Literal and Inferential Listening Comprehension: The Role of L۱ vs. L۲ Auditory Working Memory Capacity

Working memory capacity, especially as it relates to L۱ vs. L۲, has been found to play a significant role in language comprehension and processing. Majority of the related studies have, however, been focused around reading comprehension, either in L۱ or L۲ contexts. The present study is a further attempt to investigate the role of working memory capacity in language comprehension/processing but in the context of L۲ listening. To this end, a sample of ۲۲۰ foreign language learners (both males and females) were recruited. To collect the required data, a series of measures including a language proficiency test, two auditory working memory capacity tasks (English & Persian) and two listening comprehension passages were administered to the participants. The results showed a significant relationship between Persian and English auditory memories for storage dimension but not for the processing component. Additionally, the findings showed that L۲ auditory memory is more highly correlated with L۲ listening comprehension compared with L۱ auditory memory. A further finding of the study was that literal vs. inferential types of listening comprehension engage different types of working memory processes.

Keywords:

Working Memory , Listening Span Task , Literal Comprehension , Inferential Comprehension