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The Impact of Bilingualism on Storage and Processing in Working Memory

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Language and Cognitive Science / 2019,5(1): 21−34 / 2019-08-26 626 563

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• Authors: Jie      Li     
• Information:

  Institute of Applied Linguistics and Translatology (IALT), Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany

• Keywords: dual-task paradigm; verbal working memory; storage and processing, language-dependent effect, cognitive linguistics
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• Abstract: Working memory as a cognitive system refers to a mental workspace involved in the temporary storage and processing of information. Although many scholars have looked extensively at the implications of WM for second language acquisition or for translation, the inner relationship of WM is still underdeveloped. The purpose of this study is to investigate 1) whether the interaction between storage and processing-based functions of verbal working memory is positive or negative, 2) and whether the interaction between working memory capacity and language proficiency is language-specific. Thirty-three students were allowed to participate in the experiments. Both the processing and storage functions of verbal WM in language contrasts (L1/L2) were separately assessed via a dual-task paradigm programmed in the E-Prime. The correlation coefficient indicates two relationships within bilingual WM capacity: 1) between L1 WM storage and L1 WM processing; 2) between L2 WM storage and L2 WM processing. These results demonstrate that verbal WM capacity is language-dependent and that there is a positive correlation between WM storage and WM processing.
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• DOI: https://doi.org/10.35534/LCS201905002
• Cite: Jie Li．The Impact of Bilingualism on Storage and Processing in Working Memory［J］．Language and Cognitive Science，2019，5（1）：21−34．