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چکیده
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The present study explored the roles of working memory capacity (WMC) and second language (L2) age of onset (AO) in L2 semantic/morphosyntactic performance as well as L2 reading comprehension ability. Additionally, the role of WMC in L2 relative clause (RC) attachment preference was investigated. A total of 238 bilingual Persian native speakers of English participated in the study. The results showed a significant relationship between WMC and L2 semantic/morphosyntactic performance. Additionally, the results revealed that the participants’ morphosyntactic performance, irrespective of their WMC, was significantly influenced by semantic priming effect, indicating that L2 morphosyntactic knowledge in learners' interlanguage system might be shaky and subject to communicative aspects of input. Furthermore, the results showed no significant correlation between WMC and L2 reading comprehension composite scores and no significant correlation between WMC components and L2 reading comprehension dimensions. In addition, no significant difference between early and late L2 learners' reading comprehension composite scores as well as their literal and inferential comprehension abilities was observed, which provides counterevidence for the predictions of the Critical Period Hypothesis. The results of the correlation between the storage and processing components of WMC, however, revealed that there was a significant negative correlation between the storage and processing components of WMC, and this negative correlation was even stronger for the lower-capacity participants, providing support for the time-based resource sharing (TBRS) model of WM (Barrouillet et al., 2004). Moreover, the results revealed no correlation between the participants' WMC and their L2 (English) RC attachment preferences. The findings of the study provide some implications for foreign language teachers with regard to teaching morphosyntactic aspects of language and correcting morphosyntactic errors.
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