The Influence of Cognitive Load on Pragmatic Inference in ESL Learners: A Psycholinguistic Perspective

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of cognitive load on pragmatic inference ability in English as a Second Language (ESL) learners from a psycholinguistic perspective. While pragmatic competence—essential for interpreting implied meanings like indirect speech acts and implicatures—is known to be challenging for L2 learners, the cognitive mechanisms underlying these difficulties, particularly under constrained processing conditions, remain underexplored. Adopting a within-subject experimental design, 30 intermediate-to-advanced ESL learners completed a pragmatic inference task (interpreting 15 dialogue-based items) under two conditions: low cognitive load (single task) and high cognitive load (dual-task with concurrent digit memorization).Results revealed a significant decline in pragmatic inference accuracy under high cognitive load (mean score: 9.1/15) compared to low load (mean score: 12.4/15), supported by a paired samples t-test (t (29) = 9.87, p < .001). Qualitative feedback confirmed heightened perceived difficulty and cognitive strain during the dual-task condition. A weak positive correlation (r = 0.29) suggested limited mitigation of load effects by self-reported proficiency.These findings demonstrate that cognitive load substantially impairs ESL learners’ pragmatic inferencing, underscoring the role of working memory limitations in L2 pragmatic processing. The study bridges cognitive psychology and L2 pragmatics, advocating for pedagogical and assessment designs that minimize extraneous cognitive demands to support pragmatic development.