The role of working memory capacityin interpreting performance

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Munjung Bae ◽  
Cheol Ja Jeong
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Span Task ◽  
Reading Span ◽  
Simultaneous Interpreting ◽  
Operation Span ◽  
English Reading ◽  
Korean And English ◽  
Span Tasks

Abstract This study aims to examine the relationship between working memory (WM) capacity and the performance of student interpreters defined as the quality of their interpreting output. To measure WM capacity, we administered Korean and English reading span tasks, and an operation span task. The WM scores were analysed for correlation with simultaneous interpreting (SI) and consecutive interpreting (CI) scores. The results were mixed: (1) the CI score showed no correlation with any of the WM span tasks and (2) the SI score correlated with only one WM span task, the operation span task. Given that the participants received shorter training in SI than in CI, we can tentatively conclude that interpreting performance is influenced more by WM capacity when the interpreter performs a less familiar type of interpreting. Further research is needed to find out why the reading span tasks and the operation span task showed different relationships with SI.

Bilingual working memory capacity of professional Auslan / English interpreters

Interpreting ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jihong Wang
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Span Task ◽  
Cognitive Resources ◽  
Strong Positive Correlation ◽  
Simultaneous Interpreting ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Span Tasks ◽  
Native Signers

This study investigated bilingual working memory capacity (WMC) of 31 professional Auslan (Australian Sign Language)/English interpreters: 14 native signers and 17 non-native signers. Participants completed an English listening span task and then an Auslan working memory (WM) span task, each task followed by a brief interview. The native signers were similar to the non-native signers not only in English WMC, but also in Auslan WMC. There was no significant difference between WMC in English and Auslan when native and non-native signers were assessed as a single group. The study also found a moderate to strong, positive correlation between the interpreters’ English WMC and Auslan WMC, suggesting that both WM span tasks tapped into similar cognitive resources. In the interviews, interpreters said that they used multiple strategies to retain the to-be-remembered words/signs. The qualitative data also indicate that WM span tasks like these involve online retention of unrelated words/signs, whereas simultaneous interpreting requires temporary storage of meaningful and coherent concepts.

scholarly journals Are all interferences bad? Bilingual advantages in working memory are modulated by varying demands for controlled processing

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 184-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
HWAJIN YANG ◽  
SUJIN YANG
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Span Task ◽  
General Control ◽  
Baseline Measure ◽  
Complex Span ◽  
Operation Span ◽  
Controlled Processing ◽  
Span Tasks ◽  
Font Color

We investigated bilingual advantages in general control abilities using three complex-span tasks of working memory (WM). An operation-span task served as a baseline measure of WM capacity. Additionally, two modified versions of the Stroop-span task were designed to place varying attentional-control demands during memoranda encoding by asking participants either to read the to-be-remembered item aloud (lower cognitive control; i.e., Stroop-span task) or to name the font color of the to-be-remembered item while still encoding the word for later recall (greater cognitive control; i.e., attention-impeded Stroop-span task). Twenty-six Korean–English bilinguals and 25 English-native monolinguals were tested. We found that bilinguals outperformed monolinguals on the attention-impeded Stroop-span task, but on neither the operation-span nor the Stroop-span task. Our findings demonstrate that bilingualism provides advantages in controlled processing, an important component of WM and other executive functions, suggesting that the demand for controlled processing in WM tasks moderates bilingual effects on WM.

