Our findings contradict the results of a number of earlier studies, however, which found that phonological short-term memory capacity plays a more important role in the case of less proficient speakers and its effect diminishes with the development of L2 competence
(e.g. Cheung, 1996; Speciale et al., 2004; Masoura and
Gathercole, 2005). The explanation for this contradiction might lie in the different nature of learning processes of the two groups of students. For students to reach a solid intermediate level of knowledge within a year, most of the learning took place through explicit instruction of grammatical constructions and vocabulary followed by practice activities in various formats. Therefore their learning processes were primarily
(e.g. Cheung, 1996; Speciale et al., 2004; Masoura and
Gathercole, 2005). The explanation for this contradiction might lie in the different nature of learning processes of the two groups of students. For students to reach a solid intermediate level of knowledge within a year, most of the learning took place through explicit instruction of grammatical constructions and vocabulary followed by practice activities in various formats. Therefore their learning processes were primarily