Effects Of Working Memory Capacity And Task-induced Involvement On Lexical Collocation Acquisition

Working memory is a memory system of limited capacity to keep information, master such complex human cognitive skills as problem solving, reasoning, reading comprehension, etc. Nevertheless, there is almost no literature concerning the effects of L2 learners’working memory capacity on incidental collocation acquisition through accomplishing tasks of different involvement load. Involvement Load Hypothesis assumes that tasks with different degrees of involvement load affect learners’ vocabulary acquisition. However, few researchers have studied the incidental acquisition of collocations, and even little research has been made on the relations of involvement load and collocation acquisition. So I apply working memory theory and design tasks on the basis of the involvement load hypothesis to verify whether working memory capacity and task-induced involvement affect students’ collocation acquisition. The following research questions are proposed:1) What is the effect of working memory capacity on collocation acquisition under different conditions of involvement load? What are the differences of the effect of working memory capacity on immediate and delayed collocations acquisition of two task groups?2) What is the effect of task-induced involvement on incidental collocation acquisition?At first, participants are required to take a vocabulary test and a working memory capacity test. After analyzing the results of the National Entrance Examination and the vocabulary test, this study chooses 64 participants at last. The experimental subjects in this thesis are divided into two groups (32 students of each group) to read the same passage and finish two different kinds of reading tasks. Group one is required to do a multiple-choice task to fill in the blank with target collocations. Group two has to paraphrase several sentences with the target collocations. The experiment is done in normal class hours. After participants finish reading the material, an immediate collocation test is given to them. Participants are required to translate the target collocations from English to Chinese. A week later, a delayed collocation test will be given to these 64 participants to test the retention of these collocations. The order of these 10 collocations in the delayed test is changed.This thesis adopts the independent samples t-test and correlation analysis to analyze the effect of working memory capacity, the different reading tasks of different involvement indexes on students’incidental collocation acquisition and identify whether working memory capacity can significantly affect students’immediate and delayed collocation acquisition under two different task conditions. The subjects’working memory capacity scores and their performance in immediate collocation test and delayed test are submitted to SPSS 16.0 for analysis. The major findings are as follows:First, working memory capacity exerts a great influence on immediate collocation acquisition both in the multiple-choice task group and in paraphrasing task group. However, results of the delayed collocation task show that working memory capacity only plays an important role in the paraphrasing task group and does not affect the performance of the multiple-choice group members.Second, results of the study demonstrate that participants taking tasks with higher involvement load can better acquire collocations and memorize the target collocation for a longer period than those taking tasks with low involvement load. The conclusion of this study is consistent with the assumption of the involvement load hypothesis.The results of this study will bring certain enlightenment to teaching which is helpful for teachers in designing reading tasks and for students in more effectively acquiring English collocations. This study is conducted from the perspective of cognition, through the analysis of the function of working memory and task-induced involvement, explaining whether tasks with higher degree of involvement will greatly help students acquire the target collocations, indicating the extent to which collocations need to be taught and providing a guide to how materials can be designed to promote learning.