抄録
The involvement of phonological short-term memory (PSTM) in second language
(L2) acquisition has been widely documented. However, it has not been empirically
clear what types of PSTM strongly predict L2 listening comprehension. This study
investigates the contribution of speech-processing memory to L2 listening
comprehension under two conditions: individual sentences or random word strings,
and the first language (L1) or L2. Based on TOEIC listening scores, thirty Japanese
EFL learners were sorted into groups of advanced and intermediate learners. To
measure each participant's PSTM through oral repetition tasks, four subtest items were
created: L2 sentences, L2 words, L1 sentences, and L1 words. A multiple regression
analysis revealed that L2 sentence-based PSTM was the only significant predictor of
L2 listening comprehension (R2 =.54). In addition, t-tests between advanced and
intermediate proficiency groups showed that the gap between sentence-based PSTM
and word-based PSTM was significantly greater in the L2 than in the L1. Moreover,
the L2-L1 gap was significantly less in sentence-based PSTM than word-based PSTM.
These findings suggest that L2 sentential knowledge, rather than L1 memory capacity
or L2 vocabulary enhancement, plays a crucial role in L2 listening development.
