scholarly journals The impact of verbal working memory on written translation: Empirical evidence and an initial model

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Li
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Second Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Skills Training ◽  
Memory Training ◽  
Initial Model ◽  
Translation Speed ◽  
Processing Function ◽  
The Impact

Working memory refers to a metaphorical mental workspace involved in the temporary storage and processing of information which has been considered a key construct in Cognitive Translation Studies. This study investigates whether verbal working memory in the translator’s first and/or second language is related to written translation speed and quality. Through three selection tests, 33 student translators in the second or third year of their Master’s in Translation and Interpreting at nine Chinese universities were selected to participate. In the first test, processing and storage capacities of verbal working memory in their first and second language were assessed separately by means of a dual-task paradigm implemented in the e-Prime software suite. In the second study, participants translated a technical text from their second language to their first language. Their behavioural data were collected with a keylogger and the quality of their translations was evaluated by four expert translators. The correlation analysis suggests that the processing function of verbal working memory in the second language does affect logged translation speed; and that the processing function of verbal working memory in the first language has an effect on translation quality. Furthermore, through regression analysis, an initial model was established, which shows the precise structure of the impact of bilingual working memory on written translation. These findings have significant implications for translation skills training. It appears that additional verbal working memory training for both first and second languages would enhance the students’ translation skills.

scholarly journals Examining the Impact of Working Memory Training and Transcranial Direct-current Stimulation on Monitoring for Color Targets in Dynamic Visual Displays

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Muhl-Richardson ◽  
Hayward Godwin ◽  
Matt Garner ◽  
Julie Hadwin ◽  
Simon Paul Liversedge ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Target Detection ◽  
Direct Current ◽  
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Memory Training ◽  
Visual Displays ◽  
Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
Dynamic Search ◽  
The Impact

Previous research has demonstrated that when monitoring dynamically changing visual displays for color targets, contingencies between targets and distractors facilitate predictive target detection, and elevated intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and lower verbal working memory capacity (WMC) are associated with a higher false alarm rate (see Muhl-Richardson et al., 2018). The present study examined whether search in this type of task improved following placebo-controlled adaptive dual n-back working memory (WM) training or transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. It also attempted to replicate previous findings but at a high level of target prevalence. The results demonstrate a new benefit to predictive target detection, which was associated with faster response times, and identify elevated IU and verbal WMC were as significant predictors of a higher hit rate. We provide an account of these effects in terms of response criterion and perceptual sensitivity. WM training and tDCS were found not to benefit performance on our dynamic search task (and a range other cognitive tasks), adding to a mixed literature on the efficacy of these techniques. The results nonetheless extend our understanding of dynamic search tasks and have implications for the selection of personnel in a variety of real-world scenarios.

Dissociating the Impact of Auditory Access and Language Access in Deaf Children’s Cognitive Development

2020 ◽  
pp. 98-122
Author(s):  
Matthew L. Hall
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Cognitive Development ◽  
Implicit Learning ◽  
Educational Practice ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Psychological Theory ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Language Access ◽  
The Impact

Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children have been claimed to lag behind their hearing peers in various domains of cognitive development, especially in implicit learning, executive function, and working memory. Two major accounts of these deficits have been proposed: one based on a lack of auditory access, and one based on a lack of language access. This chapter reviews these theories in relation to the available evidence and concludes that there is little evidence of direct effects of diminished auditory access on cognitive development that could not also be explained by diminished language access. Specifically, reports of deficits in implicit learning are not broadly replicable. Some differences in executive function do stem from deafness itself but are not necessarily deficits. Where clinically relevant deficits in executive function are observed, they are inconsistent with the predictions of accounts based on auditory access, but consistent with accounts based on language access. Deaf–hearing differences on verbal working memory tasks may indicate problems with perception and/or language, rather than with working memory. Deaf–hearing differences on nonverbal tasks are more consistent with accounts based on language access, but much more study is needed in this area. The chapter concludes by considering the implications of these findings for psychological theory and for clinical/educational practice and by identifying high-priority targets for future research.

scholarly journals Publisher Correction to: BRAINSTORMING: A study protocol for a randomised double-blind clinical trial to assess the impact of concurrent brain stimulation (tDCS) and working memory training on cognitive performance in Acquired Brain Injury (ABI)

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Assecondi ◽  
Rong Hu ◽  
Gail Eskes ◽  
Michelle Read ◽  
Chris Griffiths ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trial ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Acquired Brain Injury ◽  
Working Memory Training ◽  
Memory Training ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Double Blind Clinical Trial ◽  
The Impact

Following publication of the original article [1], the authors flagged that the article had published with the Acknowledgements erroneously excluded from the declarations at the end of the article.

