How do verbal short-term memory and working memory relate to the acquisition of vocabulary and grammar? A comparison between first and second language learners

Verhagen, Josje; Leseman, Paul

doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2015.06.015

Cited by 133 publications

(139 citation statements)

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“…In this article we will consider a number of types of memory, namely, phonological short‐term memory (PSTM), working memory capacity, declarative memory, and procedural memory. PSTM, the short‐term store for auditory information and articulatory rehearsal as measured by simple span tasks, has been implicated in vocabulary acquisition (Baddeley, Papagno, & Vallar, 1988; Gupta, 2003; Martin & Ellis, 2012; Papagno, Valentine, & Baddeley, 1991), and grammar abstraction (Ellis, 2012; Robinson, 1997; Speidel, 1993; Verhagen & Leseman, 2016). Working memory capacity, defined as the ability to not only hold but also simultaneously process items in short‐term memory and measured by complex span tasks, has been linked to the noticing of grammatical regularities in language and on‐line language processing (Coughlin & Tremblay, 2013; Mackey, Adams, Stafford, & Winke, 2010; Mackey, Philp, Egi, Fujii, & Tatsumi, 2002; Sagarra & Herschensohn, 2010).…”

Section: Background Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Distinctions in the Acquisition of Vocabulary and Grammar: An Individual Differences Approach

et al. 2020

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Learning language requires acquiring the grammatical categories of words in the language, but learning those categories requires understanding the role of words in the syntax. In this study, we examined how this chicken and egg problem is resolved by learners of an artificial language comprising nouns, verbs, adjectives, and case markers following syntactic rules. We also measured individual differences in declarative and procedural memory processing, which have been linked to vocabulary and grammar learning, respectively. The results showed that grammar and vocabulary can be acquired simultaneously, but with distinctive patterns of acquisition: the syntactic role of verbs and their referents first, then other lexical categories, and finally the syntactic function of case markers. Interdependencies in learning were found for word order and verbs, which related to verbal declarative memory, and also for nouns, adjectives, and case markers, which related to procedural memory.

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Section: Background Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Distinctions in the Acquisition of Vocabulary and Grammar: An Individual Differences Approach

et al. 2020

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“…There is no suggestion, of course, that working memory capacity explains everything (cf. Baddeley, 2003), but Wen (2016) cites a large number of empirical studies which indicate a close and positive relationship between the phonological aspects of working memory and attainment in second language lexical acquisition (e.g., Cheung, 1996;Ellis & Sinclair, 1996;French, 2006;Service, 1992), as well as the acquisition of L2 formulaic sequences and collocations (e.g., Bolibaugh & Foster, 2013;Foster, Bolibaugh & Kotula, 2014;Skrzypek, 2009) and grammar acquisition and development (e.g., French & O'Brien, 2008;Martin & Ellis, 2012;O'Brien, Segalowitz, Collentine, & Freed, 2006, 2007Verhagen & Leseman, 2016;Williams & Lovatt, 2003). Accordingly, a strong connection has been established between phonological working memory capacity and the degree of proficiency achieved in relation to lexis, formulaic sequences and morpho-syntactic constructions (Ellis, 1996(Ellis, , 2012(Ellis, , 2013Martin & Ellis, 2012).…”

Section: The Working Memory Dimensionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Language aptitude: Desirable trait or acquirable attribute?

Singleton

2017

SSLLT

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The traditional definition of language aptitude sees it as "an individual's initial state of readiness and capacity for learning a foreign language, and probable facility in doing so given the presence of motivation and opportunity" (Carroll, 1981, p. 86). This conception portrays language aptitude as a trait, in the sense of exhibiting stability over long periods of time and being immune to training. The trait view of language aptitude tends towards the notion that it is innate, and indeed language aptitude has often been associated with the popular notion of a "gift for languages" (cf. Rosenthal, 1996, p. 59). The view of language aptitude as an innate trait has, however, long been questioned (see e.g., Neufeld, 1978). Recently, this questioning has intensified (see Singleton, 2014), especially since the development of a widespread consensus that working memory needs to be recognized as an important component of language aptitude (see Wen, 2016). Working memory was also once thought of as a trait, but is now recognized as susceptible to the influence of experience and instruction (see e.g., Williams, 2012). The present paper will track the trajectory of the above theoretical discussion and will explore the implications of the stage it has now reached.

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“…The basic ability to process such input therefore should logically underpin the ability to acquire information from it. Individual differences in verbal WM have been tightly linked with variability in children's language outcomes (e.g., Cain et al, 2004;Engel de Abreu & Gathercole, 2012;Kormos & S af ar, 2008;Verhagen & Leseman, 2016). Therefore, a certain threshold level of verbal WM capacity may be necessary in order to efficiently process linguistic information embedded in codeswitched input.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Verbal working memory (WM) is a capacity-constrained system with well-documented individual differences in the population (Pickering & Gathercole, 2001). A classic theory of language comprehension anchors individual differences in language comprehension ability to individual differences in WM capacity (Daneman & Carpenter, 1980;Daneman & Merikle, 1996), with extensive empirical evidence supporting a strong relation between comprehension and WM measures such as the backward digit-span, in bilingual (e.g., Buac, Gross, & Kaushanskaya, 2016;Cockroft, 2016;Engel de Abreu, Gathercole, & Martin, 2011;Kormos & S af ar, 2008) but also in monolingual (e.g., Cain, Oakhill, & Bryant, 2004;Chrysochoou, Bablekou, Masoura, & Tsigilis, 2013;Leather & Henry, 1994;Seigneuric & Ehrlich, 2005;Verhagen & Leseman, 2016) children. Daneman and Carpenter (1980) argued that weaknesses in WM would lead to deficits in comprehension, particularly for the more demanding comprehension tasks that require integration of words, phrases, and sentences into a coherent whole.…”

Section: Replicated Thismentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Exposure to Code‐Switching Influence Language Performance in Bilingual Children?

Kaushanskaya

Crespo

2019

Child Development

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This study investigated whether the effect of exposure to code‐switching on bilingual children's language performance varied depending on verbal working memory (WM). A large sample of school‐aged Spanish–English bilingual children (N = 174, Mage = 7.78) was recruited, and children were administered language measures in English and Spanish. The frequency with which the children were exposed to code‐switching was gathered through parent report. For children with high verbal WM, greater exposure to code‐switching was associated with higher levels of language ability. In contrast, for children with lower verbal WM, greater exposure to code‐switching was associated with lower levels of language ability. These findings indicate that children's cognitive processing capacity dictates whether exposure to code‐switching facilitates or hinders language skills.

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How do verbal short-term memory and working memory relate to the acquisition of vocabulary and grammar? A comparison between first and second language learners

Cited by 133 publications

References 38 publications

Distinctions in the Acquisition of Vocabulary and Grammar: An Individual Differences Approach

Distinctions in the Acquisition of Vocabulary and Grammar: An Individual Differences Approach

Language aptitude: Desirable trait or acquirable attribute?

Does Exposure to Code‐Switching Influence Language Performance in Bilingual Children?

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