Cognitive psychology is a broad discipline covered in several interrelated topics. There are several sources of information on cognitive psychology, some of which include research articles, blogs, newspapers, and textbook, among other sources. Cognitive processes of language and cognitive language learning strategies are among the topic covered in cognitive psychology. This paper aims to expound more on these two topics. Even though there are many ways of communication, there is a general view that language is a process which is complicated and difficult to define. Through language, human beings can communicate what they need, feel, desire, and connect with one another and to their environments. Also, language can take different forms which include body language, writings, verbal communication, and silence. To be able to serve its communication purpose, language needs to be created, developed, and mastered by the parties involved. The three-step process relies on a connection to cognitive processes found in cognitive psychology. Some of the processes include memory, thinking, and the ability to make decisions.
The article used in this paper describes a study on the classification of various learning strategies used by the language controlling cognitive process. During the study, three processing models were used to study the five cognitive strategies (Lantolf, Thorne, & Poehner, 2015). The main focus was on language cognitive processes such as thinking, perception, and attention. The study conclusion was based on various cognitive strategies such as storage, encoding, and information retrieval. In the end, the author of this article succeeded in defining and classifying the language learning strategies through the study. Di Carlo (2017) concluded that language strongly depends on other cognitive functions. The cognitive principle used in the language applies to other human abilities meaning that the process needs to be understood more to continue creating, developing, and using language to make communication better. The author further recommends that functional strategies should be classified to enhance communication through faster encoding, information storage, and retrieval.
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This article summarizes the cognitive language psychology using three concepts. It explains the processes of thinking, perception, and attention, and how the three apply to how language is created, developed, and used to communicate.
The Concept of Perception
The article by Di Carlo (2017) discusses perception as a concept used to develop, understand, and use language. In the article, perception is described as a skill. Language and communication begin as stimuli of different kinds. The perception skills are required to select, organize, and interpret these stimuli. The author’s account of perception is related to the one described by the Gestalt Theory of Perception. Body senses perceive stimuli by combining a particular structure experience with the different distributed sensations. This means that the body has a unique way of detecting and differentiating various stimuli to make sense out of various tiny details.
Di Carlo (2017) uses an example of verbal language to explain this concept. The verbal form of communication involves hearing senses. Two communication parties are involved in which one is the speaker, while the other is the listener. The listener receives the verbal information by listening and making interpreting the information. The final step is to store the interpreted information into memory. It means that the two parties must have a common communication system where the verbal information involved is understandable by both (Lantolf et al., 2015). Once a language system has been established between the parties, whatever is communicated by the speaker is quickly received and interpreted by the listener.
Explanation of the perception concept by Di Carlo (2017) indicates that for a cognitive perception process of language between the two communication parties to work, there must be a uniform structure. The common language structure consists of various words, their meanings, accent, and syntax. The structure is predetermined and is, therefore, stored in the memory as old or new information. The structure system makes it easy for the communicator to use words freely and the listener to receive and make sense of what is being said. Just like in verbal communication, perception in other forms of communication depends on already existing structures. The individuals communicating will use familiar elements which ensure that the individuals involved are on the same page.
The information provided in this article provides a new level of interpreting and classifying language and perception. The study focused on language strategies that people use to communicate with one another (Tenbrink, 2015). However, it fails to discuss the key components of language strategies. This is a possible area of improvement in future researches. This study took a more generalized approach into the language cognitive processes. A more individualistic study is necessary to focus on the individual language strategies and their key components. Also, the researchers only discussed the details of how verbal communication is perceived. However, there are many forms of communication requiring different levels of cognitive skills and language structures. Future studies can address these.
The Concept of Thinking
After receiving a stimulus, one is expected to respond appropriately to it. Appropriate response means that one behaves as demanded by the introduced external factor. In this regard, thinking is a language cognitive process which is based on an individual’s ability to choose and then respond to a stimulus. The concept of thinking is best described by the Modal Model of Memory (Tenbrink, 2015). This model describes the level of control people have regarding the information they are able to learn, imitate, and use to create a suitable response. While individuals have the ability to learn new things every time, everything is based on already established language structures. Therefore, the thinking concept is made possible by the ability to perceive language stimuli and process it to come up with the required response that the other party can understand.
