This study investigated the correlation and predictive capacity of verbal working memory (VWM) to the reading comprehension of children in their first language (L1) and second language (L2). The term verbal working memory refers to a cognitive system with a limited capacity that can hold and manipulate verbal and auditory information temporarily. A sub-aim was to investigate the contribution of L2 linguistic knowledge in L2 reading comprehension. Sixty-three Grade 3 South African children completed a reading comprehension test and VWM assessment (forward span, backward span, and sentence repetition tasks). L2 participants completed a receptive language assessment to delineate whether their linguistic knowledge (L2 vocabulary and grammar knowledge) would be more predictive of L2 reading comprehension in comparison with VWM. Regression and correlation analyses revealed that VWM is not predictive of L1 or L2 reading comprehension. L2 linguistic knowledge, however, significantly correlates with L2 comprehension and VWM capacity, although it is not a significant predictor of L2 reading comprehension. Our findings suggest that reading in an L2 is a multidimensional skill in which no single isolated variable can account for good versus poor reading comprehension.
AldersonJ. C.UrquhartA. H. (1984). Reading in a foreign language. Longman Pub Group.
2.
AlptekinC.ErçetinG. (2011). Effects of working memory capacity and content familiarity on literal and inferential comprehension in L2 reading. TESOL Quarterly, 45(2), 235–266.
3.
ArgyropoulosV.MasouraE.TsiakaliT. K.NikolaraiziM.LappaC. (2017). Verbal working memory and reading abilities among students with visual impairment. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 64, 87–95.
4.
ArringtonC. N.KuleszP. A.FrancisD. J.FletcherJ. M.BarnesM. A. (2014). The contribution of attentional control and working memory to reading comprehension and decoding. Scientific Studies of Reading, 18(5), 325–346.
5.
AsueroA. G.SayagoA.GonzalezA. G. (2006). The correlation coefficient: An overview. Critical Reviews in Analytical Chemistry, 36(1), 41–59.
6.
BaddeleyA. D. (2013). Working memory and emotion: Ruminations on a theory of depression. Review of General Psychology, 17(1), 20–27.
7.
BaddeleyA. D.HitchG. (1974). Working memory. In BowerG. A. (Ed.) Psychology of learning and motivation (Vol. 8, pp. 47–89). Academic Press.
8.
BenalesE.KahnenS.McArthurG. (2015). Can verbal working memory training improve reading?Cognitive Neuropsychology, 32(3–4), 104–132.
9.
BurtonS. W. (2017). Expert elementary readers: A profile of reading proficiency. Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange.
10.
CaffarraS.MolinaroN.DavidsonD.CarreirasM. (2015). Second language syntactic processing revealed through event-related potentials: An empirical review. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 51, 31–47.
11.
CainK.OakhillJ. (2006). Profiles of children with specific reading comprehension difficulties. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 76(4), 683–696.
12.
CarlsonS. E.Van den BroekP.McMasterK.RappD. N.Bohn-GettlerC. M.KendeouP.WhiteM. J. (2014). Effects of comprehension skill on inference generation during reading. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 61(3), 258–274.
13.
Carrow-WoolfolkE.AllenE. A. (2014). TACL: Test for Auditory Comprehension of Language. Fourth Edition. Pro-Ed.
14.
DanemanM.CarpenterP. A. (1980). Individual differences in working memory and reading. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 19(4), 450–466.
15.
DehnM. J. (2011). Working memory and academic learning: Assessment and intervention. John Wiley.
16.
De SousaD.GreenopK.FryJ. (2011). Cross-language transfer of spelling strategies in English and Afrikaans grade 3 children. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 14(1), 49–67.
17.
FehringerC.FryC. (2007). Hesitation phenomena in the language production of bilingual speakers: The role of working memory. Folia Linguistica, 41(1–2), 37–72.
18.
GathercoleS. E.AllowayT. P. (2008). Working memory and learning: A practical guide for teachers. SAGE.
19.
GathercoleS. E.AllowayT. P.WillisC.AdamsA. M. (2006). Working memory in children with reading disabilities. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 93(3), 265–281.
20.
GeskeA.OzolaA. (2008). FACTORS influencing reading literacy at the primary school level. Problems of Education in the 21st Century, 6, 71.
21.
GilabertR.MuñozC. (2010). Differences in attainment and performance in a foreign language: The role of working memory capacity. International Journal of English Studies, 10(1), 19–42.
22.
HamiltonS.FreedE.LongD. L. (2016). Word-decoding skill interacts with working memory capacity to influence inference generation during reading. Reading Research Quarterly, 51(4), 391–402.
23.
HummelK. (2009). Aptitude, phonological memory, and second language proficiency in novice adult learners. Applied Psycholinguistics, 30, 225–249.
24.
JeonE. H.YamashitaJ. (2014). L2 reading comprehension and its correlates. Language Learning, 64(1), 160–212.
