Revisiting the effects of phonological short-term memory on second language vocabulary acquisition

The present study provided the first meta-analysis of the relationship between phonological short-term memory (PSTM) and auditory L2 vocabulary acquisition while incorporating important moderator variables (e.g., age) and recent scholarly interests (e.g., vocabulary learning context). Results based on 52 effect sizes from 18 studies revealed a small-to-medium effect of PSTM ( r  = .31). PSTM test type was identified as a significant moderator, indicating that PSTM assessed through nonword/word repetition tasks shows a stronger association than digit span tasks. Vocabulary learning context approached statistical significance, suggesting that PSTM may exert a greater influence in intentional vocabulary learning settings compared to incidental, contextual learning ones. These findings reinforce the role of PSTM in L2 vocabulary development and highlight its relevance for L2 teaching practices.

• Publication year

  2026

• Venue

  ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics

• Publication date

  2026-01-20

• Fields of study

  Not labeled

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1075/itl.25009.kur
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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