27.1512, Review: Cog Sci; Lang Acq: Borges Mota, McNeill, Wen (2015)

[The LINGUIST List via LINGUIST]

LINGUIST List: Vol-27-1512. Thu Mar 31 2016. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 27.1512, Review: Cog Sci; Lang Acq: Borges Mota, McNeill, Wen (2015)

Moderators: linguist at linguistlist.org (Damir Cavar, Malgorzata E. Cavar)
Reviews: reviews at linguistlist.org (Anthony Aristar, Helen Aristar-Dry, Robert Coté, Sara Couture)
Homepage: http://linguistlist.org

*****************    LINGUIST List Support    *****************
                       Fund Drive 2016
                   25 years of LINGUIST List!
Please support the LL editors and operation with a donation at:
           http://funddrive.linguistlist.org/donate/

Editor for this issue: Sara  Couture <sara at linguistlist.org>
================================================================


Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2016 14:37:38
From: Asmaa Shehata [asm.shehata at gmail.com]
Subject: Working Memory in Second Language Acquisition and Processing

 
Discuss this message:
http://linguistlist.org/pubs/reviews/get-review.cfm?subid=36102297


Book announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/26/26-2284.html

EDITOR: Zhisheng Edward Wen
EDITOR: Mailce  Borges Mota
EDITOR: Arthur  McNeill
TITLE: Working Memory in Second Language Acquisition and Processing
SERIES TITLE: Second Language Acquisition
PUBLISHER: Multilingual Matters
YEAR: 2015

REVIEWER: Asmaa Shehata, University of Calgary

Reviews Editor: Helen Aristar-Dry

SUMMARY

‘Working Memory in Second Language Acquisition and Processing’ is a collection
of seventeen articles investigating the vital and complex relationships
between working memory (WM) and second language acquisition (SLA). The purpose
of this book is two-fold: (1) to introduce the most significant theoretical
and methodological innovations of working memory and SLA research, and (2) to
review the major findings of the empirical studies in this area. Apart from a
foreword and an introduction, the book is divided into four main sections:
Theoretical Perspectives and Models, Working Memory in L2 Processing, Working
Memory in L2 Interaction and Performance, and Working Memory in L2 Instruction
and Development. Included is a final   commentary chapter, which summarizes
the previous and current research perceptions and offers future research
directions as well.

In the foreword, Michael Bunting and Randall Engle present the concept of
working memory, which they define as “the mental workplace of the mind” that
has a number of significant functions such as directing behavior and
preventing unrelated information from reaching one’s consciousness. The
positive relationship between WM and a number of aspects of first/ second
language acquisition like vocabulary, reading and writing and listening
compression is thoroughly elucidated, and several examples are provided. The
authors also introduce different theoretical descriptions for the WM,
describing previous research in this area and highlighting the gaps that
principally focus on the integration of SLA and WM.

In the introductory chapter, Zhisheng (Edward) Wen, Malice Borges Mota and
Arthur McNeill display an outline of the central themes in the volume’s four
main parts and provide a brief overview of each article. Diverse issues are
investigated via different approaches revealing the importance of integrating
cognitive psychology with second language learning research. The authors end
the chapter by summarizing the research design, methodology and main findings
of the empirical studies presented in the book. To eliminate terminology
confusions, they provide brief definitions of the main terms introduced in the
volume: short-term memory (STM), long-term memory (LTM), WM and SLA.

Part 1, ‘Theoretical Perspectives and Models’, offers a synopsis of major
theoretical perspectives on the interrelationships between WM and second
language learning. In Chapter 1, ‘Working Memory in Second Language Learning’,
Alan Baddeley starts out with a description of his multi-component model of
WM: initial foundation, and recent evolution. A number of previous cognitive
studies are presented showing the roles of the multiple WM components in
second language vocabulary and grammar learning. The discussion shows gaps in
the field, which in turn highlights potential avenues for future research.  

