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L2 Working Memory Capacity and L2 Reading Skill

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 November 2008

Michael Harrington  and
Mark Sawyer
Michael Harrington
Affiliation:
University of California, Santa Cruz
Mark Sawyer
Affiliation:
International University of Japan
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Abstract

Working memory capacity refers to the ability to store and process information simultaneously in real time and has been shown to correlate highly with first language (L1) reading skill. This study examines the sensitivity of second language (L2) working memory capacity to differences in reading skill among advanced L2 learners. The index of working memory capacity used was the reading span test (Daneman & Carpenter, 1980). Subjects with larger working memory capacities scored higher on measures of reading skill, in contrast with the lack of strong correlations between measures of passive short-term storage (memory for strings of random words or digits) and the same reading measures. This result is consistent with an interpretation of the reading span test as an index of working memory capacity, in which capacity is defined functionally in terms of a trade-off between active processing and storage. Issues involved in investigating working memory capacity are discussed and the role of capacity limitations in models of L2 comprehension is considered.

Type
Articles
Information
Studies in Second Language Acquisition , Volume 14 , Issue 1 , March 1992 , pp. 25 - 38
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1992

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