Working memory, once thought of only as short-term memory, refers to the cognitive resources required to store or maintain and process or manipulate information during complex cognitive activity. Learners of English demonstrate cognitive differences in their capacities for storing L2 vocabulary. When learners engage in tasks that deplete existing working memory capacity, such as L2 lexical retrieval, they typically process information slower.

 

In selecting vocabulary for instruction, it is important to select items that will benefit learners and make efficient use of working memory. In grouping words for instruction, it is preferred to group terms by similarity in meaning, rather than phonological similarity, for increased retention. Methods incorporating repeated exposure to new information in verbal, visual, and spatial forms give diverse learners the ability to store and manipulate information needed to complete complex cognitive activities in L2.

 

One such strategy is the Vocabulary LINCS strategy, developed by Edwin Ellis at the University of Kansas in response to the needs of learners with learning disabilities; this strategy is effective for language learners as well. It uses a system of mnemonics connected with stories and images to help learners store and later retrieve vocabulary information.

 

With the awareness that working memory is not only storing information, but also manipulating it, another research-based strategy is found in Margarita Calderón’s 7 Steps to Language Learning. This method provides language learners with multiple opportunities to store information, culminating in activities designed to process information as well.

 

A final strategy is the Method of loci, or Memory Palace strategy, used in ancient Roman and Greek times but still relevant today, connecting information through spatial and visual mnemonics.

 

Through examination of these methods and their results, participants gain strategies to best address the cognitive diversity found in L2 learners in the area of storing and retrieving vocabulary.

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Adriane Moser Geronimo is an instructor in the Newcomer Academy at Midland Senior High School in Midland, Texas, USA. She received her BA in Linguistics from Stony Brook University in May 1995 and her MA in English Language from Chonnam National University in February 2009. She is a National Board Certified Teacher in English as a New Language and a 2019-2020 Fulbright Teacher for Global Classrooms. Her research interests include vocabulary acquisition, extensive reading, global education, affective filter, and optimal distance theory.