Cognitive Processes in Language Learning

Start with cognitive influences

Begin with the mind map “Cognitive influences on Language Learning” near the top of the page. It introduces conditions, strategies and processes that learners can draw on when learning a foreign language. Use its branches to organize your first notes on the topic.

Next, look at “Cognitive influences on language learning”. Its branches include language aptitude, recognizing grammatical patterns, and distinguishing and recalling new sounds. Compare these details with the broader starting map. The page has several maps with similar titles, so check the content as you open them.

Explore related maps

Other maps on cognitive influences include branches on intelligence and cognitive style. You can compare how the maps group these ideas and note where they use different terms. “Creating comprehensible (By Bill VanPatten)” introduces input and output in language acquisition and teaching.

For another direction, explore “Consciousness, noticing and restructuring”. The page also lists separate resources on consciousness and restructuring, which you can use alongside it to organize your study around those terms.

Use maps to check your understanding

There are no quizzes listed on this topic page. Instead, turn a map branch into a question, answer it from memory, and then check the map. For example, use the language aptitude branches to make questions about sounds and grammatical patterns. Repeat the process with another map and compare your answers.

Place the topic in its unit

Cognitive Processes in Language Learning is a section of the Language Acquisition and Second Language Acquisition unit in the subject Education and pedagogy (incl. teaching methods, curriculum, educational psychology). Use the maps to connect your study of cognitive influences with that wider unit. Open a map and let its branches guide your next study session.