Spoken propositional idea density, a measure to help second language English speaking students: A multicentre cohort study.

Idea density has been shown to influence comprehension time for text in various populations. This study aims to explore the influence of spoken idea density on attainment in young, healthy subjects using demographic characteristics. Students watched two online lectures and answered 10 multiple choice questions on them. Students received one more idea dense (MID) and one less idea dense (LID) lecture on two different subjects. Seventy-five students completed the study achieving a higher median score after a less idea-dense lecture (LID = 7(3), MID = 6(3), The propositional idea density of lectures directly influences students' comprehension, and disproportionately for second language speakers; revealing the possibility of reduced spoken idea density in levelling the attainment differential between first and second language speakers.