Perceived foreign accent in first language attrition and second language acquisition: The impact of age of acquisition and bilingualism—ERRATUM

2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 417-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
HOLGER HOPP ◽  
MONIKA S. SCHMID
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Open Access ◽  
First Language ◽  
Age Of Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Accent ◽  
Language Attrition ◽  
First Language Attrition ◽  
The Impact

The open access copyright line contained within this page was not included in the original FirstView article or the print article contained within this issue. We sincerely regret these errors and any problems they may have caused.

The impact of verbal working memory on number–space associations.

2014 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 976-986 ◽  
Author(s):  
Véronique Ginsburg ◽  
Jean-Philippe van Dijck ◽  
Paola Previtali ◽  
Wim Fias ◽  
Wim Gevers
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
The Impact

Collaborative Pre-Task Planning Processes and Second-Language Task Performance

RELC Journal ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 003368822095322
Author(s):  
Paul Leeming ◽  
Scott Aubrey ◽  
Craig Lambert
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
First Language ◽  
Task Planning ◽  
Japanese University ◽  
Stimulated Recall ◽  
Planning Processes ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Subsequent Task

Task-based language teaching research has investigated the impact of planning on task performance, but little has been reported on the processes that take place while planning is undertaken. This study builds on previous planning research by providing a detailed analysis of four Japanese university learners’ collaborative pre-task planning (two dyads) and their performance on a subsequent second language (L2) oral monologue task that required them to express their opinions on a problem and propose a solution to it. Follow-up interviews incorporating stimulated recall were also conducted to gain insight into learners’ perceptions. Results suggest that the note-taking strategies employed, the interpersonal dynamics of the pairs, the L2 proficiency of the participants, and the language of planning (first language [L1] or L2) resulted in important differences in these learners’ planning processes and subsequent task performances. The results are discussed in terms of how pre-task planning processes might be optimized in teaching and research.

Verbal working memory training in older adults: an investigation of dose response

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Schimidt Brum ◽  
Erika Borella ◽  
Barbara Carretti ◽  
Mônica Sanches Yassuda
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Dose Response ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Working Memory Training ◽  
Memory Training

Exploring the impact of individual differences in aural vocabulary knowledge, written vocabulary knowledge and working memory capacity on explaining L2 learners’ listening comprehension

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 423-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Masrai
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Pedagogical Practice ◽  
The Impact

AbstractListening comprehension constitutes a considerable challenge for second language learners, but little is known about the relative contribution of individual differences in distinct factors to listening comprehension. Since research in this area is relatively limited in comparison to that focusing on the relationship between reading comprehension and factors such as vocabulary knowledge and working memory, there is a need for studies that seek to fill the gap in our knowledge about the specific contribution of aural vocabulary knowledge, written vocabulary knowledge and working memory capacity to explaining listening comprehension. Among 130 non-native speakers of English, the present study examines what proportion of the variance in listening comprehension is explained by aural vocabulary knowledge, written vocabulary knowledge, and working memory capacity. The results show that aural vocabulary knowledge is the strongest predictor of listening comprehension, followed by working memory capacity, while written vocabulary knowledge contributes only marginally. The study discusses implications for the explanatory power of aural vocabulary knowledge and working memory to listening comprehension and pedagogical practice in second language classrooms.

scholarly journals Second Language Working Memory Deficits and Plasticity in Hearing Bimodal Learners of Sign Language

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 128-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Williams ◽  
Isabelle Darcy ◽  
Sharlene Newman
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Second Language ◽  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Memory Deficits ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
American Sign ◽  
Visuospatial Sketchpad ◽  
Language Modality

AbstractLittle is known about the acquisition of another language modality on second language (L2) working memory (WM) capacity. Differential indexing within the WM system based on language modality may explain differences in performance on WM tasks in sign and spoken language. We investigated the effect of language modality (sign versus spoken) on L2 WM capacity. Results indicated reduced L2 WM span relative to first language span for both L2 learners of Spanish and American Sign Language (ASL). Importantly, ASL learners had lower L2 WM spans than Spanish learners. Additionally, ASL learners increased their L2 WM spans as a function of proficiency, whereas Spanish learners did not. This pattern of results demonstrated that acquiring another language modality disadvantages ASL learners. We posited that this disadvantage arises out of an inability to correctly and efficiently allocate linguistic information to the visuospatial sketchpad due to L1-related indexing bias.

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