Use this chrome extension I built to get exactly what you are looking for: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/lingq-chatgpt-assistant/jphlijnomckienellojelnjehkfdkdoa
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No research papers to share but my own method has been to read on kindle and listen to the audiobook at the same time. For me, listening has been essential because I’m not always sure of the pronounciation and I tend to skim over the words I dont know without sounding it out if I’m silently reading. I quickly highlight words and sentences I can’t seem to grasp and then go back slowly and add those words to my anki deck. But I have a massive backlog of highlights! I want to enjoy the books i’m reading though, and intensively reading feels like a chore, versus just adding some words now and then to my decks. I figure while learning I can also just enjoy books the way I do in english. I’ve noticed that intuitively I pick up very few words unless they’re repeated A LOT in a novel. But my grammar is improving. The rest of the vocabulary i’m reinforcing through flashcards. I’ve read about ten spanish books this year though! which i never thought would be possible even a year ago. And the audiobook adds such a great dramatic aspect, if its a good voice actor. And maybe I am learning more than I think I am - in terms of vocabulary - but its just not obvious to me?
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For French - B2+ - my current method is to spend one hour listening to a podcast while out walking or driving, sometimes rewinding, but no dictionary lookups, and one hour a day with LingQ, reading while listening to videos. I prioritise hearing rather than reading, in part because I can listen while doing other activities outside. In my experience just listening on its own doesn’t work. Hence I also use reading while listening to train the brain to recognise the words in speech. As for vocabulary acquisition, reading words often simply doesn’t work. I have to pay deliberate attention to the word, the degree of focus is key. Spending a little time looking the word up in Google, finding associated images, is useful. I can sometimes remember a word after one exposure if the associations are strong enough. I believe we do that in our native languages. I don’t mind spending some time on one word, it’s no different from spending a little time on many occasions on one word. I don’t use LingQs, I hate the clunky interface. My French is now good enough that I can often listen to a podcast as if it were in English, and that builds up a deeper understanding, it’s not just about learning a dictionary definition, it’s also learning how and when to use that word. I still struggle with some speakers, one in particular - Christopher Hondelatte - who sounds like an old man mumbling, but that’s most likely just my modest level in the language. So overall in French my method for vocabulary acquisition is extensive listening to create implicit knowledge and intensive reading with deliberate focus on unknown words to create explicit knowledge.
For German - lower B1 - I study lessons in LingQ. I don’t use LingQs, I find there are so many associated meanings that I get lost, and LingQ handles separable verbs very badly. The sentence translations are useful. So overall for German I would say my method fits intensive reading and I’m not sure LingQ adds much value, apart from acting as a work organiser i.e. I know which lessons I have studied, and I can store them in convenient folders.
I also use Anki for both languages, mostly with sentences. I find it very useful as many words don’t occur very often in videos and podcasts.
I don’t accept the idea that I can learn unknown words through context (extensive reading). And I don’t accept the Krashen model, at least not in my case.
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