In a similar vein, Chapter 2, ‘Second Language Use, Theories of Working Memory
and the Vennian Mind’ by Nelson Cowan, demonstrates three main points: a
description of second language use, the importance of WM theories in
comprehending and using a foreign language and the capability of the existing
WM theories in explaining second language use. In this regard, Cowan draws an
analogy between Baddeley’s multi-component model of WM and Venn’s portrayal of
overlapping diagrams displaying the similarities between the two models. The
chapter concludes that the present WM theories must be extended in order to
both acclimatize and incorporate major SLA concepts.

Chapter 3, ‘Working Memory in Second Language Acquisition and Processing: The
Phonological/ Executive Model’ by Zhisheng (Edward) Wen, reviews theoretical
models in WM that are usually implemented in first and second language
acquisition and empirical WM-related language research that mainly stresses
the importance of phonological WM and executive WM in language acquisition.
The chapter also presents a number of theoretical and methodological
challenges facing WM-SLA research and introduces the Phonological and
Executive P/ E Model. The chapter concludes by highlighting the author's’
predictions that WM-SLA research will pay much attention to the mental
processes taking place in the SLA learners’ minds.

Chapter 4, ‘Working Memory and Interpreting: A commentary on Theoretical
Models’ by Yanping Dong and Rendong Cai, is a commentary that reviews three
main directions of empirical studies: interpreter advantage in WM,
relationship between WM and interpreter training and how WM contributes to the
skill of interpreting. In this regard, research highlighted factors- such as
age, L2 proficiency, and professional experience- that were explored in WM
research . The authors also underline the main issues confronted empirical
studies like mixed results, and the difficulty of choosing the appropriate WM
tasks. Thus, further research is needed to investigate the complex
relationship between WM and interpreting. 

Building upon the above theoretical perspectives, Part 2 ‘Working Memory in L2
Processing’ presents empirical studies that examine the influence of WM in L2
learning. Chapter 5, ‘Working Memory in L2 Character Processing: The Case of
Learning to Read Chinese’, which is coauthored by Sun-A Kim, Kiel Christianson
and Jerome Packard, investigates the role of WM in reading Chinese characters
by L2 learners. Seventy learners of Chinese at the University of Illinois
participated in two main tasks (i.e., a reading span task and a letter
rotation task) under two experimental conditions: visual WM and phonological
working memory (PWM). Results display that learners in the visual condition
did learn the visual Chinese characters better than their counterparts in the
PWM condition who better learned the regular Chinese characters. This finding
is consistent with the hierarchical view of WM that lists two main kinds of
WM: domain-general and domain-specific.  

In Chapter 6, ‘Working Memory in L2 Sentence Processing: The Case with
Relative Clause Attachment’, Yuncai Dai’s study has a threefold aim: (a) to
explore the strategies that Chinese learners of English use to interpret L2
relative clause (RC) attachment, (b) to investigate the role of WM capacity in
processing L2 RC attachment, and (c) to examine learners’ processing
strategies in online sentence parsing and offline questionnaires. To this end,
thirty Chinese learners of English participate in three experiments that use
three different techniques: an online reaction time technique, a computerized
reading span task and two offline questionnaires. Results revealed that
Chinese learners of English did not transfer their L1 processing principles
when parsing the L2 RC attachment but they rather showed universal processing
strategies. Despite the significant positive role of WM in L2 RC attachment,
ambiguity resolution strategies were found to play no significant role in L1
RC attachment. In addition, the findings showed that a number of factors, such
as structural information and contextual cues,  influence the processing of L2
RC attachment and they may interact to affect learners’ RC ambiguity
resolution. In conclusion, the author encourages future research to further
explore the role of WM capacity, proficiency speed and general proficiency in
L1and L2 learners’ sentence processing. 

Along the same lines, Chapter 7, ‘Working Memory and Sentence Processing: A
Commentary’ by Alan Juffs, reviews main language structures that are explored
in previous WM-L2 learning research. The author shows that the focus of
previous studies is on the sentence level; however they display inconsistent
findings with regard to the influence of WM in adult L2 learning. The chapter
reports findings of a pilot study that investigates WM-L2 learning in relation
to discourse processing rather than processing at the sentence level. Juffs
calls for future research to do the same in order to reflect the real world
and comprehension challenges.

