The role of digital video media in second language listening ...

(1993), a model that posits the existence of a phonological loop does not require thatmessages be generated outside the mind. Speech-based information reaches thepassive store directly, and is subject to rapid decay because of the interference ofnew material. To slow decay, however, an individual can enact subvocal rehearsalprocesses and, in principle, hold information in the phonological loop indefinitely.Such would be the case, for example, in repeating a phone number several times inorder to hold that information long enough so that the physical procedures needed tocomplete a sequence for dialling or to transfer the number to long-term memorycould be completed.In a similar fashion, Gathercole and Baddeley (1993) explain that a visuallypresented text can be transformed through subvocal rehearsal into phonologicalstore, as in the case when one ‘sounds out’ a phrase in the mind. Successfuloperation of the processes related to the phonological loop can be impaired bymaterial deemed to be irrelevant by the individual, or because incoming speechsounds phonologically similar (e.g. cat, cap, cad). Conversely, it is argued thatmaterial is better retained if it is deemed to be salient to comprehension goals or ifthe words are phonologically distinct. The capacity of the phonological loop isthought to be limited to about two seconds and thus words that are unfamiliar ordifficult to pronounce may be subject to greater decay, perhaps accounting fordifficulties in language processing (Logie, 1995).Analogous to the phonological loop, the ‘visuospatial scratchpad’ is an additionalslave rehearsal system. The function of the visuospatial scratchpad is to store andrehearse perceived stimuli that originate from visual and spatial material (Gathercole& Baddeley, 1993). As with its partner system, storage in this sector of the brain isheld to be further divisible, depending on whether the input consists of static visualsor those that involve movement. Both types of input are conceived to have directaccess to the passive visual system (Logie, 1995). Unlike the two-second storagecapacity of the phonological loop, however, information in the visuospatial24