Communication plays an important role in every field of life. Language is used to communicate and express oneself to get ideas and to connect with persons. There are four basic skills of learning English language such as speaking, listening, reading and writing. Cognition refers to the mental activities like thinking, remembering, memory, learning, comprehension, perception, motivation and using language. Cognitive approach means the understanding and learning of information. Cognitive learning is about developing true understanding and is a way of learning that helps the learners to use their brains more effectively. The configuration of thought processes and psychological activities like problem solving and decision making from early childhood to adulthood is called as the cognitive development. This article deals with the ways and means of enhancing the speaking skills by intensive practice, writing through different activities and improving the receptive skills of the learners through cognitive approach.
Author: S. Sreena & M. Ilankumaran
Source: Sreena, S. & Ilankumarun, M. (2018). Developing productive skills through receptive skills – A cognitive approach. International Journal of Engineering & Technology, 7(4.36), 669-673. www.sciencepubco.com/index.php/IJET
• Language is a tool for communication and the way to interact with people to regulate their social behaviour.
• The transmission and interchange of ideas, facts, feelings or action is known as the process of communication.
• Language serves as the universal medium for conveying the common facts and feelings of everyday life.
• This paper concentrates on importance and barriers of the communication skills.
• The development of productive skills by the receptive skills is widely highlighted.
Communication
• Communication is derived from the Latin word “communicare” or “communico” which means “to share”.
• Communication is an exchange of words and meanings through ideas, facts, feelings and actions.
• Communication is a two-way process of sending and receiving messages. • Communication is done through words, actions, signs, objects or a combination of all these in a communication environment, such as classroom.
• A teacher makes use of activities that are specially designed to incorporate several language skills such as reading, writing, listening and speaking.
• Through daily activities, teachers provide learners with opportunities to develop each skill.
Significance of English language and language skills
• English is a unique language, and it is the only language that links the whole world together.
• Language skills are divided to productive skills and receptive skills.
• Productive skills are speaking and writing, and they may also be called as active skills.
• Learners who possess efficient productive skills are able to produce something. • Receptive skills are listening and reading, and they are used to extend knowledge and skills.
Cognitive approach to learning
• A cognitive approach to learning has been used to explain the mental activities and they are influenced both intrinsic and extrinsic factors, and the outcome is the learning of a person.
• Thinking is considered the most important cognitive skills of a learner. It is a mental process of considering or reasoning about something, and it helps to read, write and communicate effectively and very quickly.
• Critical thinking makes a person able to form opinions by looking at the facts behind an argument and also helps easily sort relevant information from the irrelevant. •Proper thinking exercises, such as argumentation with someone, help to improve the critical thinking of a person.
• Learning is an important cognitive skills.
• Learning to learn teaches a person how to develop and intimacy of learning and that will help a person to acquire new skills and quickly expand the knowledge of many subjects.
• Memory is one of the most important cognitive functions in a person’s activities, and it can be divided to verbal and visual memory according to the way the information is acquired to the memory, as well as to sensory memory, short term memory and long term memory according to how long the information has to be remembered.
• Remembering of learned things helps a lot to develop the communication skills of a learner.
• Cognitive perception is the way in which a person deals with information from the environment using senses.
• Perception is the process of absorbing things, organizing it in the brain and making sense of it.
• Reading is one of the most common examples of visual perception.
• Attention is also a cognitive process, and it avoids distractions in the environment in order to focus on what is important.
• Attention and perception are the cognitive processes of an expert in learning in the productive skills of communication.
• Motivation promotes an interest in the studies and directs behaviour towards particular goal.
Problem solving and decision making
• Problem solving is a cognitive process of human brain that investigates an immediate result for a given problem or finds a way to reach the ultimate goal.
• There are various steps to solve a problem while learning something.
• First, the learner needs to identify the problem; second, the learner must understand the nature of the problem; third, the learner needs to take different perspectives to understand the problem; fourth, the learner has to organize the available information and allocate resources; fifth, the learner needs to document the progress regularly; finally, the learner evaluates the result to find out if it is the best possible solution to the problem.
• The selection of a belief or a course of action among several different possibilities is considered as the decision making process.
Implications
• To improve the listening skills, students need attention and concentration. For these the teacher can give them task after conducting the class. An answer key may be given to them and ask them to correct their own answers and to record their own answers and then their own scores.
