Phonological short-term memory and foreign-language vocabulary learning

Abstract

Data from foreign language vocabulary learning in a short-term memory patient, and native language vocabulary learning in children suggest that the short-term phonological store plays an important role in long-term learning. The present study used articulatory suppression to explore the role of the phonological loop system of working memory in the acquisition by adults of foreign language vocabulary. Experiments 1 and 2 showed that articulatory suppression disrupts the learning of Russian vocabulary, but not native language paired associates, by Italian subjects. Two apparently equivalent experiments, however, using English subjects failed to demonstrate the predicted disruption of Russian vocabulary learning by articulatory suppression. This was shown to be attributable to the greater association value of the Russian words to the English subjects. Two final experiments using English subjects replicated the Italian results, showing a differential disruption of the learning of unfamiliar material, when this comprises either CVC-CVC nonsense items, or Finnish words that were selected to be very dissimilar to English. It is concluded that the phonological loop concept of working memory is used in foreign language vocabulary acquisition, but can be circumvented if the material allows semantic associations to be created.