The Effect Of Working Memory Training For English Sentence Breadth On Improving The English Academic Performance Of Students With Poor English Learning In Grades 3-5

Working memory(WM)is a limited memory system that temporarily processes and stores information(Baddeley & Hitch,1974).It is a system that processes and maintains information in complex cognitive activities,which is closely related to language learning(qiu Lin,2016).Although the traditional view holds that the working memory capacity is fixed,subsequent studies have found that the working memory capacity can be improved by training the working memory(Klingberg,Forssberg,& Westerberg,2002).However,recent studies have found that Working Memory training can improve individual Working Memory ability.However,there is no consensus on whether working memory span training can promote students’ English performance.This study explored the relationship between the span of working memory and the tasks of listening,speaking,reading and writing in primary school students,and obtained the characteristics of working memory of students with poor academic performance.In the second study,working memory span training was used to explore the effect of cognitive training on the improvement of students’ English academic performance.In the first study,the relationship between working memory span and English academic performance was investigated.The students of grade 3,4 and 5 in an ordinary primary school in Shanghai were selected as the selected samples.First of all,according to the latest English test results of students in each grade,the students whose comprehensive English scores are in the top 25% of each grade are regarded as the group with excellent English academic performance,the middle 50% are in the group with ordinary English academic performance,and the last 25% are in the group with poor English academic performance.Then,through random sampling,30 excellent students in English studies,30 ordinary students in English studies,and 30 students with poor English studies were selected as the experimental group.Then 30 students with excellent English study,30 students with average English study and 30 students with poor English study were randomly selected as the control group.A total of 180 students were selected.The task of measuring working memory was the number reverse recitation span task and the English word reverse recitation span task.English academic performance was tested by using the self-compiled English comprehensive test paper,and the total score and the results of listening,speaking,reading and writing were obtained respectively.The results showed that :(1)there was no significant difference between the sexes in various test tasks.(2)there was no significant grade difference in the range of digital reverse recitation tasks;There were significant grade differences in the reverse word recall breadth task.(3)except that there was no significant difference in the number reverse recitation span task,there were significant differences in the three groups of students in the word reverse recitation span task and English academic performance(listening,speaking,reading and writing),which indicated that the working memory capacity defect of students with poor English learning was special.(4)digital memorized the breadth tasks and English academic achievement and different learning tasks(listening,oral English,English reading,English writing)are not significant,but the words fall back breadth tasks and English academic achievement and different learning tasks(English listening,English reading,English writing)have significant correlation.This indicates that working memory related tasks with English words are more closely related to English academic performance.The second study is to investigate the effect of sentence span training on English academic performance.The English sentence span training task consists of sentence series representing four different levels of breadth.Students need to remember the last word of each sentence while judging whether the sentence is true or not.After a certain number of sentences,students are asked to recall the last word of each sentence in turn.The training difficulty increases gradually.The sentence range is 2-5,that is,from 2 sentences to 5 sentences.Each exercise was 15 questions,and the total number of training sessions was 20.Each session takes 15 to 20 minutes.Training 2-3times a week for 2 1/2 months.One week after the training,the working memory span and English academic performance were measured,and the test task was the same as the previous test.The results showed that :(1)after the training,the students in the third grade achieved significant improvement in the breadth of number reverse recitation and the breadth of English word reverse recitation;the students in the excellent group achieved significant improvement in the total score of English academic performance;the students in the poor group achieved significant improvement in the total score of English academic performance,listening comprehension and oral English;(2)after the training,the students in grade four achieved significant improvement in the breadth of number reverse recitation,the breadth of English word reverse recitation,the total score of English academicperformance,listening,speaking,and reading.(3)the fifth grade students after the training,digital memorized the breadth,English words fall back breadth,English academic achievement scores,listening,speaking,reading and writing are improved obviously,failure group by training school after Numbers fall back breadth,English words fall back breadth,English academic achievement,listening,speaking,writing has obviously improved.(4)in terms of the numerical reverse recall breadth in grade 5,the ordinary group in the experimental group was significantly better than the bad group,while the ordinary group in the control group did not significantly improve.To sum up,the working memory span is correlated with English academic performance to varying degrees,and students with poor English academic performance have defects in working memory span.Working memory training is effective in different grades and tasks for English academic excellence group,English academic ordinary group and English academic disability group.The working memory capacity of fifth grade students can be improved by 20 English sentence span training tasks.Trained students can improve their English academic performance to some extent.