Video and language comprehension

Although recent years have seen an increasing volume of literature about video and language teaching, there has really been very little research into the suitability and effectiveness of the medium for this purpose. However, there have been studies in other fields, notably educational broadcasting research and communication studies, which, though set in the domain of first-language acquisition and comprehension, may have relevance for foreign-language teaching. This article identifies those research findings and observations which have a bearing on the comprehensibility of video when used for language input, and, in particular, the relationship between the aural and visual channels. The implications for future development are briefly discussed.