Does Aircraft Noise Impair Learners' Reading Comprehension, Attention and Working Memory? A Pilot Study

2010 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Seabi ◽  
Paul Goldschagg ◽  
Kate Cockcroft
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Aircraft Noise

Exploring which test-taker characteristics predict young L2 learners’ performance on listening and reading comprehension tests

2021 ◽  
pp. 026553222199113
Author(s):  
Sarah Sok ◽  
Hye Won Shin ◽  
Juhyun Do
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Test Taker ◽  
Phonological Working Memory ◽  
Young Learners ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
L2 Listening ◽  
Comprehension Tests ◽  
Reading Comprehension Tests

Test-taker characteristics (TTCs), or individual difference variables, are known to be a systematic source of variance in language test performance. Although previous research has documented the impact of a range of TTCs on second language (L2) learners’ test performance, few of these studies have involved young learners. Given that young L2 learners undergo rapid maturational changes in their cognitive abilities, are susceptible to affective factors in unique ways, and have little autonomy with respect to the context of L2 acquisition, the relationship between their personal attributes and their test performance merit separate research attention. To fill this gap, we investigated the extent to which sixth-grade, Korean-L1, EFL learners’ ( n = 107) TTCs predicted their performance on tests of L2 listening and reading comprehension. The TTCs under investigation included three cognitive characteristics (aptitude, phonological working memory, L1 competence), one affective factor (motivation), and two demographic variables (socioeconomic status and gender). Results showed that aptitude and phonological working memory significantly predicted participants’ performance on both L2 listening and reading comprehension tests, whereas motivation predicted performance on the L2 listening comprehension test only. These findings suggest that higher aptitude, phonological working memory, and motivation contribute positively to young learners’ L2 outcomes.

Working memory and fluid intelligence predict reading comprehension in school‐age children: a one‐year longitudinal study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Santiago Vernucci ◽  
Yesica Aydmune ◽  
María Laura Andrés ◽  
Débora Inés Burin ◽  
Lorena Canet‐Juric
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Fluid Intelligence ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
School Age ◽  
One Year

Combined cognitive and motor training improves the outcome in the early phase after stroke and prevents a decline of executive functions: A pilot study

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Mareike Eschweiler ◽  
Lara Bohr ◽  
Josef Kessler ◽  
Gereon R. Fink ◽  
Elke Kalbe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Motor Training ◽  
Set Shifting ◽  
Stroke Patients ◽  
Motor Functioning

BACKGROUND: The negative impact of cognitive dysfunction on motor rehabilitation as a relearning-process is well known in stroke patients. However, evidence for combined cognitive and motor training (CMT) is lacking. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of combined CMT in early stroke rehabilitation. METHODS: In a controlled pilot study, 29 moderately affected stroke patients with low-level motor performance and cognitive impairment received motor therapy plus either cognitive (experimental group, EG) or low-frequency ergometer training (control group, CG) for eight days. RESULTS: Both groups improved their motor functioning significantly. After training, between-group comparison revealed significant differences for cognitive flexibility and trends for set-shifting, working memory, and reaction control in favor of the EG. Within-group effects showed improvement across all cognitive domains in the EG, which correlated with gains in bed-mobility, while the CG showed no significant improvement in cognition. Rather, a trend towards reaction control decline was observed, which correlated with less functional progression and recovery. Furthermore, a decline in cognitive flexibility, set-shifting, and working memory was descriptively observed. CONCLUSIONS: Combined CMT may enhance cognition and motor relearning early after stroke and is superior to single motor training. Further studies are needed to replicate these results and investigate long-term benefits.

scholarly journals Testing young foreign language learners’ reading comprehension: Exploring the effects of working memory, grade level, and reading task

2021 ◽  
pp. 026553222199148
Author(s):  
Tineke Brunfaut ◽  
Judit Kormos ◽  
Marije Michel ◽  
Michael Ratajczak
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Grade Level ◽  
Reading Test ◽  
Reading Task ◽  
Young Learners ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Comprehension Accuracy

