Working Memory Capacity and L2 Speech Production.

This study examines whether working memory capacity, a construct of current information processing theory, correlates with fluent foreign language (L2) speech production. It is based on M. Daneman's study (1991), who found significant correlation between individuals' working memory capacity and the fluency with which they can speak their first language (L1). Adapting Daneman's methodology, a set of seven experiments was applied to 16 advanced speakers of English as a foreign language. Working memory was assessed by means of the Speaking Span Test and the Reading Span Test, both in Portuguese and English. L2 fluency was . assessed-by means of the Speech Generation Task, which was aimed at assessing fluency at the discourse level. Working memory capacity both in Portuguese and English correlated significantly only with the reading-related task; the Oral Reading Task, aimed at assessing fluency at the articulatory level. The results of this test support the task-specific view of working memory capacity, which posits that this capacity is functional, varying according to the individual's efficiency in the processes specific to the cognitive task with which it is correlated. Various figures, graphs, and charts appear throughout the body ot_ the work. (Contains 65 references.) (KFT) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Working memory capacity and L2 speech production Mai lce B. Mota Fortkamp Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina Abstract This study examines whether working memory capacity, a construct of current information processing theory, correlates with fluent foreign language (L2) speech production. It is based on Daneman (1991), who found a significant correlation between individuals' working memory capacity and the fluency with which they can speak in their first language (L1). Adapting Daneman 's (1991) methodology, a set of seven experiments was applied to 16 advanced speakers of English as a foreign language, Working memory was assessed by means of the Speaking Span Test (Daneman & Green, 1986; Daneman, 1991) and the Reading Span Test (Daneman & Carpenter, 1980 and 1983), both in Portuguese and English. L2 fluency was assessed by means of the Speech Generation Task, the Oral Reading Task, and the Oral Slip Task (Motley and Baars, 1976). Working memory capacity, as measured by the Speaking Span Test in English, correlated significantly only with the Speech Generation Task, which was aimed at assessing fluency at the discourse level. Working memory capacity, as measured by the Reading Span Test, both in Portuguese and English, correlated significantly only with the reading-related task, the Oral Reading Task, aimed at assessing fluency at the articulatory level. The results of the present study support the task-specific view of working memory capacity (see Cantor and Engle, 1993), which posits that this capacity is functional, varying according to the individual's efficiency in the processes specific to the cognitive task with which it is being correlated. In the past few years cognitive processes involved in second/foreign language (L2) acquisition and use have gained increased importance in L2 acquisition/use research. To gain insights into the relationship between cognition and L2 acquisition/use, researchers in the L2 acquisition/use area have drawn on studies developed in the cognitive sciences, which seek to understand and explain the mental processes involved in a number of tasks such as perceiving, remembering, understanding, learning, and reasoning (Ashcraft, 1994; Stillings, Feinstein, Garfield, Rissland, Rosenbaum, Weisler, & Baker-Ward, 1987). The integration of cognitive models within L2 studies has been limited to certain aspects of the L2, with research accumulating in the area of language comprehension--mainly readingand only a few studies in language production. Among the latter, the focus has been mainly on the phonological aspect of the L2 and the literature mentions only a few attempts at describing, from the cognitive perspective, the process of L2 speech production (e.g., Faerch & Kasper, 1983; Dechert & Raupach, 1980; Dechert and Raupach, 1987; de Bot, 1992). The objective of the present article is to examine the relationship between working memory capacity, a construct of current information processing theory, and fluent L2 speech production at the discourse level and the articulatory level. As Miyake and Friedman (1998) point out, the concept of working memory may be useful in explaining individual differences in the acquisition and use of an L2. By better understanding variation in L2 performance, researchers in the area may refine theories of L2 acquisition/use and optimize the outcome of L2 instruction. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. BEST COPY AVAILABLE 2 1 PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY M6410-FOC+gr-LtMe____ TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)