Contrasting contributions of phonological short‐term memory and long‐term knowledge to vocabulary learning in a foreign language

2004/08/09 by Susan E. Gathercole, Elvira Masoura, Elvira V. Masoura · 3 citations
Psychology · #Language Development and Disorders #Reading and Literacy Development #Second Language Acquisition and Learning

paper · doi:10.1080/09658210344000323

openalex publication_date 2004/08/09 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29

Abstract

The contributions of phonological short-term memory and existing foreign vocabulary knowledge to the learning of new words in a second language were compared in a sample of 40 Greek children studying English at school. The children's speed of learning new English words in a paired-associate learning task was strongly influenced by their current English vocabulary, but was independent of phonological memory skill, indexed by nonword repetition ability. However, phonological memory performance was closely linked to English vocabulary scores. The findings suggest that in learners with considerable familiarity with a second language, foreign vocabulary acquisition is mediated largely by use of existing knowledge representations.

Citations

• WHY ARE SOME WORDS MORE DIFFICULT THAN OTHERS? — SOME INTRALEXICAL FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE LEARNING OF WORDS

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• Academic performance of students with dyslexia in English as a foreign language: challenges extend beyond literacy to oral skills
• Linking working memory and long‐term memory: a computational model of the learning of new words
• Nonword repetition and word learning: The nature of the relationship