Audio-visual learning of foreign language vocabulary

Previous research has shown that visual cues will aid in the perception of ambiguous speech. The Manner-Place Hypothesis states that articulatory information will greatly increase the likelihood that ambiguous speech will be comprehended accurately. Because of the ambiguity of foreign language sounds, the current study applies this theory to foreign language learning by exploring the relationship between vision and hearing. Thirty-five undergraduate students from Algoma University studied 15 Ojibway words under two conditions; audio-visual or audio-only. When the two conditions were compared on word memory and pronunciation, significance was not found.