In Part 3, ‘Working Memory in L2 Interaction and Performance’, selected
theoretical and empirical issues regarding the role of WM in L2 learning are
discussed. Using empirical data, Shaofeng Li in Chapter 8, ‘Working Memory,
Language Analytical Ability and L2 Recasts’, investigates whether the
effectiveness of recasts can be mediated at different proficiency levels by
two aptitude components: WM and language analytic ability. To this end, 32
learners of Chinese at two different proficiency levels (i.e., beginning and
advanced) participated in three sessions. In the first session, learners took
the proficiency test and the grammaticality judgment pre-test (GJT). In the
second session, learners took the elicited imitation (EI) pre-test together
with two treatment tasks: picture description and spot the difference task.
After seven days, learners attended the final session in which they took four
tests: the WM test, the language analytical ability test, the GJT and EI post-
tests. Results showed that the effectiveness of recasts is controlled by
cognitive factors such as WM and language analytic ability, whose influence
varies based on two significant factors: L2 proficiency and feedback type.

In Chapter 9, ‘Working Memory, Online Planning and L2 Self-Repair Behaviour’,
Mohammad Javad Ahmadian scrutinizes the relationship between WMC and
self-monitoring in online planning conditions. The chapter includes three main
sections. The first section reviews previous theoretical and empirical studies
about WM, online-planning and self-repair behavior. Then the chapter reports
an empirical study that includes 53 Iranian learners of English whose language
proficiency is found to be equally as reported by TOEFL iBT. All learners take
part in a WM test in one session and an oral narrative task under online
planning condition in a different session. Findings show a significant
correlation between WMC and L2 self-repair behavior only under online planning
condition. The chapter finally concludes with a discussion of the results with
respect to a number of theoretical and empirical issues.

In contrast, Chapter 10, ‘Working Memory, Cognitive Resources and L2 Writing
Performance’ by Yanbin Lu, presents an empirical study that analyzes data from
136 Chinese learners of English who participated in three main tasks: timed
essay writing task, vocabulary, and WM span in L1 (Chinese) and L2 (English),
to explore the role of WM in L2 writing. Results showed no correlation between
either WM capacity or L2 language knowledge or written performance. The study
recommends that further research is needed to explore the relationship between
WMC and L2 writing using other appropriate WM capacity measures. It also
suggests that future research examine the relationship between WM elements at
various stages of L2 writing. 

In Chapter 11 ‘Working Memory and Second Language Performance: A Commentary’,
Peter Skehan underlines the significant role of WM in L2 speech performance by
reviewing a small number of empirical L2 studies, which display WM
limitations. Then the author linked these studies to the Levelt model of
speaking. By doing so, Skehan shows that L2 speech production is not a
parallel process but rather a serial one. This leads the author to conclude
that the analysis of WM-L2 speech can enlighten the current debate between the
Trade-off Hypothesis (Skehan, 2009, 2014) and the Cognitive Hypothesis
(Robinson, 2011) in L2 task-based learning research.

Part 4, ‘Working Memory in L2 instruction and Development’, continues the
presentation of three empirical studies. Chapter 12, ‘Working Memory in
Processing Instruction: The Acquisition of L2 French Clitics’ by Kindra
Santamaria and Gretchen Sunderman, explores how WM capacity influences the
teaching of L2 French direct object pronouns. To that end, sixty-two students
who studied French for more than three months were givenpre and post tests
besides a reading span test in which they were asked to judge if each of the
sentences they heard was plausible and also to attempt to memorize the last
word of each sentence. While results displayed the lack of interaction between
WM and L2 instruction, results of the production test showed that only
higher-span learners scored higher on the post test than low-span learners,
which confirmed the positive role of the WM in language instruction. In
conclusion, the author calls for future research that can replicate the
current study and control for person-number and animacy issues for all
sentences on the one hand and address students’ individual differences on the
other hand. 

