The effects of binge-watching and spacing on learning L2 multi-word units from captioned TV series

Figures & data

Table 1. Target multi-word units.

MWU	Total frequency of occurrence	MWU	Total frequency of occurrence
To figure out	7	Change the game	2
To be a good cop	4	Drop the mic	2
To take time	4	Find someone to identify with	2
A hate crime	3	To be on one’s side	2
Bring it!	3	To get a nut	2
Do whatever it takes	3	To plug something in	2
Fresh off the boat	3	To put down an animal	2
Next thing you know	3	Show somebody around	2
Look out for each other	3	Stand up for someone	2
To dine and dash	3	Wield the hammer	2
To fit in	3	A slippery slope	1
To run out on the bill	3	To do your best	1
To project an image	3

Figure 1. Vocabulary Knowledge Scale adapted from Wesche and Paribakht (1996).

Table 2. VKS scores.

	Pre-test			Post-test
	Mean (SD)	Min	Max	Mean (SD)	Min	Max
All participants (n = 96)	60.32 (12.71)	38	105	72.79 (15.61)	46	115
Longer spacing (n = 26)	59.23 (12.40)	38	84	78.11 (15.99)	51	100
Shorter spacing (n = 40)	61.00 (11.17)	44	88	71.10 (14.23)	47	102
Binge-watching (n = 30)	60.36 (15.07)	39	105	70.43 (16.44)	46	115

Table 3. Oxford placement test scores.

	Mean (SD)	Min	Max
All participants (n = 96)	139.71 (16.81)	104	171
Longer spacing (n = 26)	134.47 (14.51)	108	166
Shorter spacing (n = 40)	145.40 (15.01)	109	171
Binge-watching (n = 30)	139.55 (18.81)	104	169

Table 4. Pre-/post-test scores’ per proficiency group.

		Mean (SD)	Min	Max
A2 (n = 10)	Pre-test	52.60 (10.86)	41	73
	Post-test	62.20 (6.14)	53	73
B1 (n = 34)	Pre-test	55.17 (9.95)	38	78
	Post-test	67.17 (14.33)	46	100
B2 (n = 26)	Pre-test	62.50 (9.43)	50	84
	Post-test	75.80 (15.39)	51	100
C1 (n = 26)	Pre-test	67.84 (15.10)	39	105
	Post-test	81.19 (15.28)	56	115

Figure 2. Interaction between time and group.

Figure 3. Effect of proficiency on scores.

Table 5. Feeling of learning from the intervention.

	Longer spacing	Shorter spacing	Binge-watching
Vocabulary	60%	31%	36%
Expressions (MWUs)	10%	23%	44%
Grammar	0%	11%	12%
Pronunciation	30%	37%	44%
Sociocultural aspects	0%	26%	24%
No feeling of learning	20%	9%	0%

Wesche, M., and T.S. Paribakht. 1996. Assessing second language vocabulary knowledge: depth vs breadth. The Canadian Modern Language Review 53, no. 1: 13–40. doi:10.3138/cmlr.53.1.13.

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