Working memory involves the temporary storage and manipulation of information that is assumed to be necessary for a wide range of complex cognitive activities. Research with children has demonstrated that the ability to learn new words is greatly affected by working memory span - specifically, by how much information they can hold in that part of working memory called "phonological short-term memory". The constraining effect of working memory capacity on the ability to learn new words appears to continue into adolescence.
But, as you grow in experience, building a vocabulary, this constraint becomes less important. The importance of phonological short-term memory is also greater for productive learning (learning to produce a language, i.e., speak or write it) than in receptive learning (learning to read or understand a language). For productive learning, the pronounceability of the new words is very important. The more easily pronounced, the more easily learnt.
References:
· Nation, I.S.P. 2001. Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
· Ellis, N.C. & Beaton, A. 1993. Factors affecting foreign language vocabulary: imagery keyword mediators and phonological short-term memory. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 46A, 533-58.
No comments:
Post a Comment