Between psychological theory and language teaching practice: how to optimize teaching activities in the light of cognitive theory?

elective courses

(in Polish) Seminarium tematyczne adresowane jest przede wszystkim do studentów profilu metodycznego zainteresowanych problematyką psychologicznych uwarunkowań procesu uczenia się i nauczania języków obcych.

Classroom

The aim of the thematic seminar is to deepen knowledge of the processes of foreign language acquisition and use within the framework of cognitive concepts in psychology and to reflect on the didactic implications of the theories discussed.

During the course we will analyze the meaningfulness of teaching activities in foreign language classes through the prism of cognitive activities occurring in learners' minds. Then we will consider how to optimize the practice of foreign language teaching in relation to classical as well as recent concepts of cognitive psychology.

Problems of the course include the following:

1. Cognitive theory in psychology - main assumptions and concepts;

2. Attention processes - how to manage students' attention during a foreign language lesson? (the role of implicit and explicit learning, selection and organization of teaching tasks);

3. Cognitive Load Theory and what does it imply for foreign language teaching? (optimal use of attention processes during lesson planning, functioning of memory systems);

4. Cognitive processes of listening comprehension in L2 and their use in teaching a foreign language;

5. Cognitive processes occurring during reading with comprehension - how to develop reading fluency in L2?

6. Using video recordings in L2 lessons - combining the processes of processing visual information and listening comprehension;

7. Cognitive operations occurring during learning with digital tools vs. integrating language skills (multimodality, divided attention);

8. Learning of subject content in L2 - advantages of bilingual teaching.

• Roussel S., L’approche cognitive en didactique des langues, De Boeck Supérieur, 2021.

• Bange P., « Les conditions internes et externes de l’apprentissage des langues étrangères », [in :] M. Faraco (dir.), La classe de langue : Théories, méthodes et Pratiques, Aix-en-Provence: Publications de l’université de Provence, 2006, pp. 41-68.

• Charles Dominique G., « Combiner didactique des langues, psycholinguistique et psychologie cognitive pour créer un outil pédagogique de lecture en français langue seconde », Recherches en didactique des langues et des cultures [En ligne], 11-2 | 2014.

• Gaonac’h, D., « Les composantes cognitives de la lecture », Le Français dans le Monde n. 255, Paris, Hachette / Edicef, 1993, p. 87-92.

• Griggs Peter et al., « La dimension cognitive dans l'apprentissage des langues étrangères », Revue française de linguistique appliquée, 2002/2 Vol. VII, p. 25-38.

• Tamas C., Vlad M., « Lecture et compréhension du sens des textes. Les questions de la psychologie cognitive et les réponses de la didactique du FLE… », Synergies Roumanie n° 5 – 2010, pp. 99

After successful completion of the course, the student in the field of knowledge:

- has in-depth knowledge of the place and significance of humanities, and philology in particular, in the system of sciences, as well as their thematic and methodological specificity (K_W01)

- has knowledge in the field of glottodidactics, which allows to optimally plan the process of learning foreign languages, especially French, at all stages of education: knows the main and specific terms used to describe the process of language acquisition and teaching/learning, has in-depth knowledge of the research directions and research methodology in this discipline (K_W14)

- has in-depth knowledge of psychology, pedagogy and voice production, which allows to optimally plan the process of learning foreign languages, especially French, at all stages of education (K_W13)

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is able to use various sources and ways, including modern information technologies, to search for, analyze, evaluate, select and use information necessary to participate in classes, and to formulate critical judgments on this basis (K_U01)

- has the ability to argue with the use of other authors' and his/her own opinions, to formulate conclusions and to show them in a synthetic way (K_U06)

- has the ability to plan and manage the process of learning a foreign language, especially French, at each stage of education (K-U12)

- applies the rules of intellectual property protection and copyright, especially the rules governing the quotation of somebody else's statements (K_U15)

In the field of social competences student:

- is able to properly identify priorities in order to accomplish a task defined by him/herself and others (K_K05)

- is able to cooperate in a group, solve problems in discussion, and initiate solutions appropriate to the situation (K_K02)

Passing conditions are the presence and activity during classes (2 unexcused absences are allowed); reading the indicated texts; preparing a presentation; passing the final test. The form and criteria for passing the course may change depending on the current epidemic threat situation. Equivalent credit conditions will be determined in accordance with the guidelines in force at the University of Warsaw, in consultation with the participants of the classes.