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1 - Working Memory and Language

An Overview of Key Topics

from Overview of the Handbook

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 July 2022

By
John W. Schwieter ,
Zhisheng (Edward) Wen  and
Teresa Bennett
Edited by
John W. Schwieter  and
Zhisheng (Edward) Wen
John W. Schwieter
Affiliation:
Wilfrid Laurier University
Zhisheng (Edward) Wen
Affiliation:
Hong Kong Shue Yan University
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Summary

Working memory (WM) is our limited-capacity storage and processing (memory) system that permeates essential facets of our cognitive life such as arithmetic calculation, logical thinking, decision-making, prospective planning, language comprehension, and production. Since the very inception of WM in the early 1960s (Miller et al., 1960), its role in language acquisition and processing has been extensively investigated both empirically and theoretically by researchers from diverse fields of psychology and linguistics, accumulating an increasingly huge body of literature (e.g., see Baddeley, 2003; Gathercole & Baddeley, 1993 for reviews of early studies). Notwithstanding, the field still lacks a comprehensive and updated profile of conceptualizing and implementing working memory in the broad domains of native and second language acquisition, processing, impairments, and training. In this chapter, we introduce a comprehensive handbook in which key areas of inquiry and practice in working memory and language are at the forefront and theoretical ingenuity and empirical robustness are integrated throughout.

Keywords

working memorylanguagebilingualismcognitioncognitive psychology
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Working Memory and Language , pp. 3 - 16
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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