Stimulus similarity decrements in children's working memory span

2005 ◽  
Vol 58 (8) ◽  
pp. 1434-1446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliet A. Conlin ◽  
Susan E. Gathercole ◽  
John W. Adams
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Response Competition ◽  
Span Task ◽  
Word Recall ◽  
Stimulus Category ◽  
Processing Task ◽  
Operation Span ◽  
Span Tasks ◽  
The Impact

Two experiments investigated the impact of the relationship between processing and storage stimuli on the working memory span task performance of children aged 7 and 9 years of age. In Experiment 1, two types of span task were administered (sentence span and operation span), and participants were required to recall either the products of the processing task (sentence-final word, arithmetic total) or a word or digit unrelated to the processing task. Experiment 2 contrasted sentence span and operation span combined with storage of either words or digits, in tasks in which the item to be remembered was not a direct product of the processing task in either condition. In both experiments, memory span was significantly greater when the items to be recalled belonged to a different stimulus category from the material that was processed, so that in sentence span tasks, number recall was superior to word recall, and in operation span tasks, word recall was superior to number recall. Explanations of these findings in terms of similarity-based interference and response competition in working memory are discussed.

The Measurement of Verbal Working Memory Capacity and Its Relation to Reading Comprehension

1996 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gloria S. Waters ◽  
David Caplan
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Span Task ◽  
Word Recall ◽  
Reading Span ◽  
Visual Spatial ◽  
Span Tasks

Ninety-four subjects were tested on the Daneman and Carpenter (1980) reading span task, four versions of a related sentence span task in which reaction times and accuracy on sentence processing were measured along with sentence-final word recall, two number generation tasks designed to test working memory, digit span, and two shape-generation tasks designed to measure visual-spatial working memory. Forty-four subjects were retested on a subset of these measures at a 3-month interval. All subjects were tested on standard vocabulary and reading tests. Correlational analyses showed better internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the sentence span tasks than of the Daneman-Carpenter reading span task. Factor analysis showed no factor that could be related to a central verbal working memory; rotated factors suggested groupings of tests into factors that correspond to digit related tasks, spatial tasks, sentence processing in sentence span tasks, and recall in sentence span tasks. Correlational analyses and regression analyses showed that the sentence processing component of the sentence span tasks was the best predictor of performance on the reading test, with a small independent contribution of the recall component. The results suggest that sentence span tasks are unreliable unless measurements are made of both their sentence processing and recall components, and that the predictive value of these tasks for reading comprehension abilities lies in the overlap of operations rather than in limitations in verbal working memory that apply to both.

scholarly journals Measuring verbal working memory capacity: A reading span task for laboratory and web-based use

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana Klaus ◽  
Herbert Schriefers
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Recall Performance ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Span Task ◽  
Reading Span ◽  
Complex Span ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Extreme Groups ◽  
Span Tasks

Typically, working memory (WM) capacity as a source of individual differences is assessed by complex span tasks which combine a processing and a storage task. However, there are no standardized open-source versions, and the tasks that are used are not easily comparable. We introduce a browser-based version of the reading span task, which yielded normally distributed recall performance scores. Next, we provide a within-participant comparison of this task to two other complex span tasks. Finally, we introduce a web-based version of the reading span task. WM scores were comparable to those obtained in the laboratory, but web participants were also faster and made more mistakes in the processing task. We conclude that the task introduced here is an adequate way to measure verbal WM capacity in the laboratory. In addition, it may prove to be a useful, time-efficient online tool, for instance to extract extreme groups from a larger sample.

scholarly journals PENGARUH MENDENGARKAN MUROTTAL AL-QUR’AN TERHADAP MEMORI KERJA

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-32
Author(s):  
Istiqomah Nur Aziza ◽  
Nanang Wiyono ◽  
Afia Fitriani
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Span Task ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Research Subjects ◽  
Operation Span ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Post Test ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Experimental Group ◽  
Test Control

It is important to optimize working memory because it transforms, synergizes and constantly updates new and old information. One way to optimize working memory is to listen to Murottal Al-Qur'an, because it has a harmonious tone which can stabilize the mind to properly process the information. This study aims to determine the effect of listening to the Al-Quran murottal on working memory. The research subjects were 24 students of Psikologi 2017, grouped equally in the control and experimental groups. An experimental intervention was administered for 15 consecutive days lasting 15 minutes and 52 seconds. Measurements in working memory use Operation Span Task, Reading Span Task and Symmetry Span Task. The design of the study used a pre-test post-test control group and the data were analyzed by t-test. The results showed a significant difference between the control group and the experimental group on the symmetry span task subtest (p = 0.044, p <0.05).

