Universidade Federal do Ceará
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Estudos da Tradução

We are very pleased to announce that Professor Glória Guará-Tavares will be presenting  at the  2020 Language and Culture Seminar Series on July 7. The event is held by the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT University) and a link to access the complete lecture will be available soon.

Tuesday, 7 July, 4:30-6:00

Abstract

WORKING MEMORY CAPACITY AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PLANNED IDEAS INTO L2 TASK PERFORMANCE

This talk reports on a study that is part of a larger scale research (Guará-Tavares, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2018) that investigates the relationship among working memory capacity, pre-task planning and second language speech performance. The aim of the study was to analyze whether higher working memory capacity individuals are better able to implement planned information into L2 oral performance. Learners’ planned ideas were accessed by means of think aloud protocols. Working memory capacity was measured by the Speaking Span Test. Results indicate that there are no significant differences between higher and lower spans concerning retrieval of planned lexical items that were implemented into task performance. As for the percentage of clauses per c-unit retrieved, the differences between higher and lower spans only approached significance. Rather, results suggest that the benefits of planning in task performance may be more related to the ability to coordinate planned and new ideas into online performance. Results are discussed in terms of (Engle’s model of working memory (Engle, 1996; Engle & Oransky, 1999; Engle, Kane & Tuholsky, 1999). Pedagogical implications are also discussed in terms of the implementation of tasks in the L2 classroom.

Key words- Working memory, tasks, planning, performance

Speaker

Glória Guará-Tavares is an associate professor at the Federal University of Ceará, Brazil, currently on sabbatical leave at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Her main research interests are working memory, speech performance, task based learning, cognitive aspects of sign language interpretation, planning and speech performance of people with aphasia and deaf language processing. She has taught English in Brazil for over twenty years and has presented in national and international conferences in New Zealand, Thailand, and The Netherlands.