Working Memory and Short-Term Memory Abilities in Accomplished Multilinguals

Abstract

The role of short-term memory and working memory in accomplished multilinguals was investigated. Twenty-eight accomplished multilinguals were compared to 36 mainstream philology students. The following instruments were used in the study: three memory subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale (Digit Span, Digit-Symbol Coding, and Arithmetic, which constitute a memory and resistance to distraction index); two short-term memory tests of the Modern Language Aptitude Test (Part I [Number Learning] and Part V [Paired Associates]); and the verbal Intelligence Quotient (IQ), the nonverbal IQ, the general IQ, and a working memory test, the Polish Reading Span (PRSPAN). The results of the accomplished multilinguals were compared to the results of 1st-year English philology students (mainstream). The analysis revealed that short-term memory and working memory abilities in the accomplished multilinguals were higher than in the mainstream philology students. Results might contribute to the understanding of the controversial role of working memory and short-term memory abilities in accomplished multilinguals. A suggestion that the two components of working memory (the phonological loop and the central executive) are significant factors in determining the outcome of learning a foreign language is discussed. © 2012 The Modern Language Journal.