How intentional is incidental learning? Learners, words, task types, and learning gains

This study explored learners’ self-reported intentions to memorize new vocabulary during different language activities. Specifically, we investigated whether intentionality varies across learners, tasks, and words, and how intentionality is related to vocabulary learning gains. Fifty-two English as a Foreign Language students at a Japanese university were randomly assigned to one of four task conditions: reading, gap-filling, sentence-writing, and composition-writing. Subsequently, students rated their learning intentionality for each target word on a 5-point Likert scale. The learning of the target words was assessed using unannounced meaning-recall and meaning-recognition tests. The results showed that, while intentionality varied across words and tasks, the greatest variance was among participants. Sentence-writing tended to elicit higher intentionality than reading and composition-writing. Neither proficiency nor word length was associated with intentionality. Intentionality was strongly related to learning in gap-filling and sentence-writing, but not clearly in composition-writing or in reading. These findings suggest that intention plays an important role in what is perceived as incidental learning.