25.
JinchoN.NamikiH.MazukaR. (2008). Effects of verbal working memory and cumulative linguistic knowledge on reading comprehension. Japanese Psychological Research, 50(1), 12–23.
26.
JohJ.PlakansL. (2017). Working memory in L2 reading comprehension: The influence of prior knowledge. System, 70, 107–120.
27.
JuffsA.HarringtonM. (2011). Aspects of working memory in L2 learning. Language Teaching, 44, 137–166.
28.
JungJ. (2018). Effects of task complexity and working memory capacity on L2 reading comprehension. System, 74, 21–37.
29.
KormosJ.SáfárA. (2008). Phonological short term memory, working memory, and foreign language performance in intensive language learning. Bilingualism Language and Cognition, 11(2), 261–271.
30.
LeeserJ. M. (2007). Learner-based factors in L2 reading comprehension and processing grammatical form: Topic familiarity and working memory. Language Learning, 57(2), 229–270.
31.
LépineR.ParrouilletP.CamosV. (2005). What makes working memory spans so predictive of high-level cognition?Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 12(1), 165–170.
32.
LinckJ. A.OsthusP.KoethJ. T.BuntingM. F. (2014). Working memory and second language comprehension and production: A meta-analysis. Psychometric Bulletin & Review, 21(4), 861–883.
33.
MartinN. A.BrownellR. (2005). Test of Auditory Processing Skills, third edition (TAPS-3). Academic Therapy Publications.
34.
McCallumR. S.BellS. M.WoodM. S.BelowJ. L.ChoateS. M.McCaneS. J. (2006). What is the role of working memory in reading relative to the big three processing variables (orthography, phonology, and rapid naming)?Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 24(3), 243–259.
35.
NelsonL. K. (2013). Research in communication sciences and disorders: Methods for systematic enquiry. Plural Publishing.
36.
NevoE.BretnitzZ. (2014). Effects of working memory and reading acceleration training on improving working memory abilities and reading skills among third graders. Child Neuropsychology, 20(6), 752–765.
37.
OakhillJ.YuillN.GarnhamA. (2011). The differential relations between verbal, numerical and spatial working memory abilities and children’s reading comprehension. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 4(1), 83–106.
38.
PaeH. K.SevcikR. A. (2011). The role of verbal working memory in second language reading fluency and comprehension: A comparison of English and Korean. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 4(1), 47–65.
39.
PhamA. V.HassanR. M. (2014). Verbal and visuospatial working memory as predictors of children’s reading ability. Clinical Neuropsychology, 29(5), 467–477.
40.
PreßlerA. L.KonenT.HasselhornM.KrajewskiK. (2014). Cognitive preconditions of early reading and spelling: A latent-variable approach with longitudinal data. Reading and Writing, 27(2), 383–406.
41.
SadlerA. J. (2011). Working memory and reading comprehension abilities in grade 4 boys (Accession No. 930341942) [Doctoral thesis]. The University of KwaZulu-Natal.
42.
SagarraN. (2017). Longitudinal effects of working memory on L2 grammar and reading abilities. Second Language Research, 33(3), 341–363.
43.
SwansonH. L.OroscoM. J.LussierC. M.GerberM. M.Guzman-OrthD. A. (2011). The influence of working memory and phonological processing on English language learner children’s bilingual reading and language acquisition. Journal of Educational Psychology, 103, 838–856.
44.
Van DykeJ. A.JohnsC. L.KukonaA. (2014). Low working memory capacity is only spuriously related to poor reading comprehension. Cognition, 131(3), 373–403.
45.
VukovicR. K.SiegelL. (2006). The role of working memory in specific reading comprehension difficulties. In AllowayT. P.GathercoleS. E. (Eds.), Working memory and neurodevelopmental disorders (pp. 89–112). Psychology Press.
46.
WalterC. (2004). Transfer of reading comprehension skills to L2 is linked to mental representations of text and to L2 working memory. Applied Linguistics, 25(3), 315–339.
47.
WangS.GathercoleE. (2013). Working memory deficits in children with reading difficulties: Memory span and dual task coordination. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 115(1), 188–197.
48.
WatersG. S.CaplanD. (1996). The measurement of verbal working memory capacity and its relation to reading comprehension. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section A, 49(1), 51–79.
49.
WenZ. (2012). Working memory and second language learning. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 22(1), 1–22.
50.
WenZ. (2014). Theorizing and measuring working memory in first and second language research. Language Teaching, 47(2), 174–190.
51.
WenZ.SkehanP. (2011). A new perspective on foreign language aptitude research: Building and supporting a case for “working memory as language aptitude.”A Journal of English Language, Literatures in English and Cultural Studies, 60, 15–44.
52.
WhiteM. J. (2018). The development of cognitive processes and English language abilities: The case of early English language learners in a multilingual South African setting [Doctoral dissertation]. Stellenbosch University.
