Working with working memory and language

Abstract

Working memory is generally understood to refer to a limited storage facility for information temporarily needed during online processing. It figures with increasing frequency both in studies on second language development and more widely in research on bilingual and multilingual acquisition and attrition studies. The importance of the concept to our understanding justifies the appearance of this special issue, in which both general and specifically second language (L2) oriented topics related to working memory are discussed. Unsurprisingly, working memory is a theoretical concept that remains subject to controversy since we still have much to learn about how the mind and brain work. Many researchers do not do research that focuses on the nature of memory itself but at the same time still rely on the concept and the various types of related measures that have been developed in psychology for their own investigations: for these researchers, it is still important to keep abreast of developments in memory research both within and beyond their own area.