THE COGNITIVE APPROACH

•MCLAUGHLIN’S ATTENTION-PROCESSING MODEL

•IMPLICIT AND EXPLICIT MODELS
 SECOND LANGUAGE ACUISITION

• SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING IS A SKILL.

• MANY RESEARCHERS SPECIALIZING IN SLA (SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION) FOCUS ON PROVIDING
PROOFS WHETHER LINGUISTIC SKILLS ARE INNATE, ACQUIRED, OR BOTH.
 THE COGNITIVE APPROACH
• THE COGNITIVE APPROACH IS STILL A NEWCOMER THAT THERE ARE JUST A FEW EMPIRICAL STUDIES ON
IT.
• SLLS (SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNERS) BUILD UP A GENERAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE LANGUAGE THEY WANT
TO LEARN OR PRODUCE AND AFTER A LOT OF PRACTICE AND EXPERIENCE, THEY WILL BE ABLE TO USE
CERTAIN PARTS OF THAT KNOWLEDGE CONSCIOUSLY OR SUBCONSCIOUSLY.
• HUMANS HAVE A LIMITED CAPACITY TO MANAGE CONTROLLED PROCESSES.
• SECOND LANGUAGE PROCESSING SKILLS BECOME MORE EFFICIENT VIA
AUTOMATIZATION/ROUTINIZATION.
 MCLAUGHLIN’S ATTENTION PROCESSING-MODEL
• PROCESSING MECHANISMS
1. CONTROLLED
2. AUTOMATIC
• CATEGORIES OF ATTENTION
1. FOCAL
2. PERIPHERAL
 MCLAUGHLIN’S ATTENTION PROCESSING-MODEL
CONTROLLED AUTOMATIC
FOCAL Focal controlled process Focal automatic process

Performance based on formal rule Performance in a test situation

learning

PERIPHERAL Peripheral controlled process Peripheral automatic process

Performance based on implicit Performance in communication

learning or analogic learning situations
 IMPLICIT AND EXPLICIT MODELS

• EXPLICIT LEARNING IS CHARACTERIZED AS ONE INVOLVING FOCAL ATTENTION WHILE IMPLICIT LEARNING
IS CHARACTERIZED AS ONE INVOLVING PERIPHERAL ATTENTION. - BIALYSTOK
 EXPLICIT LEARNING

• ALSO KNOWN AS ANALYZED LEARNING.

• LEARNERS ARE OVERTLY AWARE OF THE THING THEY ARE LEARNING.
EX. LEARNING ENGLISH GRAMMAR.
 IMPLICIT LEARNING

• ALSO KNOWN AS UNANALYZED LEARNING.

• IT ENABLES A LEARNER TO PERFORM A LANGUAGE BUT NOT NECESSARILY TO CITE THE RULES GOVERNING
THE PERFORMANCE.
• LEARNERS ARE OFTENTIMES NOT AWARE THAT THEY ARE LEARNING SOMETHING.
EX. LEARNING SENTENCE STRUCTURE, GRAMMAR, ETC. WHILE LISTENING IN A CONVERSATION.