Your browser does not support the PubReader view.
Go to this page to see a list of supporting browsers.
The Korean Association for the Study of English Language and Linguistics
[ Article ]
Korea Journal of English Language and Linguistics - Vol. 25, No. 0, pp.767-785
ISSN: 1598-1398 (Print) 2586-7474 (Online)
Print publication date 31 Jan 2025
Received 02 Jan 2025 Revised 08 Mar 2025 Accepted 22 May 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15738/kjell.25..202506.767

The Role of Working Memory in Second Language Sentence Processing: The Case of English Relative Clause Comprehension among Korean Learners

Hyunmi Choi ; Donghyun Kim
(First author) MA student, Department of English Language and Literature, Kyungpook National University sunnyhyunmi@gmail.com
(Corresponding author) Assistant Professor, Department of English Language and Literature, Kyungpook National University donghyun@knu.ac.kr


© 2025 KASELL All rights reserved
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

The present study investigates the relationship between working memory (WM) and second language (L2) sentence processing, specifically focusing on the comprehension of English relative clauses (RCs). While previous studies have observed that object RCs typically impose greater cognitive demands than subject RCs, the role of WM in mediating this difficulty remains unclear. To investigate this relationship, we employed a self-paced reading method to assess reading times and comprehension accuracy among advanced Korean learners of English. WM was measured using both digit span and reading span tasks. Results revealed that higher WM was associated with faster reading speeds and better comprehension across RC types. Although object RCs took longer to process, there was a lack of a significant interaction between WM and RC types. Peak reading times were observed at region 4 (corresponding to the object position in subject RCs and the main verb position in object RCs). This pattern diverges from previous research findings and suggests that advanced learners engage in proactive resource allocation. These results emphasize WM’s role in L2 sentence processing and indicate processing strategies for improving learners’ management of complex syntactic structures.

Keywords:

sentence processing, working memory, relative clauses, self-paced reading, reading times, individual differences, Korean learners of English

Acknowledgments

This paper is based on the first author’s master’s thesis. This work was supported by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2023S1A5A8078806).

