Cognitive strategies are one type of learning strategy that learners use in order to learn more successfully. These include repetition, organising new language, summarising meaning, guessing meaning from context, using imagery for memorisation.
An approach is a way of looking at teaching and learning. Underlying any language teaching approach is a theoretical view of what language is, and of how it can be learnt. An approach gives rise to methods, the way of teaching something, which use classroom activities or techniques to help learners learn.
As a basis for all communication, language in the educational set-up is of vital importance in putting across developmental thoughts, information and data. A common language not only helps develop one's linguistic skills, but also expands the cognitive (thinking) abilities of an individual.
Learning strategies are steps taken by learners to enhance their learning. An active use of language learning strategies helps learners in control of their own learning by developing language skills, increasing confidence and motivation in learning process.
The Five Stages of Second Language Acquisition
Students learning a second language move through five predictable stages: Preproduction, Early Production, Speech Emergence, Intermediate Fluency, and Advanced Fluency (Krashen & Terrell, 1983).We acquire languages when we can understand messages
Learners need to be exposed to what Krashen calls 'comprehensible input' – that is, exposure to interesting and understandable listening and reading material. In Krashen's view, we acquire languages when we understand messages.Language learning styles and strategies appear to be among the most important variables influencing performance in a second language. Individuals acquire learning styles and techniques according to their individual differences like other abilities through experience (Seif, 2001).
Learners learn a second language as a result of their motivation, hard work, the L1-L2 distance, the target level , the method they choose, and their language aptitude. The most common difficulty they experience is breaking the language barrier. In fact, you are not learning a language but relearning it.
DIRECT STRATEGIES Language learning strategies that directly involve the target language are called direct strategies. All direct strategies require mental processing of the language, but the three groups of direct strategies (memory, cognitive, & compensation) do this processing differently and for different purposes.
Children acquire language through a subconscious process during which they are unaware of grammatical rules. This happens especially when they acquire their first language(s). They repeat what is said to them and get a feel for what is and what is not correct.
Here are five strategies I have implemented in my classroom to help students improve their focus so they're ready, willing and able to learn.
- Begin class with a mindful minute.
- Incorporate movement.
- Take sensory breaks.
- Build foundational cognitive skills.
- Create a growth mindset classroom.
- 6 Powerful Learning Strategies You MUST Share with Students. December 11, 2016.
- Spaced Practice. Space out your studying over time.
- Retrieval Practice. Practice bringing information to mind without the help of materials.
- Elaboration. Explain and describe ideas with many details.
- Interleaving.
- Concrete Examples.
- Dual Coding.
Specifically, six key learning strategies from cognitive research can be applied to education: spaced practice, interleaving, elaborative interrogation, concrete examples, dual coding, and retrieval practice.
The VARK Model
It is an acronym that refers to the four learning styles: visual, auditory, reading/writing preference, and kinesthetic. VARK is focused on the idea that students retain and process information differently and have “preferred learning modes” that allow them to learn their best.Here are five more teaching strategies that you can use to transform your lesson plans.
- Use Teaching Strategies that Go Beyond the Textbook.
- Use the Goldilocks Approach for Planning Objectives.
- Use Visual Learning Strategies.
- Give Students a Choice.
- Plan Your Assessment First.
Active Learning Strategies
- Group Activities. Case-based learning. Case-based learning requires students to apply their knowledge to reach a conclusion about an open-ended, real-world situation.
- Individual Activities. Application cards.
- Partner Activities. Role playing.
- Visual Organizing Activities. Categorizing grids.
Top 10 Evidence Based Teaching Strategies
- Clear Lesson Goals.
- Show & Tell.
- Questioning to Check for Understanding.
- Summarise New Learning In A Graphical Way.
- Plenty of Practice.
- Provide Your Students With Feedback.
- Be Flexible About How Long It Takes to Learn.
- Get Students Working Together.
According to research, if you really want new material to stick, the best way to study is something called "distributed practice." That means that if you want to master a new concept, your best bet is to study hard for a short period of time, take a break, and then have another go at it, spreading intense bursts of
Learning strategies are steps taken by students to enhance their own learning. Strategies are especially important for language learning because they are tools for active, self-directed involvement, which is essential for developing communicative competence.
Here are some of the top ideas for you to use.
- Modeling. After telling students what to do, it's important to show them exactly how to do it.
- Mistakes.
- Feedback.
- Cooperative Learning.
- Experiential Learning.
- Student-Led Classroom.
- Class Discussion.
- Inquiry-Guided Instruction.
The SIOP elements are as follows:
- Lesson Preparation.
- Building Background.
- Comprehensible Input.
- Strategies.
- Interaction.
- Practice/Application.
- Lesson Delivery.
- Review & Assessment.
