Working memory capacity and attention to form and meaning in EFL reading

This article reports a Master thesis study that aimed at investigating, in a population of high school students of English as a foreign language (EFL), the relationship between individual differences in working memory capacity (WMC) and learners' simultaneous attention to form and meaning in reading. Sixty-one participants were submitted to five data collection sessions which comprised two working memory tests, three retrospective questionnaires, a task used to assess attention to form and meaning, and a feedback session. Data revealed, in general terms, that attention to form and meaning in L2 reading is affected by individual differences in WMC, since these differences were shown to determine efficient performance in the task of paying attention to form and meaning while reading in a population of EFL high school students. Adapted from the source document