Extensive research has demonstrated the impact of working memory (WM) on first language (L1) reading comprehension across age groups (Peng et al., 2018), and on foreign language (FL) reading comprehension of adults and older adolescents (Linck et al., 2014). Comparatively little is known about the effect of WM on young FL readers’ comprehension, and even less within testing contexts. Young FL readers are still developing their L1 reading skills and general cognitive skills (e.g., attentional regulation abilities). Completing FL reading tests might be particularly taxing on their WM, and differences in WM capacity – as well as other learner and task characteristics – might create construct-irrelevant variance in test performance. In this study we investigate the effects of WM, grade level, and reading task on young learners’ FL reading test performances. Ninety-four young English language learners (Grades 6–7) in Hungary completed the TOEFL® Junior™ Comprehensive’s reading test and a WM test battery. Our mixed-effects model predicted significantly higher comprehension accuracy among learners with higher WM capacity, and among learners in Grade 7 compared to learners in Grade 6. Reading task differences were not associated with significant comprehension accuracy differences. We discuss the implications of our findings for testing young learners’ FL reading comprehension.

scholarly journals Reading comprehension on the last grades of cicles I and II of elementary school

CoDAS ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 276-285
Author(s):  
Eliane Mi Chang ◽  
Clara Regina Brandão de Avila
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Elementary School ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Research Groups ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Good Readers ◽  
Spearman Coefficient ◽  
Positive Correlations ◽  
And Control

PURPOSE: To characterize students' performance in Cycle I and II of the Elementary School (EF), in decoding, reading comprehension and underlying skills of reading, and investigate correlations between these variables, in the absence and presence of reading comprehension deficits, identified by their teachers.METHODS: 125 students from ES were grouped according to Cycle and presence or absence of reading comprehension impairments. Two Control (good readers from both Cycles) and two Research groups (poor readers from both Cycles) were established. Assessment involved: fluency and reading comprehension; oral comprehension; working and short-term phonological memory; grammar closure. It was compared (Mann-Whitney test): in intragroup study, both Control and Research groups; in intergroup study, Control and Research from different cycles, and Control I and Research II. Spearman coefficient investigated correlations.RESULTS: Analyzing reading comprehension, we observed better performance of Control Groups in all tasks in comparison to the respective Research Groups, and better performance of Control II in comparison to Control I. Research Groups had similar results in most tests. Positive correlations have been observed between most of the variables.CONCLUSION: Students without reading comprehension impairments showed better performance in reading in both Cycles. Working memory and oral comprehension did not differentiate students with and without complaints in Cycle I, differently from what was observed in Cycle II. Research II presented similar or better performance than Research I and similar or worse performance than Control I. Underlying skills showed different profiles of correlation with reading comprehension capacity, according to the group.

Dynamic Testing, Working Memory, and Reading Comprehension Growth in Children With Reading Disabilities

2011 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 358-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Lee Swanson
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Reading Disabilities ◽  
Dynamic Testing ◽  
Verbal Iq ◽  
Only Children ◽  
Testing Conditions ◽  
Skilled Readers ◽  
Reading Measures ◽  
Significant Moderator

This longitudinal study assessed (a) whether performance changes in working memory (WM) as a function of dynamic testing were related to growth in reading comprehension and (b) whether WM performance among subgroups of children with reading disabilities (RD; children with RD only, children with both reading and arithmetic deficits, and low verbal IQ readers) varied as a function of dynamic testing. A battery of memory and reading measures was administered to 78 children (11.6 years) across three testing waves spaced 1 year apart. WM tasks were presented under initial and dynamic testing conditions (referred to as gain and maintenance testing). The important results were that (a) WM performance as a function of maintenance testing was a significant moderator of growth in reading comprehension and (b) WM performance of children with RD was statistically comparable within subgroups of RD but inferior to that of skilled readers across all testing conditions. The results support the notion that children’s WM performance under dynamic testing conditions was related to the rate of growth in reading comprehension but unrelated to subgroup differences in reading.

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