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17 - Working Memory in the Modular Cognition Framework

from Part III - Linguistic Theories and Frameworks

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 July 2022

By
John Truscott  and
Michael Sharwood Smith
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, as a cognitive function, needs to be understood within the context of the mind as a whole, in other words within a general framework that can connect it to related research and theory. In this chapter we present one such broad view of the mind, the Modular Cognition Framework (MCF), and apply it to the study of working memory, emphasizing its involvement in language development and use. We consider the nature of working memory as an integral part of the cognitive system, along with working memory capacity, offering a relatively fine-grained, cognitively contextualized account of what working memory is and where the capacity limits come from. This approach provides a means of understanding and further studying a range of phenomena, including the nature and use of metalinguistic knowledge, bilingual language “selection”, code-switching, switch costs and their absence, crosslinguistic influence, optionality in second language learning, and translation and interpreting.

Keywords

working memoryModular Cognition Framework (MCF) working memory capacitymetalinguisticselectioncode-switchingswitch costscrosslinguistic influenceoptionalitytranslation and interpreting
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Working Memory and Language , pp. 368 - 392
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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