1. Research project objectives Digital tools such as online dictionaries, translation engines and subtitled audiovisual material can aid foreign language (L2) vocabulary learning, but their impact is under-researched. This project aims to investigate the role of digital tools in L2/L3 vocabulary acquisition. We will focus on both the products of learning (how many words have been learned) and on the process of learning (allocation of learners’ cognitive resources and how these promote learning). The project will be conducted in two linguistic settings: monolingual Poland (L1-Polish) and multilingual Switzerland (L1-French and L1-German). We will investigate how the use of digital tools benefits intentional and incidental L2 word learning. Since learning novel words is influenced by cross-linguistic similarities, we will focus on English words that are cognate (similar in form and meaning) or noncognate (dissimilar in form, similar in meaning) between the English and each of the three L1s from different linguistic families: Polish (Slavic), French (Romance), or German (Germanic). The rationale is that cognateness may influence lexical acquisition differently depending on the learner’s L1s and L2s, which belong to different linguistic families: Slavic (Polish), Romance (French), Germanic (German), and depending on whether the learner is monolingual or multilingual. There are five main research questions: 1. Does using digital tools when writing influence lexical acquisition to different extents? 2. Is processing during L2/L3 writing different for cognates vs. noncognates relative to learners’ L1s and L2s? 3. How does viewing L2 films with L1-subtitles and L2/L3 captions affect lexical learning across the L1s?4. Is subtitle processing different for cognates and noncognates relative to learners’ L1s and L2s? 5. How do individual learner differences affect learning aided by digital tools? 2. Research project methodology When investigating adult learners with different L1s (Polish, German, and French), we will focus on both products and processes of learning. Tests will be used to assess word retention (learning products); eye tracking will trace attention allocation during reading; and keylogging software will help monitor the writing (learning process). Word- and learner-related variables will be controlled for. The project will be divided into two tracks. Track 1 focuses on the learning of L2-English words (cognates and noncognates) via timed essay writing. Learners will need to incorporate into their writing pre-selected unknown keywords whose retention will be measured (pretest-posttest). In Condition 1, learners will use monolingual L2 dictionaries, in Condition 2 a translation engine (e.g., Google Translate), and in Condition 3 digital glosses. The writing process will be investigated via: 1) keylogging software (e.g., Inputlog) to record and monitor re-writing events; 2) eye-tracking software to monitor writers’ gaze (and thus processing) during writing. Both keylogging and eye-tracking will provide fine-grained data regarding the mechanisms underpinning lexical learning through writing. Track 2 focuses on the incidental learning of words when watching subtitled films in L2-English. In Condition 1 the stimuli will be presented without on-screen text (only L2 audio); in Condition 2 the stimuli will contain English-to-English subtitles (L2 captions); in Condition 3 interlingual subtitles (translated into the learners’ L1s, i.e., Polish, French, or German). The retention of the pre-selected cognates and noncognates will be measured (pretest-posttest). Eye-tracking will be used to monitor learners’ attention allocation, to help explain the mechanisms underlying the acquisition of the keywords. 3. Expected impact of the research project on the development of science Track 1 will be one of the first studies to use eye tracking and keylogging to triangulate results and thus better explain learning words through writing. Track 2 will be the second study ever (after Wang & Pellicer Sánchez, 2022) to measure learning through watching subtitled videos while using eye-tracking to monitor lexical processing. Critically, we investigate cognate effects and control for more word- and learner-related variables than previous studies. Finally, we will test learners with three different L1s (Polish, French and German), adding to the robustness of the design.