Cognitive and Metacognitive 

Strategies

Yeilis Carolina leiva FarrayansLic. Lenguas Extrangeras

Group 2

Cognitive StrategiesAccording to O'Malley and Chamot (1990: 44), cognitive strategies 'operate directly on incoming information, manipulating it in ways that enhance learning'. The cognitive strategies as all those behaviors and sequential procedures, planned and guided by rules that make it easier for a person to learn, think and be creative in order to make decisions and solve problems are considered. Cognitive strategies are divided into learning strategies when used by the student, and teaching strategies when used by the teacher.

Preinstruccional: objectives, advance organizers, prior information generating activity.

Coinstruccional: signs, illustrations, analogies, conceptual map.

Postinstruccional: summaries, concept maps, graphic organizers.

Teaching strategies, depending on when they are introduced into the teaching-learning process, are classified as:

Learners may use any or all of the following cognitive strategies (see Cook, 1993: 114-115): repetition, when imitating others' speech; resourcing, having recourse to dictionaries and other materials translation, that is, using their mother tongue as a basis for understanding and/or producing the target language note-taking deduction, conscious application of L2 rules contextualisation, when embedding a word or phrase in a meaningful sequence transfer, that is, using knowledge acquired in the L1 to remember and understand facts and sequences in the L2 inferencing, when matching an unfamiliar word against available information (a new word etc) question for clarification, when asking the teacher to explain, etc.

Metacognitive Strategies

Plan / Organize: Before beginning a task:-Set goals.-Plan the task or content sequence.-Plan how to accomplish the task(choose strategies).-Preview a text.

Monitor / Identify Problems:While working on a task:-Check your progress on the task.-Check your comprehension as youuse the language. Do youunderstand? If not, what is theproblem?-Check your production as you usethe language. Are you making sense?If not, what is the problem?

TASK-BASED STRATEGIES

Evaluate:After completing a task:-Assess how well you haveaccomplished the learning task.-Assess how well you have usedlearning strategies.-Decide how effective the strategieswere.-Identify changes you will make thenext time you have a similar task todo.

Manage Your Own Learning:-Determine how you learn best.-Arrange conditions that help youlearn.-Seek opportunities for practice.-Focus your attention on the task.

USE WHAT YOU KNOW:

Use Background Knowledge:-Think about and use what youalready know to help you do thetask.- Make associations between newinformation and your priorknowledge.-Use new information to clarify ormodify your prior knowledge.

Make Inferences:-Use context and what you know tofigure out meaning.-Read and listen between the lines.-Go beyond the text to understandits meaning.

Make Predictions:-Anticipate information to come.-Make logical guesses about whatwill happen in a written or oral text.-Make an estimate (math).-Make a hypothesis (science).

Personalize:

-Relate new concepts to your ownlife, to your experiences,knowledge, beliefs and feelings.

Transfer / Use Cognates:

-Apply your linguistic knowledge ofother languages (including yournative language) to the targetlanguage.-Recognize cognates.

Substitute / Paraphrase:

Use a synonym or descriptivephrase for unknown words orexpressions.

USE YOUR SENSES

.Use Images:-Use or create an actual or mentalimage to understand and/orrepresent information.-Use or draw a picture or diagram

Use Sounds:-Say or read aloud a word, sentence,or paragraph to help yourunderstanding.-Sound out/vocalize.- Use your “mental tape recorder” toremember sounds, words, phrases,and/or conversations.

Use Your Kinesthetic Sense:--Act out a role, for example, inReaders’ Theater, or imagineyourself in different roles in thetarget language.-Use real objects to help youremember words, sentences, orcontent information.

USE YOUR ORGANIZATIONAL SKILLS

Find/Apply Patterns:-Apply a rule.-Make a rule.-Recognize and apply letter/sound,grammar, discourse, or registerrules.-Identify patterns in literature(genre).-Identify patterns in math, science,and social studies.

Classify/Sequence:-Categorize words or ideasaccording to attributes.-Classify living things; identifynatural cycles.-Identify order and sequences inmath, science, and social studies.-Sequence events in history.

Take Notes:-Write down important words andideas while listening or reading.-List ideas or words to include inspeaking or writing..

Use Graphic Organizers:-Use or create visual representations(such as Venn diagrams, time lines,webs, and charts) of importantrelationships between concepts.

Summarize:-Create a mental, oral, or writtensummary of information.

Use Selective Attention:-Focus on specific information,structures, key words, phrases, or ideas.

USE A VARIETY OF RESOURCES

Access Information Sources: -Use the dictionary, the internet, andother reference materials.-Seek out and use sources ofinformation.-Follow a model-Ask questions

Cooperate: Work with others to complete tasks,build confidence, and give andreceive feedback

Talk Yourself Through It: Use your inner resources. Reduceyour anxiety by reminding yourselfof your progress, the resources youhave available, and your goals.

THANKS!