In Chapter 13, ‘Working Memory, Learning Conditions and the Acquisition of L2
Syntax’, Kaitlyn M. Tagarelli, Mailce Borges Mota and Patrick Rebuschat
discuss the relationship between WMC and different SLA learning conditions
disseminating implicit and explicit learning. Sixty-two native English
speakers participated in two experimental learning conditions (i.e.,
intentional and incidental) where they were exposed to a semi-artificial
language grammar, and two non-verbal complex WM span tasks (the operation-word
span task and the letter-number serial order task) were used to measure their
WMC. Results show an advantage for the intentional group, which reveals a
relationship between WM and the explicit learning condition. 

Chapter 14, ‘Working Memory Capacity, Cognitive Complexity and L2 Recasts in
Online Language Teaching’ by Melissa Baralt, examines the influence of WM
capacity and feedback efficiency on learning in a computerized environment.
This chapter starts out with a review of previous studies on three main
topics: WM in face-to-face interaction studies, cognition Hypothesis of
task-based language learning and the role of WM capacity in computer-mediated
communication (CMC) environment. The authors then report on a study that
investigates whether WM capacity moderates learners’ ability from feedback
during simple versus complex task-based computerized chat interactions. To
this end, 34 learners of Spanish participated in two interactive story-retell
tasks in which they received the researcher’s recasts on the Spanish past
subjunctive. Findings show no relationship between WM capacity and feedback
efficiency in the CMC mode, where both task type and learners’ different types
do not make a difference.

In Chapter 15, ‘Working Memory Measures and L2 Proficiency’, Anna Mitchell and
colleagues start with a succinct discussion of the inadequacy for SLA research
of cognitive psychology measures, which have been extensively used in previous
first language acquisition research . Then the chapter reports on an empirical
study that mainly explores the relationship between WM and L2 proficiency to
determine whether or not previous studies have mistakenly used inadequate
methods for SLA research. To this end, the researchers administered two WM
tests: digit span and operation span, to 36 native Chinese learners of English
in both Chinese and English. Participants’ proficiency level is measured in
light of their TOEFL IBT scores. Findings show stronger positive correlations
between subjects’ proficiency scores and L2 WM tasks than for L1 WM scores.
This finding is interpreted as evidence that L2 proficiency affects the WM
performance, confirming the inappropriateness of WM tasks that are constructed
in learners’ L2. Moreover, findings indicate that L2 learners of different
levels of language proficiency differently differ in the way they use WM.
While high-proficient learners rely on executive working memory (EWM),
low-proficiency rely on phonological short-term memory (PSTM).

As a conclusion of this section, Chapter 16, ‘Working Memory and L2
Development Across the Lifespan: A commentary’, by Clare Wright presents the
relationship between L2 longitudinal progression and WM by briefly summarizing
the context of WM and SLA research. The chapter also highlights the role of
various sides of WM,  in particular PSTM and EWM that play a significant role
in the development of L2 learning. Moreover, Wright mentions that lacking
theoretical and empirical evidence of the role of WM in SLA across the
lifespan can explain the current SLA research challenges. In other words,
future research is recommended to consider learners’ developmental stage in
the L2. In addition, researchers need to manifestly identify what aspects of
SLA WM is expected to boost and how to test WM at diverse stages of lifespan
among distinctively various L2 learners.

Finally, Chapter 17, ‘Working memory in SLA research: challenges and
prospects’ by John Williams, offers a final commentary that pinpoints the
challenges in the WM research related to SLA. Williams recommends future
WM-SLA research to employ a top-down approach following the theoretical
framework of Just and Carpenter (1992). Numerous directions for future
research are highlighted, such as examining the association of WM and implicit
learning on the one hand and rapid attention switching on the other hand. 

EVALUATION
 
The collection has synthesized and compiled a diversified body of research on
WM and its relation to SLA supported by accessible writing styles. Many
readers would appreciate that the volume provides an overview of theoretical
WM models and empirical studies that are well elaborated by interesting
background information, through which the readers come to understand the
complex L2 processing strategies, cognitive processes, their measurements in
L1 and L2 research, feedback type and L2 self-repair behavior. Combining a
range of the theoretical and methodological innovation of WM-SLA research is a
particular strength of the volume. As such, this book would be a valuable
reference for readers in areas such as cognitive psychology, theoretical
linguistics, and education, especially those engaging with topics related to
L2 syntactic structures, vocabulary, L2 proficiency, and speech and writing
studies. 

