An empirical study of working memory, personality, and second language construction learning
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Daniel O. Jackson
Abstract
The study presented in this chapter investigated the role of individual differences in construction learning under different conditions of partial repetition. Ninety participants were exposed to an artificial system of noun-suffix constructions under one of three incidental learning conditions, which either repeated nouns across consecutive trials, repeated suffixes across consecutive trials, or contained no repetition across consecutive trials. It was hypothesized that: (a) working memory (WM) and (b) openness would predict L2 construction learning, and that (c) the influence of WM would be stronger in the absence of repetition, while (d) intellect would be associated with attention to form. The results indicated that participants learned the artificial system, with no differences between conditions. Measures of WM and openness correlated positively and significantly with untrained (i.e. generalization) test scores. Mixed-effects binominal regression models revealed significant effects for WM, but showed no interactions between condition and WM. Intellect was significantly related to a measure of attention. In sum, this study provides additional evidence that WM fosters generalization and further suggests that the distinction between openness and intellect may be useful for understanding novel second language learning.
Abstract
The study presented in this chapter investigated the role of individual differences in construction learning under different conditions of partial repetition. Ninety participants were exposed to an artificial system of noun-suffix constructions under one of three incidental learning conditions, which either repeated nouns across consecutive trials, repeated suffixes across consecutive trials, or contained no repetition across consecutive trials. It was hypothesized that: (a) working memory (WM) and (b) openness would predict L2 construction learning, and that (c) the influence of WM would be stronger in the absence of repetition, while (d) intellect would be associated with attention to form. The results indicated that participants learned the artificial system, with no differences between conditions. Measures of WM and openness correlated positively and significantly with untrained (i.e. generalization) test scores. Mixed-effects binominal regression models revealed significant effects for WM, but showed no interactions between condition and WM. Intellect was significantly related to a measure of attention. In sum, this study provides additional evidence that WM fosters generalization and further suggests that the distinction between openness and intellect may be useful for understanding novel second language learning.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
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Introduction
- Introduction. Cognitive individual differences in second language learning and processing 1
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Part 1. Theoretical and methodological issues
- Foreign language aptitude, acquisitional sequences, and psycholinguistic processes 17
- Miniature natural language learning in L2 acquisition research 41
- Working memory, language processing, and implications of malleability for second language acquisition 69
- Methodological implications of working memory tasks for L2 processing research 89
- Analyzing individual differences in second language research 105
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Part 2. Empirical studies
- Music, song and speech 131
- An empirical study of working memory, personality, and second language construction learning 157
- Elicited imitation as a measure of implicit L2 knowledge 185
- Working memory and L2 English speakers’ primed and subsequent production of passives 205
- Interrelationships among L2 linguistic knowledge, working memory functions, and L2 reading 223
- Executive control and phonological processing in language acquisition 249
- Corrective feedback and working memory capacity 279
- The interaction between feedback exposure condition and phonetic coding ability 303
- The role of explicit language aptitude in implicit, explicit, and mixed feedback conditions 327
- Index 351
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
-
Introduction
- Introduction. Cognitive individual differences in second language learning and processing 1
-
Part 1. Theoretical and methodological issues
- Foreign language aptitude, acquisitional sequences, and psycholinguistic processes 17
- Miniature natural language learning in L2 acquisition research 41
- Working memory, language processing, and implications of malleability for second language acquisition 69
- Methodological implications of working memory tasks for L2 processing research 89
- Analyzing individual differences in second language research 105
-
Part 2. Empirical studies
- Music, song and speech 131
- An empirical study of working memory, personality, and second language construction learning 157
- Elicited imitation as a measure of implicit L2 knowledge 185
- Working memory and L2 English speakers’ primed and subsequent production of passives 205
- Interrelationships among L2 linguistic knowledge, working memory functions, and L2 reading 223
- Executive control and phonological processing in language acquisition 249
- Corrective feedback and working memory capacity 279
- The interaction between feedback exposure condition and phonetic coding ability 303
- The role of explicit language aptitude in implicit, explicit, and mixed feedback conditions 327
- Index 351
