A Comparison of Two Theories of Language Teaching: Mentalism and Cognitive Code

A Comparison of Two Theories of Language Teaching:

Mentalism and Cognitive Code

Maria Oktaviarini

Sanata Dharma University, Yogyakarta

A. Abstract

In language teaching, teacher should have an aproach to going on their activity in class. They should becareful to choose the right aproach in teaching activity because their choice on the aproach may affect the learners in the way they learn. Not only give effect on the way they learn, it’s also give effect on the way they solve their problem in study some certain subject. This discuss is about comparison between mentalism and cognitive code theories in learning English as second language. In this journal will discuss that cognitive code is help better for the learners.

B. Introduction

There is a Chinese proverb that says, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” The first point for all language teaching should be an undersatanding of how people learn. But as the matter of the fact of ‘learning’ factor are the last to be considered. Learning factors, if considered at all, are incorporated only after the language base has been analysed and systematised (Munby, 1978 p. 217).

Language is able just be properly understood as a reflection of processes thought of human being. Language learning is determined by the way which the mind in observes, organises and stores the information. So, the understanding of the structure and the processes of the mind is where the successful language learning and teaching key lies, not in the analysis of the nature of language. There are many of us that are known too little about how people learn. We must try and base what we do in the classroom on sound principles of learning if we are expect to improve the techniques, methods and content of language teaching.

If we are know the importance of each for language teaching, it is best for us to think about the theories related to language and learning separately. As with language decription, we will descibe the main developments in theories of the way of learners learn and relate each to the needs of the learners and the teacher.

Language teaching here is focus on teaching English as second language. But first we may know first the defference between English as the first language and English as the second language. There are some terms which is relating to these two kinds English for. We can see the difference in a table below:

English as first language

Native language

Mother tongue

Primary language

Stronger language

English as second language

Non-native language

Foreign language

Secondary language

Weaker language

Those kinds of term are always relative to a person or a group of persons. They show the subjective relationship between a languange and an individual or group.

Like I have said before that in determine the theories that we are going to use in language teaching, we should know the importance of the language for and the needs of the learners. Then, in this occasion we will discuss about the comparison between cognitive code ang the mentalism theories in learning English as the second language. And also in this journal will discuss that cognitive code is help better for the learners.

C.The Similarity between mentalism and Cognitive Code Theory

Mentalism theory: thinking as rule-governed activity. This theory has higher level than the previous theory that is behaviourism. Behaviourism: learning is habit formation. In behaviourism theory, the learners is study by remambering the matery of the subject discussion that is learn in class or like mention the step of grammar or another example is mention the word that is found repeating on the tape recorder. But types of study like this make the student bored and make they dismiss their intuition.

Chomsky is the one that is opposing the behaviourism theory. He thought that how the mind was able to transfer what was learnt in one stimulus-response sequence to other novel situation if the learners use the behaviourism theory. Chomsky dismissed the generalisation idea as unworkable, because it simply could not explain how from a finite range of experience, the human mind was able to cope with an infinite range of possible situation (Hutchinson and Walters 1987: 42). He concludes that thinking must be rule-governed: a finite, and fairly small, set of rules enable the mind to deal with the potentially in finite range of experiences it may encounter. The mind here works by formulate a hypothesis of their experience. Then, the mind is not only use in respon the stimulus but also it uses the individual stimuli in order to find the underlying patern or system. This work of mind also find in the work of the cognitive code theory. The mind is work to find the hypothesis. The mind is work to think about the problem of the sugbject that the learners lean.

D. The Difference between the Mentalism and the Cognitive Code Theories

Both of these theory is use mind not only to do simple proccess like just remembering the patern of a certain grammar, but mind is use to think to find a hypothesis of the experience of the learners after learning something or tho thing the problem that is deal with the subject material that they are learn.

Although they have a similarity it do not mean that between these theories do not have difference. One thing that mentalism do not have is solving problem. In cognitive code, learning, then, is a process in which the learners actively try to make sense of data, and learning can be said to have taken place when the learner has managed to impose some sort of meaningful interpretation or pattern on the data (Hutchinson and Walter 1987: 43). In more simple sentence, it means that the learners learn by thinking about and trying to make sense of what they see, feel and hear.

Here they do not only use their mind to think about the hypothesis or the problem, but they are try to break or solve the problem or to find the factors that is affect or relate to the hypothesis.

E. Conclusion

From this discussion we may see that the learners will more to be able to develope their knowledge and their skill if the teacher uses the cognitive code theory in the way they are teaching in the class. Teacher not only teach them to think simple like if they use behaviourism theory, but they will think harder and full of critisism. They may find a good lesson from their experiance in learning something. Make a hypothesis and try to find the problem solving of the problem that they face during they learn certain subject in learning English as the second language. One example is to find the main idea of the paragraph from the text that teacher given to them. So, cognitive code theory is really helpful for the learners in learning English as the second language.

References

Burden, Paul R. Byrd, David M. 1999. Methods for Effective Teaching. 2nd edition. United States of Amecica: A Viacom Company

Hutchinson, Tom and Water, Alan. 2000. English for Specific Purpose: a learning-centred approach. Australia: Cambrige University Press

Larsen-Freeman, Diane. 2000. Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press

Suharno. Cognitivism and Its Implication in the Second Language Learning. Retrieved October 13, 2010 from