A meta-analysis of the relationship between working memory and second language reading comprehension: Does task type matter?

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 873-900
Author(s):  
Jihye Shin
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Quantitative Description ◽  
Span Task ◽  
Word Recall ◽  
Reading Span ◽  
L2 Reading ◽  
L2 Reading Comprehension

AbstractDespite the increasing attention paid to the role of working memory in reading, findings and measurement of working memory have been inconsistent. The current meta-analysis aims to provide a quantitative description of the overall relationship between second language (L2) reading comprehension and working memory measured through reading span task and identify methodological features that moderate this relationship. Following a comprehensive search, 25 primary studies (23 peer-reviewed studies and 2 dissertations) were included comprising 37 unique samples (N = 2,682), all of which were coded for substantive and methodological features. The results showed that (a) there is a moderate relationship between L2 reading comprehension and working memory (r = .30), (b) reading span task features such as the scoring procedure, task language, and final word recall order moderate this relationship, and (c) the degree to which working memory’s involvement in L2 reading comprehension may vary depending on the type of reading tasks at hand. Implications are discussed in terms of conceptualization and measurement of working memory. Future directions are also offered in relation to measurement practices to encourage consistency and to improve our understanding of the link between working memory and L2 reading comprehension.

Basic skills in a complex task: A graphical model relating memory and lexical retrieval to simultaneous interpreting

2003 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 201-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
INGRID K. CHRISTOFFELS ◽  
ANNETTE M. B. DE GROOT ◽  
LOURENS J. WALDORP
Keyword(s):  
Graphical Models ◽  
Picture Naming ◽  
Graphical Model ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Span Task ◽  
Lexical Retrieval ◽  
Translation Efficiency ◽  
Reading Span ◽  
Simultaneous Interpreting ◽  
Word Translation

Simultaneous interpreting (SI) is a complex skill, where language comprehension and production take place at the same time in two different languages. In this study we identified some of the basic cognitive skills involved in SI, focusing on the roles of memory and lexical retrieval. We administered a reading span task in two languages and a verbal digit span task in the native language to assess memory capacity, and a picture naming and a word translation task to tap the retrieval time of lexical items in two languages, and we related performance on these four tasks to interpreting skill in untrained bilinguals. The results showed that word translation and picture naming latencies correlate with interpreting performance. Also digit span and reading span were associated with SI performance, only less strongly so. A graphical models analysis indicated that specifically word translation efficiency and working memory form independent subskills of SI performance in untrained bilinguals.

scholarly journals Maintenance Mechanisms in Children’s Verbal Working Memory

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Laure Oftinger ◽  
Valerie Camos
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Recall Performance ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Concurrent Task ◽  
Verbal Information ◽  
Complex Span ◽  
Span Tasks ◽  
Joint Contribution

<p>Previous research in adults has indicated two maintenance mechanisms of verbal information in working memory, i.e., articulatory rehearsal and attentional refreshing. However, only three studies have examined their joint contribution to children’s verbal working memory. The present study aimed at extending this line of research by investigating the developmental changes occurring from 6 to 9 years old. In two experiments using complex span tasks, children of three different age groups maintained letters or words while performing a concurrent task. The opportunity for attentional refreshing was manipulated by varying the attentional demand of the concurrent task. Moreover, this task was performed either silently by pressing keys or aloud, the latter inducing a concurrent articulation. As expected, recall performance increased strongly with age. More interestingly, concurrent articulation had a detrimental effect on recall even in 6-year-old children. Similarly, introducing a concurrent attention-demanding task impaired recall performance at all ages. Finally, the effect of the availability of rehearsal and of attentional refreshing never interacted at any age. This suggested an independence of the two mechanisms in the maintenance of verbal information in children’s working memory. Implications for the development of rehearsal use and for the role of attention in working memory are discussed.</p>

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