Multimodal learning strategies can benefit educational outcomes across a variety of domains, from reading to mathematics. This study compared effects of two multimodal strategies on the learning of second language (L2) vocabulary, focusing on whether multimodal advantages are influenced by the presence of associative memory cues during assessment. Participants learned concrete and abstract L2 words and their English (L1) translations under three conditions: listening only, listening while viewing related pictures, or listening while performing related gestures. Following learning, they completed both cued recall (L1-L2 and L2-L1 translation) and free recall assessments. Words learned with pictures or gestures were remembered better than words learned by listening only, with cued recall accuracy showing a greater multimodal learning advantage than free recall accuracy. Effects were consistent across both word types. The findings underscore the effectiveness of multimodal encoding in enhancing learning, even for abstract content. The discrepancy between cued and free recall outcomes suggests that cues present at test can boost multimodal advantages, consistent with several theories of multimodal learning benefits in education.

Authors:
Brian Mathias, University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Brian Mathias is a University Assistant Professor/Lecturer at University of Aberdeen in United Kingdom

Connect on ResearchGate
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brian-Mathias

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