Article published in:
Cognitive Individual Differences in Second Language Processing and Acquisition
Edited by Gisela Granena, Daniel O. Jackson and Yucel Yilmaz
[Bilingual Processing and Acquisition 3] 2016
► pp. 89–104

Methodological implications of working memory tasks for L2 processing research

| Florida State University
| Florida State University
A growing body of research within cognitive perspectives of second language acquisition (SLA) has investigated how individual differences in working memory (WM) capacity may impact second language (L2) processes. Many of these studies have employed versions of complex span measures, such as the reading span test (RSPAN). The findings of these studies are mixed, and no standard scoring methods exist for these tasks. Therefore, this study examines the consequences of different scoring methods and data analysis procedures of two common complex span tasks (reading span and operation span) used in L2 sentence processing research. L2 Spanish learners completed two WM span tasks and an online Spanish sentence interpretation task. The results indicate that various scoring methods of the complex span tasks were significantly correlated within tasks. However, in examining the relationship between WM and sentence interpretation, we found that different results emerged, depending on WM task type, scoring method and type of analysis. Implications for research investigating WM resources in SLA are discussed.
Published online: 23 December 2016
https://doi.org/10.1075/bpa.3.05lee
References

References

Baddeley, A. D., & Hitch, G. J.
(1974) Working memory. In G. A. Bower (Ed.), Recent advances in learning and motivation, (Vol. 8; pp. 47–90). New York, NY: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Baddeley, A. D.
(2003) Working memory and language: An overview. Journal of Communication Disorders, 36, 189–208. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Chun, D. M., & Payne, J. S.
(2004) What makes students click: Working memory and look-up behavior. System, 32, 481–503. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Conway, A. R., Kane, M. J., Bunting, M. F., Hambrick, D. Z., Wilhelm, O., & Engle, R. W.
(2005) Working memory span tasks: A methodological review and user’s guide. Psychonomic Bulletin Review, 12, 769–786. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Daneman, M., & Carpenter, P.
(1980) Individual differences in working memory and reading. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 19, 450–466. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Ellis, N. C.
(2005) At the interface: dynamic interactions of explicit and implicit language knowledge. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 27, 305–352. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Fernández, C.
(2008) Reexamining the role of explicit information in processing instruction. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 30, 277–305. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Friedman, N.P., & Miyake, A.
(2005) Comparison of four scoring methods for the reading span test. Behavior Research Methods, 37, 581–590. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Gass, S.M.
(1997) Input, interaction, and the second language learner. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Harrington, M., & Sawyer, M.
(1992) L2 working memory capacity and L2 reading skill. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 14, 25–38. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Irwin, J. R., & McClelland, G. H.
(2003) Negative consequences of dichotomizing continuous predictor variables. Journal of Marketing Research, 40, 366–371 CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Juffs, A.
(2004) Representation, processing and working memory in a second language. Transactions of the Philological Society, 102, 199–225. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2005) The influence of first language on the processing of wh-movement in English as a second language. Second Language Research, 21, 121–151. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Kroll, J., Michael, E., Tokowicz, N., & Dufour, R.
(2002) The development of lexical fluency in a second language. Second Language Research, 18, 137–171. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Leeser, M. J.
(2007) Learner-based factors in L2 reading comprehension and processing grammatical form: Topic familiarity and working memory. Language Learning, 57, 229–270. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Long, M.
(1990) The least a second language acquisition theory needs to explain. TESOL Quarterly, 24, 649–666. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
MacCallum, R.C., Zhang, S., Preacher, K.J., & Rucker, D.D.
(2002) On the practice of dichotomization of quantitative variables. Psychological Methods, 7, 19–40. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
MacDonald, M.C., & Christiansen, M.H.
(2002) Reassessing working memory: comment on Just and Carpenter (1992) and Waters and Caplan (1996). Psychological Review, 109, 35–54. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Mackey, A., Philp, J., Egi, T., Fujii, A., & Tatsumi, T.
(2002) Individual differences in working memory, noticing interactional feedback and L2 development. In P. Robinson (Ed.), Individual differences and instructed language learning (pp. 181–209). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Miyake, A.
(1998) Individual differences in second language proficiency: The role of working memory. In A. F. Healy & L. E. Bourne Jr., (Eds.), Foreign language learning: Psycholinguistic studies on training and retention (pp. 339–364). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Miyake, A., & Shah, P.
(Eds.) (1999) Models of working memory: Mechanisms of active maintenance and executive control. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
O’Grady, W.
(2003) The radical middle: Nativism without universal grammar. In C. J. Doughty & M. Long (Eds.), The handbook of second language acquisition (pp. 43–62). Malden, MA: Blackwell. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Osaka, M., & Osaka, N.
(1992) Language-independent working memory as measured by Japanese and English reading span tests. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 30, 287–289. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Osaka, M., Osaka, N., & Groner, R.
(1993) Language-independent working memory: Evidence from German and French reading span tests. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 31, 117–118. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Pienemann, M.
(1998) Language processing and second language development: Processability theory. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Skehan, P.
(1998) A cognitive approach to language learning. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Sunderman, G., & Kroll, J.F.
(2006) First language activation during second language lexical processing: An investigation of lexical form, meaning, and grammatical class. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 28, 387–422. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2009) When study abroad experience fails to deliver: The internal resources threshold effect. Applied Psycholinguistics, 30, 1–21. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Tokowicz, N., Michael, E.B., & Kroll, J.F.
(2004) The roles of study-abroad experience and working-memory capacity in the types of errors made during translation. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 7, 255–272. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Turner, M., & Engle, R.W.
(1989) Is working memory task dependent? Journal of Memory and Language, 28, 127–154. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
VanPatten, B.
(1996) Input processing and grammar instruction: Theory and research. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.Google Scholar
(2007) Input processing in adult second language acquisition. In B. VanPatten, & J. Williams (Eds.), Theories in second language acquisition (pp. 115–135). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
VanPatten, B., & Williams, J.
(2007) Introduction: The nature of theories. In B. VanPatten, & J. Williams (Eds.), Theories in second language acquisition (pp. 1–16). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Waters, G.S., & Caplan, D.
(1996) The measurement of verbal working memory capacity and its relation to reading comprehension. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 49A, 51–79. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
White, J. P.
(2008) The effect of input-based instruction type on the acquisition of Spanish accusative clitics. Unpublished PhD dissertation, Florida State University.Google Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 5 other publications

Edmonds, Amanda & Aarnes Gudmestad
2018.  In Critical Reflections on Data in Second Language Acquisition [Language Learning & Language Teaching, 51], ► pp. 125 ff. Crossref logo
Edmonds, Amanda & Pascale Leclercq
2020. Introduction. Journal of French Language Studies 30:2 ► pp. 111 ff. Crossref logo
Gudmestad, Aarnes & Amanda Edmonds
2018.  In Critical Reflections on Data in Second Language Acquisition [Language Learning & Language Teaching, 51], ► pp. 1 ff. Crossref logo
In’nami, Yo, Yuko Hijikata & Rie Koizumi
2021. WORKING MEMORY CAPACITY AND L2 READING. Studies in Second Language Acquisition ► pp. 1 ff. Crossref logo
Jo, Kyuhee, Kitaek Kim & Hyunwoo Kim
2021. Children's interpretation of negation and quantifier scope in L3 English. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 24:3 ► pp. 427 ff. Crossref logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 13 september 2021. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.