Abstract:

A growing number of recent studies have been concerned with the role of working memory in first and second language acquisition. It has long been believed that working memory capacity (WMC) is genetically heritable and resistant to any change. However, a number of studies have demonstrated that WMC can be expanded in both adults and children even in those with working memory deficits such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). For a text to be comprehended by a reader, some pieces of information from the long term memory (prior knowledge) and from the text are integrated and combined in the working memory. Since forgetting and misunderstanding happen due to limited working memory capacity, this study is specifically concerned with the role of expanding WMC in developing L2 reading comprehension. For this purpose, a memory-aware environment will be created to help the learners with low WMC increase their learning outcomes. The data for this study will be obtained from 30 female and male pre-intermediate Iranian learners of English randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups. To ensure that there is no statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups, regarding their reading ability, a reading pretest will be adminstered. This will be followed by the evaluation of the WMC of the participants of both groups by an online forward digit span test. Both groups will receive the same reading materials and exercises in their classes; however, the experimental group will be involved in some memory-boosting activities such as cognitive training games (speed reading, text memorization, and speed word memorization), whereas the control group will play some non-memory related games during the 12-session treatment-period. Finally, a reading posttest and the same forward digit span test will be administered in both groups. The collected data will be statistically analyzed in order to compare the two groups concerning the improvement of their reading comprehension ability and working memory capacity.

Keywords:

Reading comprehension, Working memory, Working memory capacity.