L2 development complex cognitive skill

This theory is based on some concepts:

1. The use of language is a complex cognitive skill involving a hierarchy of goals and sub skills. The way that you rank what is necessary to learn first and how you should precede afterwards.

2. There are two basic types of processes involved in language use; controlled processes and automatic processes. A controlled process is when the use of language is controlled by somebody else, where somebody has just learn to do it in own way and has to do this. It can also be to read a text when the language you read is controlled by the writer. An automatic process is when you don’t really think about the language you use; it has been automatic in your brain so everything floats naturally. This is something that everybody wants to obtain when it comes to language.

3. There is only a limited capacity for information processing in the man’s short term memory. Therefore it is necessary to draw on “ready-made-plans” from long term memory is such a complex cognitive task as language use.

Barry McLaughlin:

He is an American psycholinguist that has specified speaking as a complex cognitive task involving a hierarchy of goals. From the lower goals to the first order goal:

First order goal: Is to express a particular intention. (Purpose of speaking)

Second order goal: to decide a topic. (What to speak about)

Third order goal: to formulate a series of phrases. (To use correct words to form a meaning)

Lower order goals: To retrieve the lexicon needed (To use correct words)

To activate articulator patterns. (To say it in the correct way)

To utilize appropriate syntactic rules. (To know the rules and to be able to use them)

To meet pragmatic conventions. (To form sentences)

The way to succeed is to practice and practice. “A skill must be practiced again and again and again, until no attention is required for its performance” You have to practice enough so that it becomes automatic in mind.

This is a way that most people think and if you think about this and also about the hierarchy system; you will se that if you start at the bottom and practice your way up and you will succeed.

Practice when it comes to learning a second language is very important. You have to work your way up the hierarchy to become a fluently speaker in the language.

The same goes for me. To be able to know all of this theory about English didactics; I have to practice and work with it so that it becomes natural to me. So for all of you out there of there that has something that you need to learn; you have to do practice and practice.