L2 oral fluency is a core aspect of general oral proficiency. However, it represents a distinct challenge for L2 speakers as it requires a real-time efficient allocation of cognitive resources. Specifically, working memory (WM) plays a crucial role in speech production. These cognitive resources are limited and vary from one speaker to another. Additionally, they have long been shown to interact with foreign language anxiety and foreign language enjoyment, which interact with various aspects of L2 oral production. To our knowledge, no previous studies have investigated the relationship that might exist between perceived L2 oral fluency ; i.e. listeners’ judgments about L2 speakers’ fluency, WM, foreign language anxiety and foreign language enjoyment. To fill this gap, 78 ESL French-speaking adults were subjected to a picture-based narration task. A flowchart scheme was used to measure perceived L2 oral fluency. WM was measured using a numerical span test, and foreign language anxiety and foreign language enjoyment were measured through a questionnaire. Results show a distinct pattern of interaction between the variables. More specifically, foreign language anxiety significantly predicted perceived L2 oral fluency among participants with a weaker WM, whereas foreign language enjoyment significantly predicted L2 oral fluency among participants with a stronger WM capacity.

The relationship between L2 reading comprehension and working memory has been studied for years, and previous studies highlight the existence of a correlation between the two. However, to our knowledge, no previous study used Kintsch's Multilevel Comprehension Model to operationalize reading comprehension in the investigation of its relationship with working memory. More specifically, according to Kintsch's model, comprehension consists of three text representation levels—the surface level (the literal wording of the text), the textbase (which includes inferences made by the reader), and the situation model (the integration of explicit and implicit text information with readers’ background knowledge). Therefore, the study reported in this paper examined the contribution of working memory , the short‐term retention of information and its manipulation, to different text representation levels during L2 reading comprehension. To do so, fifty‐five ( N = 55) adult L2 learners of French completed L2 reading comprehension task tapping into three levels of text representation and a numerical complex working memory task. The results showed, on the one hand, a significant contribution of working memory to L2 reading comprehension and, on the other hand, that this relationship was specifically observed with the situation model.

The present study investigated whether a distinct link exists between attention-shift, foreign language anxiety (FLA) and both a subjective and an objective measure of oral fluency. Participants were 34 French first language (L1) English second language (L2) speakers. Oral production data were collected through a picture-cued narration task and analysed using both oral fluency measures. We used a measure of attention-shift capacity and a measure of FLA. Results first show strong correlations between both fluency measures. Additionally, both measures of fluency were negatively correlated with FLA and attention-shift. However, multiple regression analyses indicated that only the subjective measure was explained by both attention-shift capacity and FLA, the objective one only being explained by FLA. The results suggest that subjective measures, while highly correlated with objective ones, may detect qualities of oral fluency not detected by objective measures.

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The present study investigates relationships between foreign language anxiety (FLA), attentional control and the quality of L2 speech production as observed through self-initiated self-repair behavior (SISR). Participants were 34 French L1 English L2 speakers. We used a measure of FLA (Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2014) and a measure of attention shift capacity (Reitan, 1958). SISR data were collected through a picture-cued narration task. Statistical analyses revealed that increased FLA was significantly linked to increases in discourse-level SISRs. Anxious speakers appear to have more difficulty finding their words preverbally, as they speak in an L2 than less anxious speakers. A second series of analyses revealed that this link is moderated by L2 speakers' attentional control. Only speakers with low attentional control appear to be impacted by this FLA effect. Results are discussed in light of the broaden-and-build theory of emotions.

This chapter explores second language oral production from a psycholinguistic perspective, which naturally involves cognitive resources such as working memory and attention. A description of the psycholinguistic processes underlying second language oral production highlights its inherent complexity and leads to a better understanding of the challenges second language speakers face. Therefore, this chapter begins with a description of a psycholinguistic model for oral production. This will be followed by a discussion of the role that working memory and attention play in such a model. Then, the adaptations of the model to second language contexts and their implications for working memory and attention will be presented. Finally, future directions for research and classroom implications will be offered.

Find information about UTP Journals. University of Toronto Press is Canada’s leading academic publisher and one of the largest university presses in North America, with particular strengths in the social sciences, humanities, and business. The Book Publishing Division is widely recognized in Canada for its strength in history, political science, sociology, Indigenous studies, and cultural studies. Internationally, UTP is a leading publisher of medieval, Renaissance, Italian, Iberian, Slavic, and urban studies, as well as studies in book and print culture.

L’étude rapportée dans cet article avait pour objectif d’examiner la relation entre les autoreformulations autoamorcées, soit les révisions que les locuteurs amorcent et exécutent sur leur propre discours (Salonen et Laakso, 2009, p. 859) et la mémoire de travail, définie comme étant un système à capacité limitée responsable de l’emmagasinage temporaire et de la manipulation de l’information (Baddeley, 2012). Bien que quelques études aient examiné la relation entre les autoreformulations autoamorcées et la mémoire de travail, les résultats obtenus présentent des divergences que des différences d’ordre méthodologique permettent d’expliquer. Nous avons donc voulu jeter un éclairage nouveau sur la relation entre ces deux variables en observant les autoreformulations autoamorcées à l’aide d’une tâche de narration à partir d’images et en ayant recours à une tâche numérique complexe afin de mesurer la mémoire de travail. Trente adultes locuteurs non natifs du français ont participé à l’étude. Les résultats obtenus des analyses factorielles en composantes principales montrent une relation différenciée selon le type d’autoreformulations autoamorcées produit.

