The purpose of this experimental study was to investigate the effect of stereoscopic three-dimensional (S3D) images on productive and receptive recall of foreign language vocabulary. S3D images are highly-realistic and differ from non-stereoscopic three-dimensional (NS3D) images in that they provide the impression of the added third dimension of depth. This within-subject study exposed the participants (N = 82) in a controlled setting to a series of carefully designed and randomly distributed NS3D and S3D images. The subjects were then given immediate productive and receptive tests of foreign language vocabulary items that were represented by NS3D and S3D images. Quantitative data consisted of the scores from the vocabulary tests. Qualitative data, gathered through background questionnaires and follow-up surveys, included a mixture of open-ended and Likert questions. The statistical analyses of the data using a series of paired t-tests showed NS3D and S3D images to be equally effective for vocabulary recall. In addition, significantly more subjects found S3D images to be engaging and/or more useful, while subjects also indicated that they perceived the main benefits of learning with S3D images to come from enhanced focus, realism, engagement, and association. At the same time, some learners reported being distracted and experiencing discomfort while viewing S3D images. Post hoc tests revealed that lower performance on S3D images was driven only by those subgroups that exhibited discomfort and / or lack of experience with S3D technology.

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