Cognitivism is a learning theory that looks beyond observable behaviors to explain learning as a mental process. It views humans as active thinkers who process new information by relating it to their prior knowledge through mental constructs. Constructivism, a cognitive learning theory, holds that learning is an active process where learners construct new knowledge by integrating new information into existing mental frameworks. The cognitive approach sees language acquisition as similar to other types of learning, where knowledge is represented and organized mentally according to cognitive principles. Cognitivism has influenced English for Specific Purposes by focusing on giving learners meaningful activities and reading strategies related to their fields to facilitate comprehension and knowledge construction.

1. Cognitivism
Learning is a process that brings together cognitive, emotional, and environmental
influences and experiences for acquiring, enhancing, or making changes in one‟s knowledge,
skills, values, and world views. Learning as a process focuses on what happens when the
learning takes place. Learning theories are attempts to describe how people and animals
learn, thereby helping us understand the inherently complex process of learning.
One of the learning theories is Cognitivism. Cognitive theories look beyond behavior
to explain brain-based learning. Unlike behaviorism, it considers humans as „thinking
beings‟. Humans are active processors of information where they infer a generative rule from
the information given and then analyze its application in appropriate situations. The cognitive
approach draws heavily on the cognitive constructivist learning theory which is based on the
premise that learning is an active individual process involving students‟ participation in
knowledge acquisition.
The constructivist theory is based on George Kelly‟s (1955) idea of the „personal
construct‟ (internal models of the world) as the basic unit of mental cognitive structure that a
person deliberately creates in the process of cognition and through which s/he interprets,
understands, and evaluates events, situations, and new information. Experts in their
respective fields carry complex hierarchical personal constructs as compared to novices.
Generally language is seen as the „vehicle‟ of building a construct. But same can be
true the other way round. Constructs can be built in such a way that they help in learning a
new language. Learning is a cognitive process. In the process of cognition concepts
(scientific and everyday) are formed and encoded “in the words of a language”
(lexicalization) (O‟Grady, 1997, p.280) related to particular conceptual content. Natural
languages supply different ways for encoding conceptualizations.

2. According to cognitive scientists, language knowledge is not different from any other
type of knowledge, so it is acquired, stored and retrieved according to the same structural
cognitive principles that operate in other areas. Derry gave a model for cognitive learning in
1995. According to him, learning is the combination of prior knowledge with the new
information. Prior knowledge models are the constructs on which new ones would be based.
If the new knowledge is properly integrated in the mind, it would become part of existing
constructs and will help in itself to intake further concepts.
The cognitive learning theory has had a significant impact on ESP in the recent times.
The learners are given exercises based on activities related to their field. Similarly, they are
taught to develop reading strategies which would help them in reading and comprehending
any text of the foreign language. The teacher should have the idea of learner‟s prior
knowledge and manipulate it for their own purpose.
The cognitive code view of learning seems to answer many of theoretical and
practical problems raised by behaviorism. It treats the learners as thinking beings and puts
them firmly at the centre of the learning process, by stressing that learning will only take
place when the matter to be learnt is meaningful to the learners.

3. References
Davidko, Natalya. (2011). “A Cognitive Approach to Teaching English for Special
Purposes (ESP)”.Studies About Language. NO. 18. Retrieved from
http://www.kalbos.lt/zurnalai/18_numeris/12.pdf
Hutchison, T., Waters, A. (1987). English for Specific Purposes: A learning-centred
approach. Cambridge: Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge

4. INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
SUBJECT: ESP
ASSIGNMENT: 01
Topic: Cognitivism
SUBMITTED TO: Ma’am Rehana
SUBMITTED BY: HasanaShabbir
MaimoonaAzam
HumairaMasood
AmenahQureshi
Maryam Irshad
DATE: 3rd
April 2013