Cognitive and metacognitive strategies

María Herazo Villalba

The cognitive strategies are general domain processes to monitor the functioning of mental activities, including the techniques, skills, and abilities that the person uses to manage, control, improve and direct its efforts in the cognitive aspects, such as processing, attention and implementation, in the learning.

When imitating others speech

Having recourse to dictionaries and other materials

That is, using their mother tongue as a basis for understanding and/or producing the target language

conscious application of L2 rules

When embedding a word or phrase in a meaningful sequence

That is, using knowledge acquired in the L1 to remember and understand facts and sequences in the L2

inferencing When matching an unfamiliar word against

available information (a new word etc);

When asking the teacher to explain, etc

Metacognitive strategies, involves knowing one's knowledge, recognize their own cognitive skills to evaluate, knowing that so much remains to be learned and know and learning change if deemed appropriate.

Association with prior knowledge

I tend to memorize things

I learn better if I see things

when deciding in advance to concentrate on general aspects of a task.

Selective attention

Paying attention to specific aspects of a task.

Checking one's performance as one speaks.

Self-evaluation Appraising one's performance in relation to

one's own standards.

Rewarding oneself for success.