Furthermore, the volume also succeeds in presenting diversified theoretical
perspectives by drawing upon the work of Baddeley, Cowan, Christoffels,
Daneman and Carpenter, and Papagno and Velar. In particular, the theoretical
discussions in the first three Chapters set out a comprehensive framework for
future research. Moreover, this book fills a gap in the current L2 processing
research by integrating more recent theories of WM, such as Cowan’s (1995,
2001, 2005), with SLA theory. It applies ideas and data of modern cognitive
psychology to study ways of facilitating the L2 learning process with
reference to various target L2 languages such as Chinese (Chapter 5), English
(Chapter 6 and Chapter 9) and French (Chapter 12).

However, although the volume overall contributes to and extends the
theoretical and methodological debate in the growing field of  the
relationship between WM and SLA research, the discussions in some chapters
tend to be general and lack sufficient contextual specification. While, for
instance, WM models are introduced in Part 1, they are not   well-articulated
in some chapters, where critical and further detail are lost. In addition,
these models have not been clearly linked to the empirical studies presented
in the following chapters.

Another issue that may bother some readers is the lack of detailed
methodological explanations in some chapters. For example, Chapter 10 has used
WMC span tasks as the principal research method, but their details have not
been fully revealed and that creates difficulty for replications with
different languages and contexts.

Despite these small gaps, this book is worth reading as  it brings fresh
insights and solutions to existing theoretical challenges and opens doors for
future research.

As evidenced by the diversified topics in this volume, there is a need for
more research attention to WM and L2 processing, and it may be expected that
the ideas gathered in this volume will stimulate future research into the
increasingly significant field of cognitive processes and language education.

REFERENCES

Baddeley, A. D. (2012). Working memory and language: an overview. Journal of
Communication Disorders, 36, 1-30.

Cowan, N. (1995). Attention and memory: an integrated framework. Oxford
Psychology Series, 26 New York: Oxford University Press.

Cowan, N. (2001). The magical number 4 in short-term memory: A reconsideration
of mental storage capacity. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 24, 87-185.

Cowan, N. (2005). Working memory capacity. Hove: Psychology Press.


ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Asmaa Shehata, is a faculty at the University of Calgary, Linguistics,
Languages and Cultures Department. Her research interests include second
language phonology with particular focus on cross-language speech perception
and production.





------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*****************    LINGUIST List Support    *****************
                       Fund Drive 2016
Please support the LL editors and operation with a donation at:
            http://funddrive.linguistlist.org/donate/

This year the LINGUIST List hopes to raise $79,000. This money 
will go to help keep the List running by supporting all of our 
Student Editors for the coming year.

Don't forget to check out Fund Drive 2016 site!

http://funddrive.linguistlist.org/

For all information on donating, including information on how to 
donate by check, money order, PayPal or wire transfer, please visit:
http://funddrive.linguistlist.org/donate/

The LINGUIST List is under the umbrella of Indiana University and 
as such can receive donations through the eLinguistics Foundation, 
which is a registered 501(c) Non Profit organization. Our Federal 
Tax number is 45-4211155. These donations can be offset against 
your federal and sometimes your state tax return (U.S. tax payers only). 
For more information visit the IRS Web-Site, or contact your financial 
advisor.

Many companies also offer a gift matching program, such that 
they will match any gift you make to a non-profit organization. 
Normally this entails your contacting your human resources department 
and sending us a form that the eLinguistics Foundation fills in and 
returns to your employer. This is generally a simple administrative 
procedure that doubles the value of your gift to LINGUIST, without 
costing you an extra penny. Please take a moment to check if 
your company operates such a program.

Thank you very much for your support of LINGUIST!
 


----------------------------------------------------------
LINGUIST List: Vol-27-1512	
----------------------------------------------------------