Conceptualised As Phonological Loop Capacity
The notion of working memory has only fairly recently begun to play a more prominent role in L2 research. Working memory refers to ‘the system or mechanism underlying the maintenance of task-relevant information during the performance of a cognitive task’ (Shah & Miyake, 1999, p. 1). In other words, working memory allows for the temporary storage and manipulation of information which is being used during online cognitive operations, such as language comprehension, learning, and reasoning (Baddeley, 2000). Researchers agree that working memory is limited in capacity; moreover, individuals differ in the maximum amount of activation available to them, i.e. individuals differ in terms of their working memory resources (Just & Carpenter, 1992; Miyake & Friedman, 1998).
In some empirical research, working memory for language has been conceptualised as phonological loop capacity and operationalised by means of digit span or non-word repetition tests (e.g. Ellis & Sinclair, 1996). Alternatively, it has been conceptualised as involving simultaneous storage and processing of information and operationalised by means of reading or listening span tests (e.g. Harrington & Sawyer, 1992). Individual learner differences in working memory for language appear to influence L2 development more generally (Erlam, 2005) and the acquisition of vocabulary and multiword units in particular (Ellis & Sinclair, 1996; Gathercole & Thorn, 1998). Crucial to the study presented here, some researchers have further suggested that working memory can be regarded as a component of language-learning aptitude (McLaughlin, 1995; Robinson, 2005; Sawyer & Ranta, 2001), with aptitude and working memory apparently affecting L2 learning in combination.
In view of these arguments, it is plausible to hypothesise a relationship not only between working memory for language and language-learning aptitude, but also between working memory and metalinguistic knowledge. Importantly, working memory is metaphorically speaking the locus of conscious processing (Baddeley, 2000; Baddeley & Logie, 1999). If metalinguistic knowledge can be brought into conscious awareness and articulated, an individual’s level of metalinguistic knowledge and their ability to put this knowledge to use can be expected to depend on their working memory resources.
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