Cognitive Influences on Language Learning

Cognitive Influences on Language Learning

1. Intelligence

   • Multiple intelligences (Gardner, 1985)
     • Logico-mathematical
     • Linguistic
     • Spatial
     • Musical
     • Bodily-Kinesthetic
     • Interpersonal
     • Intrapersonal
     • Naturalistic
     • Spiritual
   • Formal study of L2 (Genesse,1976;Ekstand,1977)
     • Reading
     • Writing
     • Language analysis
     • Vocabulary study
   • Lightbocon 8 Spada,1993:37
     • Intelligence is a strong factor in L2 Learning contexts
     • Intelligences is less important in less informal instruction

2. Aptitude

   • Ellis (1985) Language Aptitude is difficult to be defined
   • Skehan (1989:38) Aptitude is consistently the most successful predictor of success
     • Naturalistic learning
     • Formal teaching situations
   • Carroll and Sapon's Modern Language Aptitud Test (MLAT 1959)
     • Phonemic codingability
     • Grammatical Sensitivity
     • Inductive Language learning ability
     • Rote learning ability
   • Pimleur's Language Aptitude Battery (LAB,1966,1985)
     • Inductive and auditory abilities
   • Stern (1983)
     • The MLAT and LAB are not completely valid
   • Ellis (1985) Krashen (1981)
     • The ability to communicate should be included in any aptitud test
   • Bialystock and Frohlich (1978) Krashen (1981)
     • Aptitude is probably an unmodifiable variable in second language achievement and it's not trainable

3. Cognitive style

   • Brown (1973)
     • Reflective-impulsive thinking
     • Broad-narrow categorizing
     • Skeletonizing-embroidering
     • Belief-congruence-contradiction
   • Witkin (1962,1971) The Group Embedded Test (GET)
     • Ellis (1985) Main characteristics of GET
       • Field Dependence
         • Socially sensitive
         • Dependent
         • Holistic
         • Personal Orientation
       • Field Independence
         • Impersonal
         • Analytic
         • Independent
         • Not so social aware
     • Skehan (1989:111)
       • Field dependent, individuals are person oriented
       • Field independent, learners are cerebral and object oriented
   • Other types of modalities of learning styles
     • Reid (1987)
       • Visual learning
       • Auditory learning
       • Kinaesthetic learning
       • Tactile learning
     • Willing (1987)
       • Authority- orientated
       • Communicate
       • Analythic
       • Concrete

4. Learning Strategies

   • Characteristics
     • Contribute to communicative competence
     • Help learners to become self-directed and autonomous
     • Students take responsibility for their own learning
     • Specific actions
     • Involve many aspects of the learner
     • Support learning
     • Not always observable
     • Strategy training
     • Often conscious
     • Flexible
     • For all learners
     • Influenced by all the factors involved in learning L2
   • Classification
     • O'Malley (1985) Ellis(1985) Wenden and Rubin (1987) Willing (1988) Oxford and Crookail (1989)
       • Cognitive
       • Memory
       • Compensation
       • Metacognitive
       • Social
       • Affective
       • Communication
   • Strategy training
     • Ellis and Sinclair (1989) Brown (1989) Oxford(1989) Wenden (1991)
       • Teaching materials to help students become autonomous learners

Images and files in the map