Seeing, hearing, learning: Using pictorial and auditory stimuli to enhance second language acquisition

Environmental sounds (e.g., a dog barking) represent an underexplored modality for multisensory support in foreign language (FL) learning. Past research proposes that FL learning contexts enriched by relevant sensory stimuli (e.g., pictorial, gestural, auditory) strengthen memory representations. This study investigated whether combining auditory and pictorial modalities facilitates FL vocabulary acquisition. In an intraparticipant design, native Spanish speakers learned FL words under three auditory conditions: environmental sounds, neutral tones or silence. During learning, we aimed to foster the activation of conceptual representations through dual input: a relevant picture alongside the auditory condition. Vocabulary acquisition was assessed using four tasks: forward and backward translation, picture naming and lexical decision. Accuracy and reaction times were recorded. Results revealed that both semantically relevant and neutral sounds improved learning relative to silence. The findings suggest that auditory cues provide a benefit to FL word learning in adults, and this advantage operates independently of semantic congruency.