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Memory Abilities in Gifted Foreign Language Learners

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New Perspectives on Individual Differences in Language Learning and Teaching

Part of the book series: Second Language Learning and Teaching ((SLLT))

Abstract

This paper addresses the problem of the role of memory abilities in second language acquisition. In particular, it focuses on short-term and working memory abilities in gifted foreign language learners. Contemporary researchers agree that working memory may be a concept that will revolutionize research on foreign language aptitude (Miyake and Friedman 1998; Ellis 2001; Sawyer and Ranta 2001; Dörnyei 2005). If attention is necessary for learning and if it is limited by working memory capacity, there must be a close relationship between working memory capacity and learning outcomes (Sawyer and Ranta 2001). The present study investigated the role of short-term memory and working memory in gifted foreign language learners. The results of 44 gifted foreign language learners were compared to the results of 82 normal foreign language learners (mainstream philology students). Three instruments were used in the study: the Modern Language Aptitude Test—MLAT (Carroll and Sapon 2002), the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—WAIS-R (PL)—an adaptation for use with the Polish population by Brzezinski et al. (1996) and the Polish Reading Span—PRSPAN (Biedroń and Szczepaniak 2011). The analysis revealed that short-term memory and working-memory abilities in the gifted foreign language learners were higher than in the normal foreign language learners. A tentative conclusion based on the results of the study is that two components of working memory, namely the phonological loop and the central executive, are significant variables in determining the outcome of learning a foreign language.

Preparation of this research project was supported by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education in 2009–2011, project no. 1231/B/HO3/2009/37.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Wordlike nonwords are words that closely resemble the phonological structure of a native language.

  2. 2.

    A detailed description of the subjects and instruments can be found in Biedroń and Szczepaniak (2011).

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  1. Pomeranian Academy in Słupsk, Słupsk, Poland

    Adriana Biedroń

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  1. Adriana Biedroń
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Correspondence to Adriana Biedroń .

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  1. , Faculty of Pedagogy and Fine Arts, Adam Mickiewicz University, Nowy Swiat 28-30, Kalisz, 62-800, Poland

    Mirosław Pawlak

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Biedroń, A. (2012). Memory Abilities in Gifted Foreign Language Learners. In: Pawlak, M. (eds) New Perspectives on Individual Differences in Language Learning and Teaching. Second Language Learning and Teaching. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-20850-8_5

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