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Cognitive Psychology On Foreign Language Learning

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COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY ON FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING
A language is considered to be foreign if it is largely learned in class but not spoken in
the society where the teaching occurs. Language is like a vehicle required for proper
understanding of one’s culture and effective human interactions. Therefore, learning a foreign
language provides individuals with access into a different perspective other than their own and
this increases their ability to see connections across content areas while gaining intellectual
understanding (Robinson, 2011). However, learning a foreign language successfully
incorporates several factors and one factor that plays a major role in foreign language learning is
cognitive psychology. Cognitive psychology basically deals with the mental processes of the
mind including memory, attention, thinking, language, perception among others. Being a
cognition that truly makes us human, language enables us to express infinite ideas with a limited
set of symbols and researchers have found mastery of this complex skill to be more prevalent
among younger children as opposed to adults. Infants as young as 12 months are reported to
exhibit high sensitivity to the grammar needed to understand causative sentences when learning a
new language (Chan, 2011).
Children have an advantage of learning foreign language with ease as compared to adults.
Many cognitive theories point towards the fact that cognitive abilities decrease with age which
places adults at a disadvantage when it comes to achieving proficiency in language. The most
common age-related changes in cognitive processes that are important for language learning
include difficulty in encoding new information, decreased ability to learn paired associates,
diminished memory capacity, attention deficits and less accuracy in recalling details as opposed
to children. Therefore, children are more likely to succeed in foreign language learning due to
their sharp cognitive processes as opposed to adults (Robinson, 2011).

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However, the biggest question that has remained unanswered is: What is the exact process that
transforms a child’s utterances into grammatically correct adult-like speech? What account can
explain the variation between languages and language acquisition process in children acquiring
foreign languages? This mystery of language acquisition is what has kept psychologists surprised
for many years.
Cognitive Theories of Language Learning
There are various theories that have been advanced to explain the concept of language
learning. A cognitive theory of learning views foreign language learning as a reasoned and
conscious thinking process that involves the deliberate use of learning strategies. These learning
strategies are special techniques that enable processing of information for improved
comprehension and learning. Cognitivist theory views human beings as having innate capacity to
develop logical thinking. Cognitivist argue that the conditions for learning a foreign language are
the same conditions that are necessary for any kind of learning and that the environment only
provides the material that the individual can work on. Learning a language as a cognitive process
incorporates internal representations that guide and regulate performance (Robinson, 2011). Jean
Piaget, a cognitivist theorist, suggests that language acquisition rests on mental and emotional
processes and links language development to a childs cognitive development. Piaget argued that
a child must first understand a concept clearly before verbalizing it. Piaget was interested in
errors that children make and suggested that the precursors of thinking and language lie in the
elementary actions, perceptions and imitation of babies (Chan, 2011).

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1 COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY ON FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING A language is considered to be foreign if it is largely learned in class but not spoken in the society where the teaching occurs. Language is like a vehicle required for proper understanding of one’s culture and effective human interactions. Therefore, learning a foreign language provides individuals with access into a different perspective other than their own and this increases their ability to see connections across content areas while gaining intellectual understanding (Robinson, 2011). However, learning a foreign language successfully incorporates several factors and one factor that plays a major role in foreign language learning is cognitive psychology. Cognitive psychology basically deals with the mental processes of the mind including memory, attention, thinking, language, perception among others. Being a cognition that truly makes us human, language enables us to express infinite ideas with a limited set of symbols and researchers have found mastery of this complex skill to be more prevalent among younger children as opposed to adults. Infants as young as 12 months are reported to exhibit high sensitivity to the grammar needed to understand causative sentences when learning a new language (Chan, 2011). Children have an advantage of learning foreign language with ease as compared to adults. Many cognitive theories point towards the fact that cognitive abilities decrease with age which places adults at a disadvantag ...
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