• If the learners develop their listening and reading skills through certain practice, they are sure to get a confidence to speak in any situation.
If students are to move from being recipients of feedback to intelligent self-monitoring, they need to take responsibility for their learning. Instructional programmes should provide students with authentic opportunities to monitor and improve the quality of work during production. Three elementary teachers were observed during the teaching of a genre based writing unit. Observation revealed qualitative differences in the opportunities created for students to gain understanding of expectations, engage in evaluative and productive activities, and make decisions about their writing. These three cases show that developing students’ evaluative knowledge and productive skills in writing involves adoption of Assessment for Learning (AfL) as a unitary notion and a radical transformation of the traditional taken-for-granted roles and responsibilities of teachers and students.
Author: Eleanor M. Hawe & Helen R. Dixon
Source: Hawe, E.M. & Dixon, H.R. (2014). Building students’ evaluative and productive expertise in the writing classroom. Assessing Writing, 19, 66-79. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.asw.2013.11.004
Developing students’ evaluative and productive expertise in writing
The study
This meta-analysis draws on but dramatically extends the two previous meta-analyses of single-subject strategy instruction research in writing. The primary research question of this revThis research was conducted in two sequential phases, with participants in phase two selected purposively from all who participated in phase one. The aim of phase one was to investigate teachers’ beliefs and knowledge about feedback and to investigate their perceptions of practice. Phase two focused on the roles of the teacher and learners in the feedback process and the nature of opportunities provided for students to develop evaluative and productive knowledge and expertise.
Method
Studies were included if they involved grades 1–12 students and provided data to calculate the effect size. Overall, 119 documents were found, from which 88 were suitable. Studies were cIn phase one, 20 teachers participated in a semi-structured interview which tapped into teachers’ conceptions about the nature and role of feedback in the enhancement of learning; beliefs about their role and that of learners in the feedback process; and the strategies and practices teachers utilised and ascribed importance to within the feedback process. In phase two, the case studied was teachers’ use of feedback during writing, bounded in time and space. The three teachers who participated in the second phase were Kate, Marama and Audrey (pseudonyms).
The case of Audrey
The case of Kate
The case of Marama
Conclusions
In Study 1, the treatment group (33 first graders) received Slingerland multi-modal (auditory, visual, tactile, motor through the hand, and motor through the mouth) manuscript handwriting instruction embedded in systematic spelling, reading, and composing lessons. In comparison, the control group (16 first graders) received manuscript handwriting instruction not systematically related to other literacy activities. The treatment group improved significantly more than the control group on dictated spelling and recognition of word-specific spellings among phonological foils. In Study 2, new groups received either the second year of the manuscript (N = 29) or introduction to cursive instruction in second grade (N = 24) embedded in the Slingerland literacy programme. Those who received the second year of manuscript handwriting improved more on sustained writing than those who had only one year of manuscript instruction.
Author: Beverly Wolf, Robert D. Abbott & Virginia W. Berninger
Source: Wolf, B., Abbott, R.D., & Berninger, V.W. (2017). Effective beginning handwriting instruction: Multi-modal consistent format for two years and linked to spelling and composing. Read Writ., 30(2), doi: 10.1007/s11145-016-9674-4.
This study
This study focused on typically developing writers in general education classrooms.
Slingerland instruction (Slingerland, 2008)
Methods
Study 1 Participants were 33 first graders from one school (treatment group) and 16 first graders from two other schools (control group). For both groups pretesting occurred in the second month of the school year and post-testing in the ninth month. The measures used in pre-test and post-test included alphabet writing copying a paragraph, word choice, composition prompt narrative writing, and dictated spelling. The treatment group received Slingerland instruction with manuscript (unjoined letters) handwriting embedded in structured language activities. After initially receiving 30 minutes of daily manuscript handwriting instruction, the treatment group received 45 to 60 minutes of daily phonics, spelling, and written language instruction in addition to instruction in reading groups. The control group received non-Slingerland handwriting instruction. In the control group, spelling and reading instruction were not integrated with writing.