The author analyzes the thinking concept using two sub-processes that are essential to response creation. They include auditory thinking and visual-meditated thinking. The two processes work together to receive, choose, and generate appropriate responses. The response generated can have two possible outcomes. It can either be controlled or uncontrolled depending on factors such as the environment, emotions, long-term memory, and basic needs, among others. Just like the received stimulus, the response can also be verbal or take the form of body language (Fauziati & Nugroho, 2019). One can respond to a verbal language using body language and respond to a non-verbal communication verbally. All depends on the factors mentioned above and the nature of communication. For example, an individual receiving instructions or corrections will most likely respond by nodding to show the speaker that the information is understood.
The information provided by Di Carlo (2017) on thinking as a language strategy concept represents the existing theories and information on thinking and memory. Presentation of this second concept by the author was comprehensive enough and had little information to explore on in the future studies. Nonetheless, language is an evolving process which will continue to improve from time to time (Granena, 2016). This means that further exploration of language thinking and memory is a welcomed improvement. For example, the world continues to become a small globe where one can communicate with other people at any time irrespective of geographical locations. Technology is taking center stage in all these improvements. As a result, there is continued growth in the necessity to improve the language to make communication between different cultures, races, and ethnical backgrounds possible.
Attention Concept of Language
Attention is another cognitive process important to the language process. To acquire, process, and respond to language stimuli, the communicating individuals must be attentive to one another. According to Di Carlo (2017), the attention concept is often mistaken for perception. The attention cognitive process can be best described using the Task Load and Selective Attention Theory. This framework suggests that attention determines the amount of information one is able to receive, process, and respond to.
There are internal and external factors that affect the attention process. Some of these factors include the listener’s attitude towards the information and speaker, the communication environment, and the nature of the message or communication. If the listener has a negative attitude towards the speaker, there are chances that he/she will not pay full attention to the whole process. This means that some components of the message may be missed making the response insufficient. In the same way, the environment may be an interfering factor (Tenbrink, 2015). Communicating in a noisy or dark environment means that some components of the message such as verbal and body languages might be missed and the listener will not respond appropriately.
For language to be effective in communication, there is a need to have an understanding of the meaning, symbols used, gestures, and the syntax. All these processes depend on the concept of attention. The information recipient will listen attentively to the whole process before deciding on the components worth taking in and responding to and the part which can be ignored (Granena, 2016). In a learning institution, a lecturer will deliver information using more than one form of communications. Students will need to pay attention to decide on the part of the lecture worth giving more focus and possibly noting down. This way, the learning process is enhanced, and the student will provide the most appropriate response in tests or knowledge application in other areas.
Just like in the thinking concept, the attention strategy also elaborates on an already known theory. There is sufficient information regarding attention as a cognitive process through the available studies. Di Carlo (2017) also discusses other important factors necessary for the creating of the language learning process. The information in this article provides a good background for future studies on how attention affects or enhances language and its use in communication. Future researchers focusing on cognitive attention and language development might find the article helpful.
Cognitive psychology is a broad field which still has the chance to improve due to future studies and technological advancements. Cognitive language is just one of the many components in this field. By reading and analyzing this article by Di Carlo (2017), I have learned that language can be seen as a simple tool of communication, but it contains some complicated aspects which require more focus and research. The three concepts analyzed in the article are interrelated in such a way that there will be no meaningful communication in the absence of any. I have also learned a new language also depends on already established language structures.
Conclusion
The article discussed presents language as a unique trait possessed by human beings. Language involves perception, thinking, and attention as the main cognitive processes. The three depend on one another and are essential to listening, conceptualizing, and responding to information received as a stimulus. Perception involves translation of the external stimuli into a meaningful message which can elicit a response. Thinking helps to analyze the stimuli and come up with an appropriate response. Attention is involved in the whole process because it determines the part of the information received and the part ignored. Generally, the article provides good information which can also be used for further studies on language cognitive psychology.
References
Di Carlo, S. (2017). Understanding cognitive language learning strategies. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature , 6 (2), 114-126.
Fauziati, E., & Nugroho, A. (2019). Cognitive Processes Featuring Learner Language: A Study of Indonesian Students Learning English as a Foreign Language. Proceeding of The 2nd ICoLLiT (International Conference on Language, Literature and Teaching) 2019.
Granena, G. (2016). Cognitive aptitudes for implicit and explicit learning and information-processing styles: An individual differences study. Applied psycholinguistics , 37 (3), 577-600.
Lantolf, J. P., Thorne, S. L., & Poehner, M. E. (2015). Sociocultural theory and second language development. Theories in second language acquisition: An introduction , 207-226.
Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy2.apus.edu/10.1017/S0142716415000120 .
Tenbrink, T. (2015). Cognitive discourse analysis: Accessing cognitive representations and processes through language data. Language and Cognition , 7 (1), 98-137.
