Chapter in:
Advancedness in Second Language Spanish: Definitions, challenges, and possibilities
Edited by Mandy R. Menke and Paul A. Malovrh
[Issues in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics 31] 2021

Advancing notions of advancedness

Clarifying the differential and dynamic effects of working memory across the second language proficiency spectrum

| George Mason University
The variable process and outcomes of language learning in adulthood has motivated decades of research seeking to explain this variability via learner individual differences (IDs). However, the impact of learner IDs across the proficiency spectrum remains unclear, particularly the involvement of cognitive resources at advanced second language (L2) proficiency. This chapter provides an overview of learner ID research with a focus on the role of working memory capacity (WMC) in relation to L2 Spanish, revealing a lack of research probing the effects of WMC both between and within learners at varying proficiency. The chapter concludes by calling for more longitudinal research that investigates how cognitive ability interacts with socioculturally-grounded, rather than psycholinguistically-oriented, notions of advancedness and considers potential pedagogical implications.
Keywords: learner individual differences, advanced language proficiency, working memory, longitudinal research
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