Applying Cognitive Development on Second Language Acquisition (SLA)

Applying Cognitive Development on Second Language Acquisition (SLA)

Metwalli, Wafaa Abdel Aziz

―Language Acquisition requires meaningful interaction in the target language- natural communication- in which speakers are concern not with the form of their utterances but with messages they are conveying and understanding.‖ Stephen Krashen. Second language acquisition (SLA) is the process by which people learn a second language in addition to their native language(s). The term second language is used to describe the acquisition of any language after the acquisition of the mother tongue. The language to be learned is often referred to as the ‗target language‘ or L2, compared to the first language L1. Cognitive learning theory has focuses on unobservable change in mental knowledge. Cognitivsim or mental change, as psycholinguists say, should no longer be ignored as a rejection of the behaviorist views. Cognitive abilities of SLA vary from one person to the other; presumably the recent studies suggested a synthesis in which the process of language acquisition may interact with cognitive development to produce an improvement in acquired language. SLA is often viewed as part of Applied Linguistics; it is typically concerned with the language system and learning processes, whereas applied linguistics may focus more on the experiences of the learner particularly in the classroom. The cognitive development of the second language acquisition is developed in this research through student –directed projects, presentations and classroom discussions to supplant the traditional lecture format. The purpose of this research is to combine these vital strands of investigation into close dialogue that will be applied on a group of university students studying a course of Sociolinguistics in Al Alsun Faculty, English Department. Results will be recorded to show the improvement of the second language (English Language) on this group viewable in their presentations and performances.

Conference or Workshop Item
PeerReviewed

2011-05

677