Working memory capacity and L2 University Students comprehension of linear texts and hypertexts
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between working memory capacity and L2 reading comprehension of both linear texts and hypertexts. Three different instruments were used to measure comprehension (recall, comprehension questions and perception of contradictions) and the Reading Span Test (Daneman & Carpenter, 1980) was used as a measure of working memory capacity. Forty-two speakers of English as an L2 from two different L1 backgrounds (21 Brazilians and 21 Chinese) participated in the study. The results obtained signal to the fact that hypertexts might compromise comprehension, especially for low-span participants. The broad conclusion achieved in this study is that different variables including readers’ working memory capacity, their first language, and the mode of text presentation may interfere in L2 reading, and each one of these aspects might hamper, in different ways, the construction of a coherent mental representation of the text being read.Downloads
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