Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- List of Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Situating the Discipline
- Part II Internal Factors
- 5 The Role of the Native Language
- 6 The Role of Working Memory in SLA
- 7 Age-Related Effects and Ultimate Achievement in SLA
- 8 Language Processing
- 9 Acquiring and Processing Two Languages in One Brain
- Part III External and Social Factors
- Part IV Profiles of Bilinguals
- Part V Properties of Interlanguage Systems
- Part VI Models of Development
- Index
6 - The Role of Working Memory in SLA
from Part II - Internal Factors
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 May 2026
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- List of Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Situating the Discipline
- Part II Internal Factors
- 5 The Role of the Native Language
- 6 The Role of Working Memory in SLA
- 7 Age-Related Effects and Ultimate Achievement in SLA
- 8 Language Processing
- 9 Acquiring and Processing Two Languages in One Brain
- Part III External and Social Factors
- Part IV Profiles of Bilinguals
- Part V Properties of Interlanguage Systems
- Part VI Models of Development
- Index
Summary
Working memory (WM), our ability to hold a small amount of information readily available for ongoing use, is crucial to language processing. This chapter examines verbal WM models/tests and then covers WM effects on bilingualism, noting mixed findings for L2 comprehension, production, vocabulary, grammar and morphosyntax. These inconclusive findings are due to: (a) WM tests (stronger effects in linguistic than nonlinguistic, oral than written, L1 than L2 tests); (b) cognitive load of the WM test and experimental task (stronger effects in more than less complex tasks); and (c) L2 experience (stronger WM effects in learners with lower than higher L2 proficiency and use). The following sections delve into bilingualism effects on WM, considering the debates on whether WM is trainable directly (practice) or indirectly (simultaneous interpreting) and whether bilinguals have greater WM than monolinguals; it shows nondetrimental effects of being bilingual on atypically developing populations with WM deficits. A final section proposes L2 instructional practices to increase attention to inflectional morphology and compensate for WM shortcomings. Finally, it considers how the field might evolve.
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- The Cambridge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition , pp. 137 - 159Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
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