Study 2 Second graders in two different schools received one of two contrasting treatments: a second year of manuscript handwriting instruction (n = 29) or a first year of cursive handwriting instruction (n = 24). The same measures of handwriting, spelling, and composing used in Study 1 were given a pre-test and post-test in Study 2.
Results
Study 1
Study 2
Conclusions
The author proposes that the literacy practices of a community reflect the cognitive affordances of the script onto particular speech varieties in a sociocultural system. Most research on children’s literacy in Zambia has focused on individual literacy as a set of measurable competencies that can be assessed independently of context, construing language variety or instructional input as extraneous variables. A more integrated focus on literacy as a socially distributed practice in the context of a multilingual African society highlights cooperative learning and flexible communication across language boundaries.
Author: Robert Serpell
Source: Serpell, R. (2020). Literacy and child development in contemporary African society. Child Development Perspectives.
Theoretical and historical framework
ResultEmpirical research in Zambia
Policy implications
In this meta-analysis of single-subject design writing intervention studies, 88 studies in which it was possible to calculate an effect size were located. Nine writing treatments were identified as effective. These were strategy instruction for planning/drafting, teaching grammar and usage, goal setting for productivity, strategy instruction for editing, writing with a word processor, reinforcing specific writing outcomes, prewriting activities, teaching sentence construction skills, and strategy instruction for paragraph writing.
Author: Leslie Ann Rogers & Steve Graham
Source: Rogers, L.A. & Graham, S. (2008). A meta-analysis of single-subject design writing intervention research. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100(4), 879-906. DOI: 10.1037/0022-0663.100.4.879
Need for a meta-analysis of writing interventions tested via single-subject design studies
What is a single-subject design study?
Why a meta-analysis of single-subject design studies is important
The study
This meta-analysis draws on but dramatically extends the two previous meta-analyses of single-subject strategy instruction research in writing. The primary research question of this review was, which writing practices tested via single-subject design procedures are effective with students in grades 1–12?
Method
Studies were included if they involved grades 1–12 students and provided data to calculate the effect size. Overall, 119 documents were found, from which 88 were suitable. Studies were categorised based on treatments used, and summary statistics were calculated only to those categories that included at least four studies. The ten treatment categories were: strategy instruction (planning/drafting), teaching grammar/usage, goal setting for productivity, strategy instruction (editing), word processing, reinforcement, prewriting activities, sentence construction, strategy instruction (paragraph construction), and self-monitoring.
Results
Strategy instruction: planning/drafting
Teaching grammar/usage
Goal setting for productivity
Strategy instruction: editing
Word processing
Reinforcement
Prewriting activities
Sentence construction
Strategy instruction: paragraph construction
Self-monitoring
Conclusions
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of task-focused behaviour on reading fluency, spelling and comprehension and to examine the role of the different literacy skills in subsequent task-focused behaviour. Finnish-speaking children (N = 207) were followed from preschool until fourth grade and were tested for reading fluency, spelling and reading comprehension, and teachers rated the children’s task-focused behaviour. Task-focused behaviour was a significant predictor of later reading comprehension and spelling skills. All three literacy skills predicted subsequent task-focused behaviour.
Author: Riikka Hirvonen, George K. Georgiou, Marja-Kristiina Lerkkanen, Kaisa Aunola & Jari-Erik Nurmi
Source: Hirvonen, R., Georgiou, G.K., Lerkkanen, M.-K., Aunola, K. & Nurmi, J.-E. (2010). Task-focused behaviour and literacy development: A reciprocal relationship. Journal of Research in Reading, 33(3), 302-319. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9817.2009.01415.x
The study
The present study highlights the benefits of engaging ELLs in multiliteracies pedagogy, based
This study aimed to determine the cross-lagged relationships between children’s task-focused behaviour and their literacy skills. The research questions were:
Methods
A total of 207 children (111 boys and 96 girls) were examined during their preschool and first, second and fourth school years. Children’s prereading skills were tested, and the teacher rated their task-focused behaviour during preschool. In the first, second and fourth grades, the children were tested in reading fluency, reading comprehension and spelling; their task-focused behaviour was rated by the teacher.
Results
Conclusions
This article presents the results of a review of published literature on the use of the multiliteracies pedagogy to teach English Language Learners (ELLs). Five emerging themes related to the potential benefits of the multiliteracies approach are identified and discussed in this article: (i) student agency and ownership of learning; (ii) language and literacy development; (iii) affirmation of students’ languages, cultures, and identities; (iv) student engagement and collaboration; and (v) critical literacy.
