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EVIDENCE FOR THE DECREASING IMPACT OF COGNITIVE ABILITY ON SECOND LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT AS PROFICIENCY INCREASES

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 August 2015

Ellen J. Serafini  and
Cristina Sanz Open the ORCID record for Cristina Sanz [Opens in a new window]
Ellen J. Serafini*
Affiliation:
George Mason University
Cristina Sanz
Affiliation:
Georgetown University
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Ellen J. Serafini, Department of Modern and Classical Languages, George Mason University, Aquia Building 336, 4400 University Drive, MS 3E5, Fairfax, VA 22030-4444. E-mail: eserafi2@gmu.edu
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Abstract

This study investigated whether the role of working memory capacity varies over the course of second language (L2) morphosyntactic development. Eighty-seven beginning, intermediate, and advanced university L2 Spanish learners completed two nonverbal tasks measuring executive function (EF) and phonological working memory (PWM) in their native language (English) and two tasks measuring knowledge of ten grammatical structures in Spanish at three points during and after a semester of instruction. Robust relationships between both working memory components, especially PWM, and L2 performance, emerged only for lower level learners, particularly at the start of instruction and 3.5 months later. Findings demonstrate that the facilitative effects of cognitive ability appear to lessen with increasing L2 proficiency and empirically support a developmental perspective of L2 learning.

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Studies in Second Language Acquisition , Volume 38 , Issue 4 , December 2016 , pp. 607 - 646
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Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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