advocates for including authentic listening contents in L2 teaching and learning materials and calls for more studies on vocabulary acquisition in languages other than English.