Phonological memory and lexical, narrative, and grammatical skills in second language oral production by adult learners

Abstract

This study investigated the role of phonological memory (PM) in second language (L2) speech production by English-speaking adults who were learning Spanish. PM, operationalized as serial nonword recognition, and L2 lexical, narrative, and grammatical abilities from speech samples were assessed 13 weeks apart. After controlling for the amount of speech output, PM contributed significantly to the development of L2 narrative skills for less proficient participants (17.5% of variance explained) and to gains in correct use of function words for more proficient participants (15.7% of variance explained). These findings suggest that PM plays an important role in narrative development at earlier stages of L2 learning and in the acquisition of grammatical competence at later stages.

<b>A new perspective on foreign language aptitude research: building and supporting a case for "working memory as language aptitude"</b><br>DOI:10.5007/2175-8026.2011n60p015

“…Other research studies have also shown that WM can indeed predict L2 oral development in synchronous computer mediated communication context (Payne & Whitney, 2002;Payne & Ross, 2005) and classroom context (Fortkamp, 1999(Fortkamp, & 2003O'Brien, Segalowitz, Collentine & Freed 2006Mizera, 2006). Most relevantly, the two studies by O'Brien and colleagues explicated how the phonological loop of WM (or phonological memory as they called it) plays different roles for early and later L2 oral development: it contributes significantly to the development of L2 narrative skills at earlier stages of L2 learning (accounting for 17.5% of the variance), but it is more conducive to the correct use of function words when L2 learners reach a relatively high proficiency level (accounting for 15.7% of variance).…”

Language aptitude: Desirable trait or acquirable attribute?

“…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).…”

The Effects of Implicit and Explicit Instruction on Foreign Language Learners’ Working Memory Capacity and L2 Grammatical Knowledge

“…The same relationship has also been demonstrated between grammar and WMC. O'Brien et al [12] maintain that the phonological loop (PL) plays an important role in narrative development at earlier stages of L2 learning and in the acquisition of grammatical competence at later stages. Martin and Ellis [13] studied the relationship between PL and WM, on the one hand, and grammar and vocabulary learning, on the other, in an artificial foreign language.…”