Phonological Short-Term Memory and Foreign Language Learning

The possible contribution of the specialized verbal component of working memory, the phonological loop, to the learning of the sound patterns of new words in both native and foreign languages is considered in this chapter. Following an evaluation of the common and distinctive aspects of learning native and foreign vocabulary, evidence is presented that representations in the phonological loop mediate the construction of durable representations of the phonological structures of new words. Representations in the loop itself appear to benefit from existing long-term knowledge of the structure of the language, resulting in an interactive learning system that differentially promotes acquisition of the native language.