Cognithink

Cognithink

What has one eye but can’t see?

 anamotional
challenge
“Kwenta ka ? Kwenta eka
? Kwenta kaka ? Bon.on
bato ron”
 ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES

Learning Theories
Cognitive Code: Learners as
Thinking Beings

The Affective factor: Learners

as Emotional Beings
Cognitive Code: Learners as Thinking
Beings

Learners as active thinkers

process and analyze information
How Learning Happens in the
Cognitive View

understanding and applying knowledge

Cognitive Code: Learners as Thinking
Beings

Problem-Solving Task
The basic teaching technique/strategy associated with
cognitive theory of language learning.
 Kindly read the passage:

“The factors affecting the rate of heat transfer through the

skin also determine the rate of diffusion of gases through
the walls of the cells, tissues and organs of plants and
animals. For example, oxygen and carbon dioxide are
absorbed through the walls of various organs. The greater
the surface area of these organs in relation to their volume,
the more of the surface will be exposed to the gas, and
hence the faster the rate of diffusion.”
(from Nucleus: Biology, D. Adamson and M. Bates, Longman, 1976)
 Kindly read the passage:

“The factors affecting the rate of heat transfer through the

skin also determine the rate of diffusion of gases through
the walls of the cells, tissues and organs of plants and
animals. For example, oxygen and carbon dioxide are
absorbed through the walls of various organs. The greater
the surface area of these organs in relation to their volume,
the more of the surface will be exposed to the gas, and
hence the faster the rate of diffusion.”
(from Nucleus: Biology, D. Adamson and M. Bates, Longman, 1976)
 Problem-Solving

• The smallest humming-bird

weighs less than 2 grams.
Why are humming-birds only
found in hot countries?
 Problem-Solving

• Cold-blooded animals depend

on the-warmth of the sun to
make their muscles work. The
wings of butterflies and the
tails of reptiles serve to absorb
warmth. Why is this?
 Problem-Solving

• Why are aquatic warm-

blooaed animals in northern
and southern seas very large?
(whales, seals, dolphins
 Reading Strategies
• The cognitive view of learning has
had a significant impact on ESP
through the development of courses
to teach reading strategies.

• A number of ESP projects have

concentrated on making students
aware of their reading strategies so
that they can consciously apply
them to understanding texts in a
foreign language
 Reading Strategies
(Example)
Activity A Do you need a dictionary?
(35 mins)
Specific Aim To give students practice in deciding whether or
not to use a dictionary in the context of reading
a text for particular purposes.
1. The format for this activity has been chosen for the
following reasons:
(a) to make reading purposeful;
(b)to highlight the issue of relevance;
 Reading Strategies
(Example)

(c) to allow for individual variations in language proficiency

different words are unknown to different students; students
vary in their ability to use contextual clues, etc.

2. The student should therefore emerge from this lesson

with a knowledge not of what words he needs to look up
but of what issues he needs to bear in mind in deciding
whether or not he should look up a word in a dictionary:
 Reading Strategies
(Example)
(a) Is the meaning of the unknown word relevant to my
needs?
(b) If it is relevant, is it necessary, can I get the same
information from other words in the text?
(c) Is a generic meaning enough or do I need the precise
meaning of the word, ie how much guessing can I get away
with?
(d) How can I arrive at the meaning of the word without
having to look it up in a dictionary?
 Reading Strategies
(Example)
The Major Processes of an Economic System

Four major processes cover the activities of people in any

economic system: the primary raw material industries,
manufacturing, distribution, and the service industries. First there is
the process that provides the raw materials needed in a modern
economy: the minerals and fuels; the grains and other vegetable
and animal food products; wool, cotton, flax, and other fibres;
lumber; stone, sand and clay; leather, hides, and skin and like
commodities. This is the work of enterprises engaged in agriculture,
mining, lumbering, hunting, and fishing — often called the
extractive, or primary industries.
 Reading Strategies
(Example)
YES NO

(a) Is a fibre a kind of raw material?

(b) Is silk a kind of fibre?
(c) Is lumber another name for fibre?
(d)Is lumbering an extractive industry?
(e) Is cutting down trees an extractive
industry?
 Reading Strategies
(Example)
Activity D Choose the appropriate reference.

Here is a bibliography on polymerization.

Decide which of the publications in the list are likely to give

you (a) a brief introduction to the subject; (b) an account of
current developments in the field; (c) an historical
perspective on the subject; (d) the opinions of several
writers on the subject. Note down your answers.
 Reading Strategies
(Example)
1 Billmeyer, F. W. Textbook of Polymer Science. New York: John
2 Willey and Sons, 1962. 2 The Condensed Chemical Dictionary.
3 Encyclopaedia Britannica.
4 Interna tional Encyclopaedia o f Science.
5 Lappert. M. F., and Leigh. G. J., ed., Developments in Inorganic
Polymer Chemistry. New York: American Elsevier Publishing Co.,
1962.
6 Mandelkern, Leo. An Introduction to Macro molecules. New York:
Springer- Verlag, 1972.
7 Mark, H. F. "The Nature of Polymeric Materials." Scientific
American, September 1967, p. 149
 Reading Strategies
(Example)
8 Morton, Maurice. "Polymers Ten Years Later."Chemistry, October
1974, pp. 11-14.
9 Slabaugh, H. W., and Parsons, T. D. General Chemistry. New York:
Wiley and Sons Inc., 1971.
10 Stille, J. K. Introduction to Polymer Chemistry. New York: John
Wiley and Sons, 1962.
11 Wasserman, Leonard G. Chemistry: Basic Concepts and
Contemporary Applications. Belmont, California: Wadsworth
Publishing Company Inc., 1974.
 Reading Strategies

Cognitive code view of learning

• Treats learners as thinking beings
• Students are at the center of the learning
process
• Stresses that learning only takes place if the
topic is meaningful to the learners
 AFFECTIVE FACTOR:
LEARNERS AS
EMOTIONAL BEINGS
• Affective Factor

The affective factor refers to the emotional

and psychological aspects of learning that
influence a learner
 AFFICTIVE FACTOR:
LEARNERS AS
EMOTIONAL BEINGS
• "Learners as emotional beings"

This phrase emphasizes the integral role of

emotions in the learning process, highlighting
a common oversight where
Cognitive/Affective Interplay
Motivation - one of the most important element in the
development of ESL

Gardner and Lambert (1972) study of French Speaking

Canada

Two forms of motivation:

Instrumental and Integrative
 FORMS OF MOTIVATION

1. INSTRUMENTAL MOTIVATION
reflection of an external need
 FORMS OF MOTIVATION

2. INTEGRATIVE MOTIVATION
- internally generated want rather than
an externally imposed need
 Gardner and Lambert's conclusion
was that both forms of motivation
are probably present in all learners
but each exercises a varying influence,
depending on age, experience and
changing occupational or social
needs.
WHAT MOTIVATES MY
STUDENTS?
The ESP field often assumes that making
materials relevant to a learner’s target
needs is sufficient for motivation.

(e.g., medical texts for medical students,

engineering texts for engineers)
ESP needs to be
intrinsically
motivating.
 Learners should get
satisfaction from the actual
experience of learning, not
just from the prospect of
eventually using what they
have learnt.