Correlations between working memory capacity and EFL reading comprehension: an investigation with Brazilian university students / Correlações entre capacidade de memória de trabalho e compreensão leitora em Inglês como Língua Estrangeira: uma investigação com estudantes universitários brasileiros

Reading in a foreign language is considered a high cognitive function, believed, thus, to impose demands on working memory resources. Studies have shown significant correlations between working memory capacity and foreign language reading comprehension, but its underlying mechanisms are still open to discussion. This article reports on a study whose objective was to investigate possible correlations between working memory capacity and foreign language reading comprehension considering the knowledge of the first language as a possible source of interference. A recall task was conducted in two conditions, one in which readers performed the task in English and another, in Portuguese. Results showed a weak but statistically significant correlation between working memory capacity and recall scores in the second condition and no correlations between working memory capacity and reading time. Exploratory data analyses suggested that the correlation observed was influenced by foreign language reading proficiency and that the ratio of recall scores to reading time is a better measure of comprehension efficiency.

A leitura em língua estrangeira é considerada uma função cognitiva de alto nível que se acredita, portanto, impor demandas nos recursos da memória de trabalho. Estudos mostram correlações significativas entre capacidade de memória de trabalho e compreensão leitora em língua estrangeira, mas seus mecanismos subjacentes ainda estão abertos a discussões. Esse artigo reporta um estudo cujo objetivo foi investigar possíveis correlações entre capacidade de memória de trabalho e compreensão leitora em língua estrangeira considerando o conhecimento da primeira língua como uma possível fonte de interferência. Uma tarefa de recordação foi conduzida em duas condições, uma em que os leitores realizaram a tarefa em inglês e outra, em português. Os resultados mostraram uma correlação fraca, mas estatisticamente significativa entre capacidade de memória de trabalho e pontuações no teste de recordação na segunda condição e nenhuma correlação entre capacidade de memória de trabalho e tempo de leitura. Análises exploratórias dos dados apontaram que a correlação observada foi influenciada pela proficiência de leitura em língua estrangeira e que a razão entre pontuações do teste de recordação e tempo de leitura é uma medida mais apropriada para a eficiência da compreensão leitora.

Moderating effect of emotional expressivity on relationship between test anxiety and working memory capacity / 中国心理卫生杂志

Objective:To investigate the moderating role of emotional expressivity in the relationship between test anxiety and working memory capacity (WMC).Methods:Totally 332 college students were selected.The Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI),Emotional Expressivity Inventory (EEI) and Arithmetic Operation-Word Memory Span Task (OSPAN) were used to measure the severity of test anxiety,working memory capacity,and degree of emotional expressivity,respectively.Results:TAI scores were negatively correlated with WMC scores (r =-0.36,P ＜0.01).Emotional expressivity had a moderating effect between scores of test anxiety and WMC (β =0.19,P ＜0.01).Test anxiety score negatively predicted WMC score in students with low emotional expressivity (β =-0.74,P ＜ 0.01),whereas it couldn't predict WMC in those with high emotional expressivity (β =-0.07,P ＞0.05).Conclusion:It suggests that higher emotional expressivity could buffer the negative effect of test anxiety on working memory capacity.

Working memory capacity and L2 writing performance / Capacidade da memória de trabalho e desempenho da escrita na L2

This article surveys an experimental research on working memory capacity and second language (L2) writing performance. It attempts to tap on a principled account on whether individual differences in working memory capacity are related to L2 writing performance and whether such performance could be affected by working memory capacity. The experiment consists of a memory test - The operation-word span test (the OSPAN test), and the performance of a written task in the L2 (a sequencing narrative story board), as measured by accuracy and complexity. The results revealed evidence that there is statistically significant relationship between working memory (WM) capacity and L2 writing performance. In the concluding part, these issues are discussed and directions for further research are suggested