Psycholinguistic insights for teachers of English : the cognitive processes involved in language learning

Abstract EN

This research investigated some studies and theories of cognitive processes in language learning firstly, and after that, a study was conducted to check the usefulness of such a theoretical background in an Algerian context.

In the study, a questionnaire was distributed to 23 students and teachers; six of them are PhD students from Biskra University, and the rest are Master degree holders from Boumerdes University.

The results showed that 40% of them had positive training influence, while 10% witnessed a negative one, and the rest fluctuated between positivity and negativity, depending on their teachers‟ methods of teaching.

As far as the communication strategies are concerned, the results revealed that the participants‟ strategies encompassed; asking for clarification, paraphrasing, using their body language, and speaking slowly using simple language.

Lastly, and most importantly, the participants‟ opinions of their teachers‟ competency in the mastery of the linguistic knowledge exhibited that 48% of the students see that their teachers master enough linguistic knowledge, and that 39% of them believe that some teachers were sufficiently knowledgeable and some were not that competent.

The last percentage (13%) stated that all their teachers lacked adequate linguistic knowledge.