Exploring the relationship of working memory to the temporal distribution of pausing and revision behaviors during L2 writing

• Published in: Studies in second language acquisition Vol. 45; no. 3; pp. 680 - 709
• Main Authors: Révész, Andrea, Michel, Marije, Lee, Minjin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, USA Cambridge University Press 01.07.2023
• Subjects: Chinese languages; Cognition & reasoning; Cognitive Processes; English as a second language; Executive function; Eye movements; Goal Orientation; Handwriting; Individual Differences; Linguistics; Long Term Memory; Memory; Pauses; Phonology; Planning; Revision (Written Composition); Second language writing; Short term memory; Spatial Ability; Translation; Verbal Stimuli; Writers; Writing; Writing Instruction; Writing processes
• ISSN: 0272-2631; 1470-1545
• DOI: 10.1017/S0272263123000074

This study examined the extent to which L2 writers with varied working memory display differential pausing and revision behaviors at different periods during writing. The participants were 30 advanced Chinese L2 users of English, who wrote an argumentative essay. While composing, participants’ keystrokes and eye-gaze movements were recorded to capture their pausing, revision, and eye-gaze behaviors. The working memory battery included tests of phonological and visual short-term memory and executive functions. We divided the writing process into five equal periods. The results revealed that participants’ pausing and revision patterns were consistent with previous findings that planning, linguistic encoding, and monitoring processes dominate the initial, middle, and later composing periods, respectively. Various working memory components had differential effects on pausing depending on period, largely reflecting the predictions of Kellogg’s (1996, 2001) model. However, we identified no differences in the temporal distribution of revision behaviors contingent on working memory.