Learning strategies as cognitive skills

Learning strategies as cognitive skills

1. Techniques devices which a learner may use to acquire second language knowledge. Rubin(1987:19).

2. Special thoughts or behaviours that learners use to help them comprehend, retain and/or use the information. Dansereau (1985).

3. Operations employed by the learner to aid the acquisition, storage, retrieval, and use of information. Oxford (1990)

   • A general feature of LS, according to Oxford, are the following 1.-Contribute to the main goal: communicative competence. 2.- Allow learners to become self-directed. 3.- Expand the role of teachers. 4.- Are problem-oriented. 5.- Are specific actions taken by the learner. 6.-Involve many aspects of the learner, not just cognitive. 7.- Support learning both directly and indirectly. 8.- Are not always observable. 9.-Are often conscious. 10.- Can be taught. 11.- Are Flexible. 12. -Are influenced by a variety of factors.
   • Strategies that directly affect learning according to Rubin
     • Clarification/verification: Ask for an example of how to use a word or expresion
     • Monitoring: Corrects erros in own/other's pronounciation.
     • Guessing/Inductive inferencing: Compares native/other language to the target language.
     • Deductive reasoning: Guesses meaning from key words.
     • Practice: Experiments with new sounds.
     • Based on her research, she proposed that classification called Primary stages.
     • Memorization: Takes notes of new items.

4. O'Malley and Chamot's studies (1990)

   • O'Malley collected strategy data on the basis of interviews with secondary-school ESL learners, interviews their teachers, observations and other situations. She identified 26 strategies, due this she came up with the following taxonomy.
     • METAGOCTIVE STRATEGIES
       • These involve thinking about the learning process, planning for learning, monitoring the learning task and evaluating how well one has learned.
         • 1.-Planning, 2.- Directed attention, 3.-Selective attention, 4.- Self-management, 5.-Self-monitoring, 6.-Problem identification and 7.-Self-evaluation
     • COGNITIVE STRATEGIES
       • These involve interacting with the material to be learned, manipulating the material mentally or physically, or applying a specific technique to a learning taks.
         • 1.-Repetition, 2.-Resourcing, 3.-Grouping, 4.-Note-taking, 5.-Deduction/Induction, 6.-Substitution, 7.-Elaboration, 8.-Summarizing, 9.-Translation, 10.-Transfer 11.- Inferencing.
     • SOCIAL AND AFFECTIVE STRATEGIES
       • These involve interacting with another person to assist learning or using affective control to assist a learning task.
         • 1.- Questioning for clarification, 2.-Cooperation, 3.-Self-talk, 4.-Self-reinforcement

5. Oxford's contribution (1990)

   • This represents a strategy system which is divided into two major classes:
     • Direct class: which includes
       • Memory strategies
       • Cognitive strategies
       • Compensation strategies
     • Indirect class: which includes
       • Social strategies
       • Affective strategies
       • Metacognitive strategies.
         • According to Oxford, direct and inderect strategies support each other and each strategy type is capable of connecting with and assisting every other strategy types.