The Immediate Effects of Abdominal Breath-Control on Phonological Working Memory Performance and L2 Word Learning Open Access
Yoon, Hye Min (Spring 2022)
Abstract
Working memory refers to a short-term ability to store and manipulate information that can be utilized for various cognitive tasks and has been found to be a strong predictor of second language (L2) vocabulary learning (Baddeley, 2003; Juffs & Harrington, 2011; Rice & Tokowicz, 2020). One practical method that could potentially aid L2 learners’ working memory performance in learning novel vocabulary is deep breathing, which consists of slowing down one’s breath and focusing on abdominal movement during respiration. For example, researchers in psychophysiology have found deep breathing exercises to induce cardiorespiratory synchronization and enhance the activity of respiratory and diaphragmatic muscles, leading to optimal increased levels of inhaled oxygen, and greater oxygen concentration in the body has been associated with improved cognitive functioning on working memory tasks (Nirmalasari, 2020; Kim et al., 2013; Laborde et al., 2021). However, to date, there have been no studies in the field of L2 acquisition connecting deep breathing with word learning. In order to bridge this research gap, the current study aimed to analyze the impact of a short-term abdominal breath-control intervention on facilitating L2 word learning in Lithuanian for Lithuanian-naive L1 English speakers. 36 undergraduate participants who are functionally monolingual L1 speakers of American English and have never acquired Lithuanian were recruited. All participants completed a backwards digit span task, and then half were randomly placed into the control group in which they watched a video from NASA about findings in space, while the other half were assigned to the experimental group that engaged in 17 minutes of slow breathing exercises following a familiarization period (Laborde et al., 2021). Then, all participants proceeded onto the word learning task before completing a vocabulary quiz at the end (Kemp & McDonald, 2021). The findings show that those in the breathing experimental group had significantly higher scores on the working memory task compared to the control group, while the two groups had no difference in L2 word learning accuracy, potentially due to the cognitive effects of slow breathing wearing off before reaching the vocabulary quiz at the end. Future research is needed in order to further explore the effects of slow, deep breathing on enhancing cognition, as breath-control may be a promising approach to be implemented in the foreign language classroom as a cost-free method to effectively increase working memory performance, especially for disadvantaged students who have had limited opportunities to enhance their cognition.
Table of Contents
I. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………1
II. Literature Review………………………………………………………………………………2
1.1 Working Memory and L2 Word Learning……………………………………………2
1.2 Meditation……………………………………………………………………………4
1.3 Slow, Deep Breathing………………………………………………………………5
1.4 Connections with L2 Acquisition…………………………………………………8
III. Methodology…………………………………………………………………………………9
IV. Results………………………………………………………………………………………14
V. Discussion……………………………………………………………………………………17
VI. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………21
Appendices………………………………………………………………………………………23
References………………………………………………………………………………………30
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