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Academic Paper

Title:	Phonological Memory Predicts Second Language Oral Fluency Gains in Adults
Author:	Irena O'Brien
Institution:	Université du Québec à Montréal
Author:	Norman Segalowitz
Email:	click here to access email
Homepage:	http://web.me.com/normansegalowitz
Institution:	Concordia University
Author:	Barbara Freed
Institution:	Carnegie Mellon University
Author:	Joe Collentine
Institution:	Northern Arizona University
Linguistic Field:	Language Acquisition; Phonology
Subject Language:	English Spanish
Abstract:	This study investigated the relationship between phonological memory and second language (L2) fluency gains in native English-speaking adults learning Spanish in two learning contexts: at their home university or abroad in an immersion context. Phonological memory (operationalized as serial nonword recognition) and Spanish oral fluency (temporal/hesitation phenomena) were assessed at two times, 13 weeks apart. Hierarchical regressions showed that, after the variance attributable to learning context was partialed out, initial serial nonword recognition performance was significantly associated with L2 oral fluency development, explaining 4.5–9.7% of unique variance. These results indicate that phonological memory makes an important contribution to L2 learning in terms of oral fluency development. Furthermore, these results from an adult population extend conclusions from previous studies that have claimed a role for phonological memory primarily in vocabulary development in younger populations.

	This article appears in Studies in Second Language Acquisition Vol. 29, Issue 4, which you can read on Cambridge's site or on LINGUIST .

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