Analysis of English Cognitive Direct Method from
the Perspective of Knowledge Management
Han-Kwang Chen, JinWen University of Science and Technology, Taiwan
ABSTRACT
The aim of this paper is to assess the efficient cognitive English teaching methods for college
students. The methodology is composed of the literature review and quantitative study explained as
followed：
1 .Literature review: literature review includes knowledge management, behavior English learning
approach and cognitive English learning approach-direct method.
2. Quantitative research: Assessing relationships among the 3 different learning periods ( pretest, posttest
and 1-month posttest ) of the college students on their learning proficiency of vocabulary, listening,
speaking and consolidated average.
A 4-month, after-class supplemental intensive English program on campus was undertaken and the
researcher made a detailed analysis of variables which contribute to the success of college students in
learning English. Participants consisted of 85 college students joined an intensive English language
program at an university in Taipei County. All students voluntarily enrolled in this supplemental project
with a basic English level according to their English grades of college entrance examinations. The
researcher was interested in determining whether the cognitive direct method fitted with the concept of
knowledge management would be beneficial for the subject students.
Through a cross analysis of the cause/effect between the cognitive English teaching approaches
and the students’ proficiency, this study also builds up the framework of efficient English learning models
of college students from the perspective of knowledge management. The result of this study shows the
applicability of direct method to real social situations. The direct method is not accommodate with
knowledge recitation, but this method fitted with the cognitive concept specializes in knowledge
comprehension, creation and innovation, making it especially suited to tests and occasions which require
problem-solving or free-form response. However, this study also suggests that to successfully teach
English, teachers have to take into account new knowledge learning methods to make learning more
efficient.
Keywords: knowledge management, behavior English learning approach, cognitive English learning
approach-direct method
INTRODUCTION
As the advent of the era of knowledge economy, the trend of “globalization” that engulfed the
world greatly contributed to people’s motivations to acquire and manage knowledge. During the
previous 3 periods of the 4 developmental stages in human history, agricultural, industrial and
information sciences, students were required merely to recite and duplicate knowledge without
emphasizing their capabilities of knowledge innovation and creation (Coatsworth, J. H., 2004) . The
different eras can be characterized by different social living styles and a number of significant changes
The Journal of Human Resource and Adult Learning Vol. 7, Num. 2, December 2011
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have occurred in the world. Looking upon the new perspective of knowledge management from the
modern era of globalization. These days, knowledge becomes the primary source of human beings’
values; and the concept of education has evolved (Block D. & Cameron D., .2002) .
Under the circumstances, higher educational institutions are now reviewing their English Teaching
policies and English teachers are also adjusting their curriculum plans to meet the social demand. To
help college students learn English efficiently, teachers should integrate different teaching pedagogies and
search for the adequate cognitive concept and materials to enlighten and teach students(Crystal. D.,
2000).
Behavior English Learning Approach
English teachers learn efficient knowledge and from this viewpoint; they adjust their teaching
methods and make ongoing learning an integral part of their teaching strategies. According to Crystal.
D., the major bilingual theories, resulting from the field of educational psychology, are the behavioural
and cognitive approaches. Behaviourists generally believe that students can be taught best when the
focus is directly on the content to be taught. Lectures, tutorials, drills, demonstrations, and other forms
of teacher controlled teaching tend to dominate behavioural classrooms.（Warschauer Carr, W. & Kemmis
S. 1985. Wu, H. Y. 2007）
Behavioral bilingual researchers study the effects of stimuli on reflexive behaviours. It involves
the acquisition of capabilities that are not innate and learning. Also, it emphasizes breaking down
complex tasks into sub-skills that depend on training, stimulation and experience (Elliott, J., 1991). As
breaking down complex tasks into sub-skills that are taught separately, learning usually depends on
teaching authorization and simulative training.
