Interrelationships among L2 linguistic knowledge, working memory functions, and L2 reading
-
Sevdeğer Çeçen
Abstract
The main purpose of the current study is to investigate whether L2 reading comprehension is related to the processing and storage functions of working memory (WM) as well as explicit and implicit sources of knowledge in the L2. Byproducts of this question involve (a) whether the relationship between WM and reading comprehension is attributable to the linguistic nature of the complex span task; (b) whether WM is related to explicit and implicit types of linguistic knowledge in the L2. Participants were 84 late adult learners of English with a B2 level of proficiency. WM capacity was measured through reading span tasks (RST) administered in L1 and L2 and an operation span task (OST). An untimed grammaticality judgment test (GJT) and a metalinguistic knowledge test (MKT) were administered to measure explicit linguistic knowledge in the L2 while a timed GJT and an elicited oral imitation test (EOI) were used to measure implicit linguistic knowledge. Reading comprehension scores were obtained from a retired paper-based TOEFL. A principal component analysis (PCA) on the independent variables revealed a three-component model where processing and storage scores obtained from span tasks loaded on separate components reflecting a distinction between processing and storage functions of WM whereas explicit and implicit L2 knowledge measures loaded together on a single component. A regression analysis performed with factor scores from the PCA as independent variables and L2 reading comprehension scores as the dependent variable revealed significant contributions of WM’s processing function and L2 linguistic knowledge to reading comprehension in the L2. This suggests that the variance shared by WM capacity and L2 reading comprehension is not due to the linguistic nature of the span task but to the general processing efficiency of verbal WM capacity.
Abstract
The main purpose of the current study is to investigate whether L2 reading comprehension is related to the processing and storage functions of working memory (WM) as well as explicit and implicit sources of knowledge in the L2. Byproducts of this question involve (a) whether the relationship between WM and reading comprehension is attributable to the linguistic nature of the complex span task; (b) whether WM is related to explicit and implicit types of linguistic knowledge in the L2. Participants were 84 late adult learners of English with a B2 level of proficiency. WM capacity was measured through reading span tasks (RST) administered in L1 and L2 and an operation span task (OST). An untimed grammaticality judgment test (GJT) and a metalinguistic knowledge test (MKT) were administered to measure explicit linguistic knowledge in the L2 while a timed GJT and an elicited oral imitation test (EOI) were used to measure implicit linguistic knowledge. Reading comprehension scores were obtained from a retired paper-based TOEFL. A principal component analysis (PCA) on the independent variables revealed a three-component model where processing and storage scores obtained from span tasks loaded on separate components reflecting a distinction between processing and storage functions of WM whereas explicit and implicit L2 knowledge measures loaded together on a single component. A regression analysis performed with factor scores from the PCA as independent variables and L2 reading comprehension scores as the dependent variable revealed significant contributions of WM’s processing function and L2 linguistic knowledge to reading comprehension in the L2. This suggests that the variance shared by WM capacity and L2 reading comprehension is not due to the linguistic nature of the span task but to the general processing efficiency of verbal WM capacity.
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
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
