The paper examines ways in which language complexity of the stimulus and language ability of the receivers may influence learning via television for hearing impaired and hearing children. Research is reviewed on the impact of language abstraction on learning from television, and findings from paired associate learning trials are cited to suggest that young children will ignore relatively more abstract information to focus on the more concrete. Similarly, syntactic complexity in television language and high degrees of inferential material are thought to interfere with learning. Language levels of the viewers are described as related to age in terms of selective attention, increased life experiences, and improved role taking and temporal integration skills. The impact of hearing deficits on the viewer's learning is said to include reduced information from the audio track and greater difficulty in comprehending the auditory information that is received. The authors conclude with a brief description of a project examining the relationship of language variables and television learning in hearing and hearing impaired children (6-13 years old). (CL)