References

  • Baddeley, A. D. and G. Hitch. 1974. Working memory. In G. H. Bower, ed., The Psychology of Learning and Motivation 8, 47-89. Academic Press. [https://doi.org/10.1016/S0079-7421(08)60452-1]
  • Baek, J. 2019. The challenges of processing object-relative clauses for Korean learners of English. Journal of Second Language Processing 35(2), 150-170.
  • Chae, E.-Y. and J.-A. Shin. 2015. A study of a timed cloze test for evaluating L2 proficiency. English Teaching 70(3), 117-135. [https://doi.org/10.15858/engtea.70.3.201509.117]
  • Caplan, D. and G. S. Waters. 1999. Verbal working memory and sentence comprehension. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 22(1), 77-94. [https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X99001788]
  • Chen, J. and Y. Shirai. 2014. The acquisition of relative clauses in spontaneous child speech in Mandarin Chinese. Journal of Child Language 41(4), 1058-1086.
  • Cho, J. and M. J. Song. 2023. Effects of visual input enhancement and working memory on grammar learning by Korean EFL learners. English Teaching 78(2), 29-54. [https://doi.org/10.15858/engtea.78.2.202306.29]
  • Conway, A. R. A., M. J. Kane, M. F. Bunting, D. Z. Hambrick, O. Wilhelm and R. W. Engle. 2005. Working memory span tasks: A methodological review and user’s guide. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 12(5), 769-786. [https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03196772]
  • Ferreira, F. and C. Clifton. 1986. The independence of syntactic processing. Journal of Memory and Language 25(3), 348-368. [https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-596X(86)90006-9]
  • Gibson, E. 1998. Linguistic complexity: Locality of syntactic dependencies. Cognition 68(1), 1-76. [https://doi.org/10.1016/S0010-0277(98)00034-1]
  • Gibson, E. 2000. The dependency locality theory: A distance-based theory of linguistic complexity. In Y. Miyashita, A. Marantz and W. O’Neil, eds., Image, Language, Brain: Papers From the First Mind Articulation Project Symposium 95-126. MIT Press. [https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/3654.003.0008]
  • Gibson, E., H. Tily and E. Fedorenko. 2013. The processing complexity of English relative clauses. In M. Sanz, I. Laka and M. K. Tanenhaus, eds., Language Down the Garden Path: The Cognitive and Biological Basis for Linguistic Structures, 149-173. Oxford University Press. [https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199677139.003.0006]
  • Gordon, P. C. and M. W. Lowder. 2012. Complex sentence processing: A review of theoretical perspectives on the comprehension of relative clauses. Language and Linguistics Compass 6(7), 403-415. [https://doi.org/10.1002/lnc3.347]
  • Hopp, H. 2014. Working memory effects in the L2 processing of ambiguous relative clauses. Language Acquisition 21(3), 250-278. [https://doi.org/10.1080/10489223.2014.892943]
  • Juffs, A. and M. Harrington. 2011. Aspects of working memory in L2 learning. Language Teaching 44(2), 137-166. [https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444810000509]
  • Keating, G. D. and J. Jegerski. 2015. Experimental designs in sentence processing research: A methodological review and user’s guide. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 37(1), 1-32. [https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263114000187]
  • King, J. and M. A. Just. 1991. Individual differences in syntactic processing: The role of working memory. Journal of Memory and Language 30(5), 580-602. [https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-596X(91)90027-H]
  • Kwon, N., P. C. Gordon, Y. Lee, R. Kluender and M. Polinsky. 2010. Cognitive and linguistic factors affecting subject/object asymmetry: An eye-tracking study of prenominal relative clauses in Korean. Language 86(3), 546-582. [https://doi.org/10.1353/lan.2010.0006]
  • Linck, J. A., P. Osthus, J. T. Koeth and M. F. Bunting. 2014. Working memory and second language comprehension and production: A meta‑analysis. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 21(4), 861-883. [https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-013-0565-2]
  • Mathôt, S., D. Schreij. and J. Theeuwes. 2012. OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods 44, 314-324. [https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7]
  • Nakamura, M. and E. T. Miyamoto. 2013. The object-before-subject bias and the processing of double-gap relative clauses in Japanese. Language and Cognitive Processes 28(3), 303-334. [https://doi.org/10.1080/01690965.2011.634179]
  • R Core Team. 2021. R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing.
  • Skehan, P. 1998. A Cognitive Approach to Language Learning. Oxford University Press. [https://doi.org/10.1177/003368829802900209]
  • Traxler, M. J., R. K. Morris and R. E. Seely. 2002. Processing subject and object relative clauses: Evidence from eye movements. Journal of Memory and Language 47(1), 69-90. [https://doi.org/10.1006/jmla.2001.2836]
  • Ueno, M. and S. M. Garnsey. 2008. An ERP study of the processing of subject and object relative clauses in Japanese. Language and Cognitive Processes 23(5), 646-688. [https://doi.org/10.1080/01690960701653501]
  • Warren, T. and Gibson, E. 2002. The influence of referential processing on sentence complexity. Cognition 85(1), 79-112. [https://doi.org/10.1016/S0010-0277(02)00087-2]
  • Waters, G. and D. Caplan. 1996. Working Memory and Language Comprehension: A Critical Review. Psychology Press.
  • Wen, Z. 2016. Working Memory in Second Language Acquisition and Processing. Multilingual Matters. [https://doi.org/10.21832/9781783093595]
  • Yalçın, Ş., S. Çeçen and G. Erçetin. 2016. The relationship between aptitude and working memory: An instructed SLA context. Language Awareness 25(1-2), 144-158. [https://doi.org/10.1080/09658416.2015.1122026]