Cognitive English Learning Approach-Direct Method
Unlike behavioural bilingual researchers who study the effects of stimuli on reflexive behaviours,
cognitive theories suggest that learning is based upon mental processes. Learning would be extremely
inefficient if students had to completely rely on classical and operant conditionings for learning. This
theory contends that not all cases of learning can easily be captured by classical and operant conditioning
modes. This perspective makes cognitive direct method fit with the theory of knowledge management.
The cognitive direct method（DM）has a strong theoretical base in linguistics and psychology and
this method drills students to naturally use grammatical sentence patterns of English (Chern C, 2003).
With no recourse to the students’ native language, the meaning of target language will be conveyed
directly through the use of demonstration and the implementation of visual teaching materials. Students
therefore can overcome the habits of their native language and mentally form the new habits of English
(Kruidenier J, 2002).
The cognitive English direct method （D.M.）vehemently opposes teaching with formal grammar
and advocates that bilingual language learning is more than the learning of rules and the acquisition of
imperfect translation skills (Huang, C., 2004).
Its scholar, Heller. M., vehemently oppose teaching
with the way of conditional learning. The direct Method has some basic rules including the prohibition
of using the native language in classes. Because they can absorb a wide range of existing strengths of a
variety of teaching methods, a compromise method has its own unique advantages. In teaching, teachers
can teach activities as a regulator, to avoid the shortcomings of the behavioral teaching methods. Under
the perspective of cognitive method, Classroom instruction is conducted exclusively in the target
language (Heller, M., 2005).
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Oral communication skills are built up in a carefully traded progression organized around
question-and-answer exchanges between teachers and students in small, intensive classes. Only everyday
vocabulary and sentences are taught. Grammar is taught inductively either. (Merton B, 2001).For teachers,
new teaching points are taught through modeling and practice; concrete vocabulary. However, it is taught
through demonstration, objects, and pictures; abstract vocabulary is taught by association of ideas. In addition,
both speech and listening comprehension are taught and correct pronunciation and grammar are emphasized
( Lindsay A and Gawn J., 2005). In the classroom, the teachers need to get the students to practice both
activities and interaction. Through the participation among students, the students concentrate more on
interaction and on becoming more fluent with English (Palfreyman, D., 2006).
STUDY METHOD
The case institution launched a 4-month-long action plan named “ supplemental Intensive English
Program - cognitive learning method – An applicable strategy to optimize a Taiwanese college in Taipei
county. The participating teacher with several years experience of cognitive teaching background was
truly fitted to the program requirement. The participants consisted of 85 college students who were
assigned to a class and they were started at the same fundamental levels according to the analysis of
descriptive statistic pretest scores.
The teaching approaches materials were designed and selected with the concept of cognitive theory
in mind and the class curriculum was carried out by the teacher. This study employed a quantitative
case study to gain an in-depth and holistic understanding of college students’ achievements and the
efficiency of the cognitive direct teaching methods. Through the cross-analysis of quantitative results,
conclusions and suggestions are presented.
Based upon the concept of knowledge management in the era of globalization, the test materials
most fitted into the concept of knowledge management would be（1）vocabulary memorization-knowledge
storage （2）listening comprehension-knowledge acquisition ( 3 ) speaking expression-knowledge
application ( 4 ) average performance-whole knowledge management. A pre-test, post-test and 1-month
post-test would be given to quantify students’ proficiency through an statistical analysis including（1）
descriptive statistics and（2）statistic ANOVA （3） LSD multiple comparison tests
Teaching strategy－speaking
A cognitive theory of learning sees second language acquisition as a conscious and reasoned
thinking process, involving the deliberate use of learning strategies. The basic premise of cognitive
method is that students will learn to communicate in the target language, partly by learning how to think
in that language. In learning language process ” no translation is allowed. meaning is to be conveyed
directly in the target language through the use of demonstration and visual aids.”
The IEP learning process can be divided into the curriculum stages consisting of (1) input (2)
noticing (3) recognizing (4) applying (5) automating. For speaking, the concepts of speaking are (1)
having a clearly defined purpose. (2) making a clear point. (3) supporting points that speaker tries to
express. (4) clearly connecting and arranging the content of expression. (5) using words appropriately.
