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1. Signal learning generally occurs in the total language process: human beings
make a general response of some kind (emotional, cognitive, verbal, or non-
verbal) to language
2. Stimulus-response learning is quite evident in the acquisition of the sound
system of a foreign language in which, through a process of conditioning and
trial and error, the learner makes closer and closer approximations to native- like
pronunciation.
3. Chaining is evident in the acquisition of phonological sequences and syntactic
patterns – the stringing together of several responses
4. Verbal association is the learning of chains that are verbal. The presence of
language in the human being makes this a special type because internal links
may be selected from the individual’s previously learned repertoire of language.
TYPES OF LEARNING (CONT.)
5. Multiple discriminations are necessary particularly in second
language learning where, for example, a word has to take on several
meanings, or a role in the native language is reshaped to fit a second
language context.
6. Concept learning includes the notion that language and cognition are
inextricably interrelated; also that rules themselves – rules of syntax,
rules of conversation – are linguistic concepts that have to be acquired.
7. Principle learning is the extension of concept learning , learning to
the formation of a linguistic system, in which rules are not isolated in rote
memory but conjoined and subsumed in a total system.
8. Problem solving is clearly evident in second language learning as the
learner is continually faced with sets of events that are truly problems to
be solved.
STRATEGIES OF LEARNING
A strategy may be defined as a particular method of approaching a problem or
task, a mode of operation for achieving a particular end, a plan designed for
controlling and manipulating certain information.
A learning strategy is a method of perceiving and storing particular items for later
recall.
The two types of strategies are quite different in their manifestations though
there is obviously a strong relationship between them.
LEARNING STRATEGIES
The human organism approaches any new problem with an existing
set of cognitive structures, and through insight, logical thinking,
and various forms of hypothesis testing, calls upon whatever
prior experiences he has had and whatever cognitive structures
he possesses to attempt a solution.
In the literature on language learning strategies, four terms have
commonly been singled out for explications:
1. transfer
2. interference
3. generalization
4. simplification
TRANSFER AND INTERFERENCE
Transfer is a general term describing the carryover of previous performance or
knowledge to subsequent learning. Positive transfer occurs when the prior
knowledge benefits the learning task – that is, when a previous item is correctly
applied to present subject matter. Negative transfer occurs when the previous
performance disrupts the performance of a second task. The latter can be
referred to as interference, in that, previously learned material interferes with
subsequent material – a previous item is incorrectly transferred or incorrectly
associated with an item to be learned.
It has been common in second language teaching to stress the role of interference
– that is, the interfering effects of the native language on the target (the second )
language.
In fact, it is clear from the learning theory that a person will use whatever previous
experience he has had with language in order to facilitate the second language
learning process.
Finally, when all else fails – when appeal, avoidance, transfer, and other
strategies are all incapable of producing a meaningful utterance –
learners may resort to language switch. That is, they may simply use their
native language whether the learner knows that native language or not.
IMPLICATIONS TO LANGUAGE LEARNING AND
TEACHING
Much of the work of researchers and teachers in the application of
both learning and communication strategies to classroom learning
has come to be known generically as learner strategy training.
As we seek to make the language classroom an effective milieu for
learning, it has become increasingly apparent that “teaching
learners how to learn” is crucial. Learner strategies are the key to
learner autonomy, and that one of the most important goals of
language training should be the facilitating of that autonomy.
Teachers, therefore, can benefit from an understanding of what
makes learners successful and unsuccessful, and establish in the
classroom a milieu for the realization of successful strategies.
Teachers cannot always expect instant success in that effort since
students often bring with them certain preconceived notions of
what “ought “ to go on in the classroom. Nevertheless, our efforts
to teach students some “technical know-how about how to tackle
a language” are well advised.
IMPLICATIONS (CONT.)
Several different models of learner strategy training are now being practiced in
language classes around the world.
We have much to learn in the creation of practical techniques for training learners in
strategy use, but this remains a very exciting and promising area of pedagogical
research at the present time.
SUMMARY
In Topic 7, we have looked at a number of both relevant and salient cognitive
variables in the learning of a foreign language. It should by now be apparent
that cognitive variables alone represent a quagmire of factors that must be
channeled into an understanding of the total second language acquisition
process.
An awareness of these factors will help us, teachers, to perceive in the learners
you encounters some wide-varying individual differences. We know very well
that not all learners are alike. No one can be neatly pigeon-holed into a
cognitive type. With many styles and strategies operating within a person,
hundreds of cognitive “profiles” might be identified! If we could discover some
overriding and all-pervading variable that classifies learners neatly into
categories of “successful” and “unsuccessful”, then of course we could make a
case for typing language learners.
Chamot, Anna Uhl and O’Malley, Michael. 1986. A Cognitive Academic Language Learning
Approach: An ESL Content-Based Curriculum. Wheaton, MD: National Clearinghouse for
Bilingual Education.
Ellis , Gail and Sinclair Barbara. 1989. Learning to Learn English: A Course In
Learner Training. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ellis , Rod. 1987. Second Language Acquisition In Context. New York: Prentice Hall.
Hartnett, Dayle D. 1985. Cognitive style and second language learning. In Celce- Murcia, 1985.
Oxford, Rebecca. 1990. Language Learning Strategies: What Every Teacher Should Know. New
York: Newbury House Publishers.
THANK YOU SO MUCH!
From Group 7