Introduction chapter I influence of cognitive psychology on teaching in english teaching

2.2 Form cognitive schema in students’ mind
To effectively improve students’ learning effects, the teacher can build a knowledge framework and then connect the new English knowledge and old knowledge organically by this knowledge framework, so as to make students develop a higher knowledge level from an original knowledge level. In the English teaching process, the teacher should constantly consider the English language form and text content in addition to the internal structure of textbook.

Create independent learning environment for students

In the teaching process, the teacher should realize that the learning is to build a cognitive structure in students’ mind and students should not be regarded as the container that learns and accepts knowledge. In addition to the knowledge authority, the teacher is also the organizer, guider and supervisor that guides the students to build the knowledge cognition. Therefore, the teacher should change the previous teaching mode that the teacher teaches and the students accept and guide students step by step from simple to complex according to the cognitive level of different students and students’ cognitive development rule on the basis of organizing the teaching structure in the teaching process.

Provide situations that conform to the real life

In the teaching process, the teacher should use real scenarios in the real life for teaching. As the content of real scenarios integrates various skills and knowledge, students can better use the knowledge learned and be clear about the significance and correlation of knowledge learned. In addition, only the materials that really exist in the life can fully mobilize students’ learning initiative. In the actual implementation process, the teacher should do the following: (1) the teacher should provide the relevant clues of solving problems for students. The purpose of education is to cultivate people good at learning and people are required to have good knowledge level in the future society. Therefore, the teacher should not tell the students the method of solving problems directly, but guide them to conduct thinking independently to solve the problems in the teaching process. (2) The teacher should provide a real scenario to students, conduct teaching with the problems or events in the real life and provide real and vivid teaching scene for students by multimedia tool and network technology so as to stimulate students’ initiative and curiosity and make students learn and explore actively. (3) The teacher should guide the students to learn actively. In the teaching process, the teacher should guide the students to practice continuously after providing the real life task to find out the material and information channel. (4) The teacher should ask students to conduct discussion and reflection, compare and evaluate the thinking process of themselves and others to find the advantages and disadvantages, summarize their learning method and predict the situation in the future. Cognitive theory in language learning is in accordance with two modern theories : cognitive linguistics theory and cognitive psychology theory. Cognitive linguistics theory describes how language interacts with cognition, how language forms our thoughts and the evolution of language parallel with the change in the common mindset across time. (Robinson& Peter, 2008) It was first proposed by Gearge Lakoff in 1987 in “Women, Fire, and Dangerous Thing.”Later, other scholars began developing their own approach to language description and linguistic theory. ( Wallace Chafe, 1987; Charles Fillmore 2006) The most influential view shared by all the linguists is meaning should be a primary focus of study. Cognitive psychology theory is the scientific study of the mind as an information processor. It received great popularity in the mid-1950s, shifting from the study of conditioned behavior to the understanding of human information processing. Norbert Wiener (1984) introduced terms such as input and output. Newell and Simon( 1972) developed the General Problem Solver. Aikinson and Shiffrin (1968) proposed multistore model which shows the process of memory. Cognitive psychology is the core theory of cognitive approach. Method refers to more specific way of learning than approach. From the view of cognitive method, learning strategy (students) and teaching method ( teacher) should be centered around student’ mental process rather than the external behavior and it is teachers’ role in guiding individual to focus on their internal learning process and learning style should be noted. Cognitive strategies include repetition, organizing new language, summarizing meaning, guessing meaning from context, using imagery for memorization, all of these strategies involve delivering manipulation of language to improve learning. Teaching method encompasses content enhancement, content evaluation, determination of necessary approaches and routines and instructional supports. (Bulgren & Scalon,1997) Content-based method and student-led seminar are two favored ways in cognitive language learning class.