Author: Shakina Rajendram
Source: Rajendram, S. (2015). Potentials of the multiliteracies pedagogy for teaching English language learners (ELLs): A review of the literature. Critical Intersections in Education: An OISE/UT Students’ Journal, 3, 1–18.
The study Four components of multiliteracies pedagogy
The study
The present study highlights the benefits of engaging ELLs in multiliteracies pedagogy, based on a review of studies that have been conducted among ELL participants or immigrant students in various countries and at various educational levels.
The data
This literature review included 12 studies based on the following inclusion criteria: (1) studies using the multiliteracies framework or other aspects of the multiliteracies pedagogy such as multimodality; (2) studies with ELL participants; and (3) studies conducted within the last ten years.
Findings
Conclusions
Authors: Morgan Mumba and Sitwe B. Mkandawire
Source: Mumba, M. and Mkandawire, S. B. (2020). “Reading Achievements of Pupils with Pre-School Background and Those without at One Primary School in Lusaka District of Zambia.” Malcolm Moffat Multidisciplinary Journal of Research and Education, 1(1): 53–80.
In Zambia, some pupils participate in early childhood education, whereas others do not. This comparative study sought to highlight the importance of early childhood education when it came to learning literacy skills in primary education. In general, early childhood education and pre-school have been seen to give children some important social and academic skills. In Zambia, pre-school is not compulsory, and therefore the purpose of the study was to examine if there were any differences in performance between pupils who attended pre-school education in comparison to those who did not as far as the technical reading of letters, syllables, and simple words was concerned. Other possible factors affecting reading achievement in Zambia were also discussed. The researchers hoped to produce information based on empirical evidence that could be useful for those who decide the country’s educational policies. At the moment, only a small fraction of Zambian children attended pre-school.
The study
Quantitative data from the test were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social
Sciences (SPSS), whereas the findings from the interviews were analysed thematically by grouping related data together into themes
Findings
Implications
Author: Sitwe B. Mkandawire
Source: Mkandawire, S. B. (2017). “Familiar Language Based Instruction versus Unfamiliar Language for the Teaching of Reading and Writing Literacy Skills: A Focus on Zambian Languages and English at Two Primary Schools in Lusaka.” Zambian Journal of Language Studies, 1(1), 53–82.
This study aimed to find out if pupils in Grade 1 who were learning literacy skills in a local language in government schools were participating more actively than those learning in English in private schools, and vice versa. Despite the pace of pupil participation level in early grade classes, the major problem in the Zambian education system has been low literacy levels and high dropouts. One factor for this might be the language of instruction that some pupils did not know so well. However, since 2013, pupils from Grades 1 to 4 started learning in one of the seven regional official Zambian languages in government public schools, while most private schools still use English from early grade classes.
The study
Findings
Implications
The article compared language ideologies among two groups of teachers: pre-service teachers in Norway and in-service teachers in Zambia. The study showed that, although teachers shared common challenges in handling multilingual classes present in both educational systems, their language ideologies were different, which affected the way they sought to overcome those challenges. Norwegian teachers preferred mostly monoglossic language ideologies, whereas Zambian teachers conveyed heteroglossic ideologies. These ideologies relate to local conditions, which are very different in Zambia and Norway.
Authors: Jonas Y. Iversen and Sitwe B. Mkandawire
Source: Iversen, J. Y. and Mkandawire S. B. (2020). “Comparing Language Ideologies In Multilingual Classrooms across Norway and Zambia.” Multilingual Margins, 7(3), 33–48.
The study was motivated by the fact that both countries are facing challenges related to the multilingualism in early grade classrooms, even if the historical, political, and linguistic background of these two countries is very different. In Norway, the number of immigrants is reported to be increasing over the past decades, and there is a change towards a multilingual society. Zambia, on the other hand, has a long history of multilingualism, with seven official regional languages and many more unofficial languages. Soon after independence, Zambia adopted a monolingual education system as part of nation-building project where English (a colonial language) was used as a national language and the medium of instruction from Grade 1 to university; this was the policy from 1966 to 1999.
The Study
Findings
The Implications