Literal and Inferential Listening Comprehension: The Role of L1 vs. L2 Auditory Working Memory Capacity

Working memory capacity, especially as it relates to L1 vs. L2, has been found to play a significant role in language comprehension and processing. Majority of the related studies have, however, been focused around reading comprehension, either in L1 or L2 contexts. The present study is a further at...

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Main Authors: Mohammad Nabi Karimi, Reza Naghdivand
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, 2017-09-01
Series:Journal of Modern Research in English Language Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:http://jmrels.journals.ikiu.ac.ir/article_1532_24d41743b3c89211ae74404fdb8077a7.pdf
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author Mohammad Nabi Karimi
Reza Naghdivand
author_facet Mohammad Nabi Karimi
Reza Naghdivand
author_sort Mohammad Nabi Karimi
collection DOAJ
description Working memory capacity, especially as it relates to L1 vs. L2, has been found to play a significant role in language comprehension and processing. Majority of the related studies have, however, been focused around reading comprehension, either in L1 or L2 contexts. The present study is a further attempt to investigate the role of working memory capacity in language comprehension/processing but in the context of L2 listening. To this end, a sample of 220 foreign language learners (both males and females) were recruited. To collect the required data, a series of measures including a language proficiency test, two auditory working memory capacity tasks (English & Persian) and two listening comprehension passages were administered to the participants. The results showed a significant relationship between Persian and English auditory memories for storage dimension but not for the processing component. Additionally, the findings showed that L2 auditory memory is more highly correlated with L2 listening comprehension compared with L1 auditory memory. A further finding of the study was that literal vs. inferential types of listening comprehension engage different types of working memory processes.
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spelling doaj-art-e55457522be74847a29c0846d20e2cad2025-08-20T01:51:06ZengImam Khomeini International University, Qazvin,Journal of Modern Research in English Language Studies2676-53572676-53572017-09-0144678410.30479/elt.2017.15321532Literal and Inferential Listening Comprehension: The Role of L1 vs. L2 Auditory Working Memory CapacityMohammad Nabi Karimi0Reza Naghdivand1Faculty memberDepartment of Foreign Langugaes, Kharazmi University, Tehran, IranWorking memory capacity, especially as it relates to L1 vs. L2, has been found to play a significant role in language comprehension and processing. Majority of the related studies have, however, been focused around reading comprehension, either in L1 or L2 contexts. The present study is a further attempt to investigate the role of working memory capacity in language comprehension/processing but in the context of L2 listening. To this end, a sample of 220 foreign language learners (both males and females) were recruited. To collect the required data, a series of measures including a language proficiency test, two auditory working memory capacity tasks (English & Persian) and two listening comprehension passages were administered to the participants. The results showed a significant relationship between Persian and English auditory memories for storage dimension but not for the processing component. Additionally, the findings showed that L2 auditory memory is more highly correlated with L2 listening comprehension compared with L1 auditory memory. A further finding of the study was that literal vs. inferential types of listening comprehension engage different types of working memory processes.http://jmrels.journals.ikiu.ac.ir/article_1532_24d41743b3c89211ae74404fdb8077a7.pdfWorking MemoryListening Span TaskLiteral ComprehensionInferential Comprehension
spellingShingle Mohammad Nabi Karimi
Reza Naghdivand
Literal and Inferential Listening Comprehension: The Role of L1 vs. L2 Auditory Working Memory Capacity
Journal of Modern Research in English Language Studies
Working Memory
Listening Span Task
Literal Comprehension
Inferential Comprehension
title Literal and Inferential Listening Comprehension: The Role of L1 vs. L2 Auditory Working Memory Capacity
title_full Literal and Inferential Listening Comprehension: The Role of L1 vs. L2 Auditory Working Memory Capacity
title_fullStr Literal and Inferential Listening Comprehension: The Role of L1 vs. L2 Auditory Working Memory Capacity
title_full_unstemmed Literal and Inferential Listening Comprehension: The Role of L1 vs. L2 Auditory Working Memory Capacity
title_short Literal and Inferential Listening Comprehension: The Role of L1 vs. L2 Auditory Working Memory Capacity
title_sort literal and inferential listening comprehension the role of l1 vs l2 auditory working memory capacity
topic Working Memory
Listening Span Task
Literal Comprehension
Inferential Comprehension
url http://jmrels.journals.ikiu.ac.ir/article_1532_24d41743b3c89211ae74404fdb8077a7.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT mohammadnabikarimi literalandinferentiallisteningcomprehensiontheroleofl1vsl2auditoryworkingmemorycapacity
AT rezanaghdivand literalandinferentiallisteningcomprehensiontheroleofl1vsl2auditoryworkingmemorycapacity