THE IMMEDIATE RECALL OF ENGLISH LECTURE INFORMATION BY NATIVE AND NON-NATIVE SPEAKERS OF ENGLISH AS A FUNCTION OF NOTETAKING (MEMORY, ACADEMIC SKILLS, CROSS-CULTURE, LISTENING COMPREHENSION, POST-SECONDARY).

This study was designed to evaluate the effect of concurrent notetaking and the quality of notes taken on the immediate recall of English lecture information by both native and non-native speakers of English. Additionally, the impact of short-term memory and familiarity with English on lecture information recall was also assessed. The subjects were 136 native speakers and 123 non-native speakers enrolled in Freshman English Composition classes at The University of Arizona. The Digit Span subtest of the WISC-R was administered to obtain a measure of short-term memory. Subjects were randomly assigned to a "listening only" or a "listening and notetaking" condition during a videotaped lecture presentation on the evolution of the Egyptian pyramid structure. Immediately following the lecture, the notes were collected to preclude review, and a 15-item multiple-choice test on lecture concepts and a 15-item multiple-choice test covering lecture details were administered. The data were subjected to multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVAS). A stepwise multiple regression analysis was also performed to determine which index/indices of note quality predicted information recall for American and international notetakers. Results indicated that (1) notetakers and non-notetakers did equally well in recalling lecture concepts and details; (2) no significant differences in the test performance of subjects who took "no notes," "low quality notes," "medium quality notes," or "high quality notes" were found; (3) subjects with high short-term memory ability recalled more concept and detail information than subjects with low short-term memory ability; and (4) native speakers of English recalled significantly more of the concepts and details presented in the lecture than non-native speakers. The regression analysis indicated that 4 of the 5 indices of note quality predicted recall performance, but the indices varied according to the kind of information tested and the subjects's ethno-cultural background. Implications concerning the nature of the findings and recommendations for future research were proposed