| Reference : WORKING MEMORY AND LEARNING: A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF TRILINGUAL CHILDREN |
| Scientific congresses, symposiums and conference proceedings : Unpublished conference | |||
| Social & behavioral sciences, psychology : Theoretical & cognitive psychology | |||
| http://hdl.handle.net/10993/1979 | |||
| WORKING MEMORY AND LEARNING: A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF TRILINGUAL CHILDREN | |
| English | |
Engel de Abreu, Pascale  [University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Language and Literature, Humanities, Arts and Education (FLSHASE) > Educational Measurement and Applied Cognitive Science (EMACS)] | |
| Aug-2009 | |
| Yes | |
| International | |
| International Meeting II: Working Memory | |
| 26-27th of August, 2009 | |
| [en] working memory ; phonological loop ; central executive ; learning | |
| [en] The aim of the present study was to investigate the contribution of two working memory
systems (the phonological loop and the central executive) to children’s learning in the areas of vocabulary, language comprehension, reading, spelling, mathematical skills, and foreign language acquisition. The term working memory refers to the ability to store and manipulate information in mind for a brief period of time, in the course of ongoing cognitive activities (Baddeley, 2000). A sample of 119 Luxembourgish children, learning German and French as secondary languages were assessed longitudinally over a 3-year time period. In Luxembourg, children learn to speak, read, and write in two languages that are different from their native language Luxembourgish. A battery of working memory, and learning ability tests were administered. Children were tested in kindergarten (5 years of age), in first, and in second grade with a one year interval between each testing wave. Multiple assessments of each construct made it possible to construct latent variables, and apply structural equation modeling techniques to explore the underlying theoretical structure of working memory in young children, and possible links with learning. Results indicate that relations between the working memory measures were best characterized by a model consisting of two related but separable constructs corresponding to the phonological loop and the central executive. Individual differences in phonological loop functioning and the central executive were found to be remarkably stable from kindergarten through second grade. The data further showed that both memory components were differentially associated with learning: Whereas the phonological loop was more specifically linked to early language development and vocabulary in particular, the central executive appeared to make more general contributions to classroom related learning. The findings lend strong support to the position that the phonological loop is one of the main contributors to new word learning in both native and non-native languages by supporting the formation of stable phonological representations of new words in long-term memory. Furthermore the findings fit well with the position that the central executive might play an important role in the monitoring and processing of information during complex and demanding activities present in many classroom situations. In conclusion, the presented evidence of (a) the stability of individual differences in young children’s working memory capacity and, (b) causal relations of working memory with learning reinforces the value of early screening of working memory abilities to identify children who are at risk of poor academic progress over the coming years. | |
| Fonds National de la Recherche - FnR | |
| Researchers | |
| http://hdl.handle.net/10993/1979 | |
| http://www.unifesp.br/dpsicobio/eventos/wm/wm2009/abstracts2009.html |
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