Topic: Topic: Theoretical Bases for Theoretical Bases for Cognitive MethodCognitive Method

ObjectivesTrainees will be able to give reasons for the

design and procedures of the Cognitive Method.

Lesson OneLesson OneGiving Reasons for the Cognitive Giving Reasons for the Cognitive

methodmethod Pre-task activities Step One: discussing the language theories underlying t

he method. Step Two: discussing the language learning theories un

derlying the method. While-task activities Step Three: group work to give reasons for the method. Post-task activities Step Seven: group speaker reporting to the class.

The Cognitive ApproachThe Cognitive Approach

Theory of language. Transformational generative linguistics:Chomsky assumes that children are born with a language acquisition devi

ce( LAD). This LAD is made up of a set of general principles called universal grammar. These general principles can be applied to all the languages in the world. There are a finite number of rules that all native speakers know and with these rules it is possible to create an infinite number of sentences.

Linguistic competence refers to the internalized knowledge of the language that a native speaker of that language possesses. It is this language competence that allows the child to be creative as a language user.

Linguistic performance refers to the actual utterances produced by the native speakers

Theory of Language LearningTheory of Language Learning

Cognitive psychology They maintain that all the relationships among stimuli,

responses and consequences are learned and are integrated into the animal’s knowledge. That is to say, the animal under study makes a response simply because it has the knowledge or belief that in a particular situation.

Assimilation refers to the process by which new items are added to a concept or schema

Accommodation refers to the process by which the existing concept or schema is changed on the basis of new information.

Transformational generative Transformational generative linguisticslinguistics

Contribution of Noam Chomsky( 乔姆斯基）

Language acquisition deviceLinguistic competence and linguistic perform

anceGoal of transformational generative linguistic

sApproach taken by Chomsky

Contribution of Noam ChomskContribution of Noam Chomsky(y( 乔姆斯基）乔姆斯基）

The year 1957 saw the publication of Noam Chomsky’s book Syntactic Structures, which started a revolution in the linguistic world and ushered in a new school--- the transformational generative linguistics

Language acquisition deviceLanguage acquisition device

Chomsky assumes that children are born with a language acquisition device( LAD). This LAD is made up of a set of general principles called universal grammar. These general principles can be applied to all the languages in the world.

Linguistic competence and Linguistic competence and linguistic performancelinguistic performance

Linguistic competence refers to the internalized knowledge of the language that a native speaker of that language possesses.

Linguistic performance refers to the actual utterances produced by the native speakers.

Goal of transformational Goal of transformational generative linguisticsgenerative linguistics

Chomsky holds the position that linguists should study the linguistic competence, not the performance, of the native speaker and try to set up a system of rules that will generate an infinite number of grammatical sentences of the language and none of ungrammatical ones, will demonstrate and explain the various kinds of relations including ambiguity among sentences, and will be able to characterize the creative property of language.

Approach taken by ChomskyApproach taken by Chomsky

A deductive, hypothesis-testing approach is taken by Chomsky.

Cognitive psychology Cognitive psychology

Definition of cognitive psychology Computer technology Work of Jean Piaget Work of Noam Chomsky Theory of cognitive psychology Acquisition of knowledge Schemas and concepts Assimilation and accommodation

Definition of cognitive Definition of cognitive psychologypsychology

Cognitive psychology can be defined as the study of people’s ability to acquire, organize, remember and use knowledge to guide their behaviour.

Computer technologyComputer technology

A computer receives coded information, processes it and then sends it to the output system. All this is analogous to what the brain does.The brain receives information through senses, processes it and sends it out as behavioral actions.

Work of Jean PiagetWork of Jean Piaget 皮亚杰皮亚杰 Switzerland, 189Switzerland, 18966

Based on the data collected in his experiments with children, Piaget claimed that while the child grows up, his capacity of reasoning would become more and more developed through different stages.

He described the development of children’s reasoning abilities at each stage in terms of hypothetical mental constructs which he called schemes

Work of Noam Chomsky(192Work of Noam Chomsky(1928- )8- )

Noam Chomsky’s publication of Syntactic Structures in 1957 not only started a revolution in linguistics, but also had an enormous impact on psychology.

He argued that language should be viewed as a system of mental rules which are in part wired into the brain as a result of evolution.

Theory of cognitive psychology Theory of cognitive psychology

All of cognitive psychologists want to explain observable behaviour by reference to hypothetical mental structures.

They maintain that all the relationships among stimuli, responses and consequences are learned and are integrated into the animal’s knowledge. That is to say, the animal under study makes a response simply because it has the knowledge or belief that in a particular situation.

Acquisition of knowledge Acquisition of knowledge

As for the acquisition of knowledge, some cognitive psychologists like Piaget describe it in terms of cognitive structures. According to Piaget, there are two principal types of cognitive structures which he called schemas and concepts.

Schema and conceptSchema and concept

Concept: a concept is a mental representation of a category, which allows a person to sort stimuli into instances and noninstancesSchema: a schema is a mental representation of a set of related categories.

AssimilationAssimilation 同化 同化 and accommodationand accommodation 适适应应

Assimilation refers to the process by which new items are added to a concept or schema

Accommodation refers to the process by which the existing concept or schema is changed on the basis of new information.

ASSIMILATION:) EXAMPLE: A child who knows what a dog is sees another

four-legged animal that she or he has never before encountered, such as a cow, and not recognizing it, uses previous schema to call it a dog.

ACCOMMODATION: EXAMPLE: After the child calls the cow a dog, his or her

mother tells him or her that this new four-legged creature is a cow. The next time the child sees a cow he or she identifies it as a cow, indicating that the child’s previous schema of four legged creatures had been expanded to include cows.

The hypothesis of linguistic The hypothesis of linguistic universalsuniversals

Two approaches to the study of linguistic universals

Core grammar and peripheral grammar

Two approaches to the study Two approaches to the study of linguistic universalsof linguistic universals

One is taken by Noam Chomsky, who is making a detailed study of a particular language in order to reveal the universals of language;

the other is taken by Joseph H. Greenberg, who studies and compares different languages in an effort to determine the linguistic universals.

Core grammar and peripheral Core grammar and peripheral grammargrammar

The core grammar of a natural language agrees with the inborn set of general principles while the peripheral grammar can not be governed by the language acquisition device.

The core grammar of the learner’s mother tongue will facilitate the development of the learner’s interlanguage and will exert a positive influence on the acquisition of the target language.

The cognitive theoryThe cognitive theory

Automaticity and restructuring

Automatic processing of information and

controlled processing of information

Restructuring

Functions of automaticity and restructuring

Automaticity and restructuringAutomaticity and restructuring

In the cognitive theory, automaticity and restructuring are the most important notions.

Automatic processing of information andAutomatic processing of information andcontrolled processing of informationcontrolled processing of information

Automatic processing of information needs less time and energy than controlled processing.

Teaching and practice will help the learner to acquire the automatic processing capacity.

Restructuring Restructuring

When the existing internal representation cannot be used to account for the new information, then it is necessary for us to restructure the internal representation.

Functions of automaticity and Functions of automaticity and restructuringrestructuring

Language learning at the beginning stage involves more of the process of automaticity while language learning at the advanced stage usually involves more of the process of restructuring.