Cognitive Strategies in learning English.doc

english learning strategies-cognitive strategies in learning english abstract: language learning strategies have been a major concern for english major devoted to this area. it is important to use earning strategies to improve students own english, especially cognitive strategies. of course, there are many cognitive strategies that help language learners study well in the learning process. key words: english major english learning strategies cognitive strategies 1. introduction now days, although, there are many students who can learn english very well. there are more and more english major students are still confronted with more troubles in learning english. as a matter of fact, the learning strategies play an important role in the understanding of language learning. therefore, students have to pay more attention to the learning strategies so that they can learn better. depending on areas of language learning skills, language learners can have some efficient ways for learning pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and so on. 2. the definition and classification of learning strategies before we come to analysis the cognitive strategies, we should understand what is learning strategies firstly and grasp its classification. learning strategies refer to methods that students usually use to learn. about its definition, there are some language researchers give their opinions. for example, oxford defines learning strategies as “specific actions taken by the learner to make learning easier, faster, more enjoyable, more self-directed, more effective, and more transferable to new situations.” and cohen who based on the intent of strategy thinks the second language strategies encompass both second language learning and second language use strategies. and wen qiufang, a chinese language researcher, believes english learning strategies include two systems, that is “conception” and “methods”. of course, it is no doubt that its definition of learning strategies will directly affect classification of learning strategies. according to the study of successful language learners, rubin classifies language learning strategies into three categories: they are learning strategies, communication strategies and social strategies. based on psychological functions, omalley and chamot divide language learning strategies into three categories: they are metacognitive strategies, cognitive strategies, and social-affective strategies. rubin and omalley and chamo have some same opinions on classification of learning strategies. while, oxford divides language learning strategies into two main classes: direct and indirect strategies. from these strategies of different researchers, we can conclude that learning strategies are good for english major students to learn english well. 3. cognitive strategies in learning for english major students cognitive strategies are more limited to the specific learning, as a matter of fact; cognitive strategies are used frequently by a major in a specific activity. it has something with the learning materials directly. cognitive strategies have a function that helps language learners to understand and keep useful information in learning english. in daily life, observing our own classmates, we can find they often use these language learning strategies. cognitive strategies can be divided five main groups: preparing lessons before class and review it after class, guessing, memorization, reference books and note taking. a. preparing lessons before class and review it after class: most of students use this method to learn, thus students can learn the lessons better than others who do not do it. .what is more, if students use this way, they often have more time to get more knowledge. and they often can concentrate on or think of a lot in class. b. memorization: we know words are essential to learn english .different students have different ways to member them. memorization strategies can be further divided into three subcategies according to some students. that is, they are: repetition, word formation and contextualization. especially, repetition strategies are the most frequently used in learning english for major students. c. guessing: some majors often use some rules and contexts to guess the meaning of sentences and words that they do not know, and then try to understand the text. d. reference books: reference books and some learning tools play an important part in learning english. for example, dictionary is necessary for a major sometimes. e. note taking: taking notes is a key to learn well, writing down the main idea, important points, outline, or summary of information presented orally or in writing. and in the process of it, students often use some skills to make notes clearer. they often underline some important information in different colors. to sum up, these five strategies in cognitive strategies are used at different stages in the process of learning. students should make good use of them in proper situation. certainly, there are still many other good methods that more people use in learning. we should learn more in the future. 4. conclusion and suggestion cognitive strategies play a significant component in language learning english. it is the most frequently way which is used among the three groups, including learning strategies, communication strategies and social strategies. there is no doubt that the students who are mature or good at using these strategies will help themselves to learning well. according to the study of successful language learners, we have to admire that there are many students have bought forward a great number of cognitive strategies to learn so that they can become more independent and autonomous. these strategies will help students to better in learning. with the more options to choose from these strategies, students may finally find out the strategies that are more suitable for own, and more effective to assist their second language acquisition. as to the student is recommended to apply the learning strategies on to learni