The effects of working memory and directionality on sentence build-up drill performance

This study investigated the role of working memory (WM) and input direction in the use of sentence build-up drills (SBD). Thirty Chinese L2 speakers participated in the experiment, which consisted of a SBD test, a R-span test, and a language background questionnaire. The results indicate that the backward input direction has several advantages over the forward direction. First, the backward direction elicited repetitions with fewer total and whole-sentence errors. Second, it also extended the tipping point, which was defined as the serial position of the word at which participants started making their first errors. Finally, there was an interaction effect between WM and input direction, indicating that participants with different WM levels performed equally well in the backward direction, whereas the low-WM group made significantly more errors in the forward direction, compared to their high-WM counterparts. Based upon these results, we argue that the backward build-up is more effective, and that it constitutes a better way to conduct sentence build-up repetition drills in the classroom.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

E Asian Languages & Cultures

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2017

Author dc:creator

• Li, You

Contributors dc:contributor

• Packard, Jerome

• Sentence build-up drill
• Working memory
• Second language acquisition (SLA)

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2017 You Li

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/97708

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/97708