The objective of the study presented in this article was to examine the relationship between self-initiated self-repairs, the revisions that speakers initiate and perform on their own speech (Salonen & Laakso, 2009, p. 859) and working memory, defined as limited capacity system responsible for the temporary storage and manipulation of information (Baddeley, 2012). Although a few studies have examined the relationship between self-initiated self-repairs and working memory, the results show discrepancies that can be explained by methodological differences. Therefore, we wanted to shed new light on the relationship between these two variables by observing self-initiated self-repairs using an image-based narrative task and a complex numerical task to measure working memory. Thirty adult non-native speakers of French participated in the study. The results obtained from the principal component factor analyses show a differentiated relationship according to the type of self-triggered self-repair produced.

Abstract Little is known about the relationship between second language use and written languaging (e.g., Ishikawa & Suzuki, 2016; Suzuki, 2012). The few studies that have investigated the question highlight difficulties in understanding how to correct errors following written corrective feedback (e.g., Simard, Guénette, & Bergeron, 2015; Suzuki, 2012). Following the broaden-and-build theory, (Fredrickson, 2001), we hypothesized that emotions expressed in the written languaging of high school ESL learners (n = 42) produced immediately after receiving their corrected text would be related to text revision successfulness (i.e., correct revision of an incorrect form). Our results show that emotions expressed in the written languaging are not only associated with error rates but also positive emotions predict higher rates of successful revision.

Le rôle que joue la mémoire de travail, c’est-à-dire la capacité d’emmagasiner temporairement l’information et de procéder à son traitement cognitif, a fait l’objet de multiples études dans le domaine de la recherche en langues secondes (L2). Au sens général, il a été établi que la mémoire de travail était liée à divers aspects de l’apprentissage et de l’usage de la L2 ; les connaissances en ce qui a trait à son lien avec la prononciation de la L2 sont toutefois limitées. L’auteure étudie la relation entre les résultats obtenus dans la réalisation d’une tâche numérique complexe sollicitant la mémoire de travail et de deux tâches de prononciation du français L2, soit une tâche de lecture à haute voix et une tâche de narration à partir d’une image, réalisées par 30 apprenants adultes parlant mandarin. Les résultats de l’étude révèlent que, malgré l’absence d’écart significatif entre les notes obtenues dans chaque tâche de prononciation, seule la prononciation observée dans la tâche de lecture à haute voix s’explique par la mémoire de travail.

"De la part des rédactrices en chef / From the Editors." Canadian Modern Language Review, 76(1), p. 1

"From the Editors / De la part des rédacteurs en chef." Canadian Modern Language Review, 75(4), pp. 273–274

Input enhancement, the manipulation of the target language formal properties, has been a key concept of second language teaching for decades now. In this entry, its origins and development in both second language teaching and acquisition studies are presented. Finally, recommendations‐based study results are offered.

Self-repairs, that is revisions of speech that speakers themselves initiate and complete (Salonen and Laakso in J Child Lang 36:859, 2009 . https://doi.org/10.1017/s0305000908009240 ), are frequently used to observe the cognitive and linguistic processes underlying second language (L2) speech production. Previous research has shown that factors such as L2 proficiency, attentional control and native language (L1) self-repair behavior interact with L2 self-repair behavior. To our knowledge, however, no research has examined how these three factors interact within a cohort of L2 speakers. As such, the present study examined the proficiency scores, attentional control scores and L2 and L1 self-repair frequency data of 58 adult L2 English speakers of various proficiency levels. Regression results showed that while proficiency was not a significant predictor of L2 self-repair behavior, attentional control and L1 repair frequency together explained 40% of the variance. Results suggest that L2 self-repair behavior may be more closely linked to stable cognitive and personality traits than to L2 proficiency.

Self-repairs, or revisions of speech that speakers themselves initiate and complete (Salonen & Laakso, 2009), have long been associated with second language (L2) development (e.g., Kormos, 2000a). To our knowledge, however, no research has looked at the evolution of self-repair correctness patterns, that is, the correctness of elements targeted for repair and the correctness of the repair outcomes. Consequently, the present study sought to investigate changes in the self-repair behaviour of English-speaking L2 learners of French over the course of a 5-week period and to verify whether any changes occurred over time. Speech samples of the L2 were collected from 50 adult participants through an elicited narration task at the beginning (Time 1) and the end (Time 2) of a 5-week immersion program. Overall, the results showed that there were qualitative and quantitative changes in self-repairs types, and that correctness of the element being repaired increased significantly over time.

Researchers working on metasyntactic abilities (i.e., the metalinguistic ability associated with syntax) face the problem of defining and measuring them. Metasyntactic abilities is a multifaceted concept, which encompasses various types of behaviours, from being able to intentionally manipulate syntactic structures to being able to state syntactic rules, and the way in which it is defined and measured varies greatly from one study to another. The present paper proposes a theoretically informed classification of syntax related tasks. The first part presents previous research defining and distinguishing various types of syntactic and metasyntactic abilities and their interrelations. In the second part, commonly used tasks are described and analyzed in terms of the framework presented, with the aim of better pinpointing the type of ability measured by each task. Ultimately, with this analysis of commonly used tasks, we hope to offer criteria for discriminating between the various measures of metasyntactic abilities.