<b>The role of working memory capacity in the development of L2 speech production</b><br>DOI:10.5007/2175-8026.2011n60p075

Abstract

This study addresses the question of how working memory capacity and L2 speech production covary over a period of time, during learners' L2 speech development. Participants were submitted to two data collection phases, each one consisting of a working memory test (an adaptation of Daneman's 1991 speaking span test) and a speech generation task, with a twelveweek interval between the two data collections. The results show that both lower and higher span individuals experienced some increase in L2 speech production scores in between phases. However, only lower span participants had a statistically significant improvement in working memory scores over trials. In addition, the speaking span test was related to the development of complexity in speakers' L2 speech.

Working memory capacity, content familiarity, and university EFL students’ reading comprehension

“…In particular, the more difficult the tasks given to the students are, the more complicated working memory processing is. Alptekin (2009) and Weissheimer (2011) in their research found that unlike recall tasks, recognition tasks fail to detect individual differences in working-memory storage. They further indicate that composite scores of storage and processing correlate with inferential rather than literal understanding in L2 reading when recall-based, rather than recognition-based, reading span tests are used to measure storage.…”