The role of individual differences in working memory in reading and listening comprehension in intermediate grade students

The present study investigated the functions of working memory as related to reading and listening comprehension in school-age students. Five working memory tasks were used, forward and backward digit span and 3 levels of each of modified digit span, word span and sentence span. These 11 tasks and a sentence verification task were used to obtain indices of individual working memory function. From these tasks, predictors of reading and listening comprehension were investigated. The working memory tasks were presented in reading and listening mode. The effect of the mode of presentation of the memory tasks (i.e. reading vs. listening mode of the tasks) was examined. The reading mode of the most difficult modified digit, word and sentence span task presentations yielded higher scores than the listening format did as would be expected. Grade related differences between 60 Grade 5 and 60 Grade 7 students were also investigated. Overall, working memory scores are higher for Grade 7 than Grade 5, and when the memory tasks were read than when listened to. No significant interactions were found between grade and working memory task format. The grade difference in WM scores between Grade 7 and Grade 5 are not different, depending on upon WM task format, that is, the task formats being reading vs. listening. Two subtests derived from the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (W.I.A.T.) were used to assess literal and inferential reading and listening comprehension. The backward digit span, word span and sentence span tasks were found to be significant predictors of reading comprehension. This finding favours a general capacity hypothesis of working memory that linguistic or nonlinguistic working memory measures should predict reading comprehension. The complex sentence span measure was the only measure that predicted listening comprehension. This is consistent with the task specific hypothesis of working memory that linguistic working memory measures presumably tapping capacity and processing component would best predict listening comprehension. Statistical evidence was also found to support an hypothesis of reading comprehension being contingent on listening comprehension. The sentence span task was found to be the only task consistently measuring individual differences in working memory for reading and listening comprehension.Education, Faculty ofEducational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department ofGraduat