COGNITIVE INFLUENCES ON LANGUAGE LEARNING

COGNITIVE INFLUENCES ON LANGUAGE LEARNING

1. Intelligence

   • In general, It has been defined and measured in terms of linnguistic and logico-mathematical abilities (IQ test)
   • Gardner (1985) He recognices several types of intelligences
     • Logico-mathematic Linguistic, Spatial, Musical, Kinesthetic, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Naturalistic, Spiritual
   • Is it important for SLA?
     • Intelligence is related to formal L2 learning
     • There is not correlation between intelligence and L2 communicative learning

2. Language Aptitude

   • Aptitude is considered to be the "natural ability" which we have to learn language,and people possess it to varying degrees.
   • Is it important for SLA? It is believed to be in part related to general intelligence. The aptitude relates to the rate of the learnern's acquisition rather tan the route of a the acquisition.

3. Cognitive Style

   • It refers to the manner in which the learner perceives, monitors, conceptualises and recalls linguistic informacion.
   • According to Brown, these are cognitive styles
     • reflective-impulsive thinking,broad-narrow categorizing, skeletonizing-embroidering, belief congruence-contradiction
   • Witkins . 2 distinctions
     • Dependence, Independence
       • Dependent : students will learn more effectively in a naturalistic set
       • Independence : Learners will try to analyse language more naturalle than the field-dependent one, and thus theoretically be more successful in a formal instruction environment
   • Reid distinguished four perceptual learning tendencies
     • Visual, Auditory, Kinaesthetic and Tactile-learning
   • Willing identifies :
     • Concete learning Style, Analytic Learning style, Communicative learning style, and Authory-oriented learning style.
   • Cognitive Style is an important tool for teachers to plan activities, and react according to differents types of instruction

4. Learning Strategies

   • Learning Strategies ares steps taken by students to enhance their own learning. Specific actions or techniques which may or may not observable.
   • Diferent typologies were established for classification of language learning strategies
     • Cognitive, Memory, Compensation,Metacognitive,Social,Affective, Communication
   • Learning Strategies are important for SLA? Strategies are especially important for language learning because they are tools for active, self-directed involvement, which is essential for developing communicative competence.. Learning Strategies, improved proficiency and greader self-confidenece. They help language learners make the most of English they have, They help language learners become independent learners.