Wen, Zhisheng. (2014).Theorizing and measuring working memory in first and second language research. Language Teaching, 47/2, 173-190. (original) (raw)
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The Routledge handbook of second language acquisition and psycholinguistics, 2022
Working memory is a cognitive space for simultaneous information manipulation and storage. In the field of second language acquisition, working memory has been investigated as a key individual difference variable mediating various aspects of the process and outcome of language learning. Despite the voluminous body of research, there has been confusion over its conceptualization, measurement, and mechanism, and the research has yielded disparate, and sometimes contradictory, findings. This chapter seeks to clarify the construct and navigate through the empirical evidence that has been accumulated over the past three decades with a view to extracting meaningful patterns and trends emerging from the research. The chapter starts with a discussion of the nature, scope, and architecture of working memory, followed by an introduction to the various tests that have been used to measure the construct and its components. The chapter proceeds to discuss the research on the role of working memory in second language acquisition including theoretical perspectives and empirical evidence on the associations between working memory and learning outcomes or processes. The chapter ends by identifying areas for future research.
This book introduces a principled approach to incorporating the construct of working memory (WM) into second language acquisition (SLA) research. Towards that end, I argue for an integrated framework of WM for SLA that draws on insights from established WM research in cognitive psychology as well as initial findings from SLA studies looking into the effects of WM. Within the framework, I also propose a set of general principles that serve as a basis for further studies probing the WM-SLA nexus. Applying some tenets from this framework, I report on an empirical study investigating the differential effects of WM constructs on L2 task-based speech planning and performance, culminating in forged links bridging WM components and their corresponding L2 speech performance measures. Further implications of this integrated framework of WM for SLA are also discussed in the context of “WM as foreign language aptitude”.
This article reviews research on working memory (WM) and its use in second language (L2) acquisition research. Recent developments in the model and issues surrounding the operationalization of the construct itself are presented, followed by a discussion of various methods of measuring WM. These methods include word and digit span tasks, reading, listening and speaking span tasks. We next outline the role proposed for WM in explaining individual differences in L2 learning processes and outcomes, including sentence processing, reading, speaking, lexical development and general proficiency. Key findings are that WM is not a unitary construct and that its role varies depending on the age of the L2 learners, the task and the linguistic domain. Some tests of WM may in fact be tests of differences in ability to attend to aspects of the L2. Future research will focus on matching tests of WM more closely with linguistic tasks and using more standardized, replicable measures of WM in new areas including writing in non-alphabetic scripts, instructional interventions and cognitive neuropsychology.
Working memory and (second) language processing
Abstract This chapter discusses the interactions between two of the most important human cognitive functions: memory and language. First, the concept of working memory is introduced, along with a brief summary of the evolutions that working memory theory has undergone in the last decades. The second part of the chapter focuses on the role of (verbal) working memory in language acquisition and processing.
Working memory and language: An overview of key topics
2021
Given these obvious gaps in the research literature, we thus set out to compile this comprehensive handbook, with the goal in mind to fill up all these lacunae from previous research. Furthermore, we also aim for theoretical ingenuity and empirical robustness in our individual chapter reviews and devote independent sections to key areas of foundational theories, including working memory models and measures in cognitive psychology, as well as incorporating working memory within well-established linguistic theories and processing frameworks. As far as we know, much of these have not been done before. As such, we are hoping that the comprehensive coverage of key topics in all these essential areas in our handbook will benefit researchers and students not just from psychology and linguistics, but also readers from all other related fields of cognitive sciences to draw insights and inspirations from the chapters herein.
Working memory and second language learning
International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 2012
This book introduces a principled approach to incorporating the construct of working memory (WM) into second language acquisition (SLA) research. Towards that end, I argue for an integrated framework of WM for SLA that draws on insights from established WM research in cognitive psychology as well as initial findings from SLA studies looking into the effects of WM. Within the framework, I also propose a set of general principles that serve as a basis for further studies probing the WM-SLA nexus. Applying some tenets from this framework, I report on an empirical study investigating the differential effects of WM constructs on L2 task-based speech planning and performance, culminating in forged links bridging WM components and their corresponding L2 speech performance measures. Further implications of this integrated framework of WM for SLA are also discussed in the context of "WM as foreign language aptitude".
Working memory and second language acquisition: Theory and findings
2016
This article presents a narrative review of research on working memory (WM) in order to offer a foundation for understanding issues in second language acquisition (SLA). In the first section, current psychological views on WM are described in terms of three distinct theoretical models associated with Baddeley, Cowan, and Engle. Based on this, general issues for WM theories are summarized and practical implications for research are stated. In the second section, empirical findings from SLA research on WM in three domains are discussed. These domains include learning conditions, cognitive processes, and linguistic outcomes. The review concludes with some brief reflections on the future of WM research in SLA.
To sum up, it is hoped that all the individual chapters included in this book have made concerted albeit distinctive contributions to advancing the theoretical and methodological fronts of the WM-SLA endeavor. Notwithstanding, given that this interdisciplinary enterprise of WM-SLA is still in its early developmental stage, there is still a long way to go from here (Williams, this volume). In that sense, there is a dire need for much further research that can contribute to further illuminating the dynamic and complex relationships constituting the ‘WM-SLA nexus’ (Wen, 2012).
Bio-data of: Michael Bunting, Randall Engle, Alan Baddeley, Nelson Cowan, Alan Juffs, Peter Skehan, John Wiliams, etc..