#### **Project Description**
This multi-site preregistered study aims to replicate and extend Malone (2018), who investigated how the effects of providing aural enhancement (i.e., reading-while-listening) on incidental vocabulary learning and the moderating role of the number of exposure to target words (two vs. four times) as well as learner’s working memory capacity.
The current study is a close replication of Malone (2018) (see e.g., Porte & McManus, 2019 for a typology of replication studies), meaning that we intend to only manipulate one variable: participants’ L1 backgrounds by specifically recruiting learners whose first language is Chinese, Dutch, or German. At the same time, we will follow the study protocol of the initial study as closely as possible.
Our overall hypothesis is that L1 background can have an effect on reading-while-listening vocabulary learning under incidental contexts. More specifically, we hypothesize that aural enhancement will be more beneficial for learners whose first language is opaque in terms of grapheme-phoneme correspondence (e.g., Chinese) than those whose native language is transparent (e.g., Germanic languages). Our hypothesis was guided by theory that suggests the intimate relationship between L1 phoneme-grapheme mapping and L2 phonological decoding efficiency, which in turn influences the way learners read in the L2 (e.g., Wang et al., 2003) and learn L2 words (e.g., Hamada & Koda, 2008).
We will recruit participants on multiple sites, including Innsbruck (Austria), Leuven (Belgium), Beijing (China), and Hong Kong (China). Following the initial study, we will examine how (a) the aural enhancement (reading-while-listening vs. reading only), (b) the number of target words (two vs. four times), and (c) working memory capacity influence learning of vocabulary under incidental conditions, in addition to our new variable, (d) participants’ L1 backgrounds (Chinese vs. Germanic).
We have been invited to contribute to a special issue of *Studies in Second Language Acquisition* guest edited by Kevin McManus under a theme of replication research in SLA.
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##### **References**
1. Hamada, M., & Koda, K. (2008). Influence of first language orthographic experience on second language decoding and word learning. *Language Learning*, *58*(1), 1–31. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2007.00433.x
2. Malone, J. (2018). Incidental vocabulary learning in SLA: Effects of frequency, aural enhancement, and working memory. *Studies in Second Language Acquisition*, *40*(3), 651–675. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263117000341
2. Porte, G., & McManus, K. (2019).*Doing replication research in applied linguistics*. New York, NY: Routledge.
3. Wang, M., Koda, K., & Perfetti, C. A. (2003). Alphabetic and nonalphabetic L1 effects in English word identification: A comparison of Korean and Chinese English L2 learners. *Cognition*, *87*(2), 129–149. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0010-0277(02)00232-9
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#### **Contributors**
This study represents a team effort. There is no ordered authorship. We will publish as “A group of vocabulary researchers”. Here is a list of our team members, in alphabetical order by last name:
- To be reported upon publication (blinded for peer review).
#### **Preregistration**
Please find the preregistration document of the study at https://osf.io/kc3d6.
