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Abstract Abstract: This study investigates how working memory capacity (WMC) and task frequency affects English learners’ oral production. The participants were 24 intermediate Chinese university EFL learners. Their working memory capacity was assessed by a computerized reading span task, and L2 oral production was elicited by a story-recalling task. Participants’ performance was assessed by the accuracy, fluency and complexity of their oral production. The results showed that individual differences in WMC impacted the fluency and accuracy of L2 oral performance. Increased task frequency resulted in consistent effects on the accuracy，complexity, and fluency of L2 oral production. Also, it further improved the accuracy of the learners with low WMC. We conclude by proposing that WMC partially accounts for variation in oral production, and repeated practice may be an effective way to improve oral performance by freeing up learners’ cognitive resources.
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