In general, the sentences which the speakers want to use need to be clear, concise, emphatic and correct.
For the development of speaking skills, there has to be a direct connection between concepts and
the language to be learned. Students need to develop the skills including 「the ability to interact」、
「talking around in groups」
、「speaking in a range of contexts」 and 「balancing accuracy and fluency」.
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Teaching strategy－listening
For development of expression skills, the cognitive method is undoubtedly a highly effective
method in terms of creating language learners who are very competent in terms of using the target
language communicatively. For perfect teaching and learning, it requires students’ participation so that
talented teachers need to motivate students in order to succeed really well. The teachers may adopt the
strategies and techniques closely associated with the cognitive approach - direct Method, which include (1)
reading aloud (2) question and answer (3) student self-correction (4) conversation
practice(5) fill-in-the-blank (6) dictation (7) paragraph writing (8) games (9) singing songs. (10) others.
Listening strategies are special ways of processing information that enhance comprehension,
learning or retention of information. This explanation of language learning contrasts strongly with the
behaviorist account of language learning, which describes listening learning as an unconscious, automatic
and spontaneous process. For listening skill, authentic and invented, the two basic types of teaching
materials were utilized. The instructors designed and used more carefully adapted texts at basic level
and gradually introduced more authentic speech through multimedia assistance appliances as the students’
develop.
For this study, teachers used more authentic material and made the tasks which they would require
students to do. In addition, teachers also ask more detailed questions such as the 「what?」、「how?」、
「why?」、「where?」、「when?」、「who?」and so on. 「listing activities」can be consistently planned
to train students. The teaching materials included a various types of activities such as「answering
questions」、「following directions on a map」、「matching what is being said with a set of pictures」
or「doing something in response to what students hear」. Those teaching activities would be carried out
by the instructors with very useful teaching materials.
Teaching material design
The teaching curricula contains 4 parts. The 1st month covers “mathematics”; the 2nd month
covers “culture ”; the 3rd month covers “music” and the 4th covers “story telling”. Parts of teaching
strategies and materials are explained below:
Course
1st month
Math.
2nd month
Culture
3rd month
Music
4th month
Story Telling
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Table 1: teaching strategies and materials
Teaching strategies ＆ Materials
Teacher ask students「Henry has 5 bills, 3 quarters, 3 dimes, 3 nickels and 4 pennies.
He plans to buy a book for r3.58. How many different combinations of bills and
coins can he use to pay for if he wants to use exact change? Answer: 1st underline
what the problem asks. 2nd solve the problem. 3rd Tom wants to buy a 15 cent
candy. How many sets of coins can he use to buy it if he wants to use exact change?
The teacher plays with students「1st how to make a costume? Fold the white bed
cover into quarters 2nd cut the shape that you want four fingers’ length from the top.
3rd do the same thing on the other side. 4th cut the bottom in a zigzag shape. 5th
finished！now you have a ghost. Let us make a witch. 」.
The teacher brings students singing「this group sings in harmony and that group sings the
melody. I put my hand up and down; when it’s up high, make your voice high.」.
The teacher asks students「let us try a bit of creative writing. Write a story about
something you like or something that happened to you」.
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Quantitative approach result
The outcomes for the various analyses are presented following each of these descriptive sections
and ANOVA results revealed striking significant difference in English learning terms. The next table
shows the means, standard deviations (S.D.), and correlations of all the variables. The following data
demonstrate the pre-test/post-test/1-month posttest of the participating students’ performance
Table 2: Analysis of students’ performances by the comparison among 3 periods.
Item
Periods
Student
Means
S.D
T-value
P-value
Pretest
85
49.20
7.15
vocabulary
0.212＊
Posttest
85
54.46
7.34
1.60
memorization
1-month post
85
51.78
9.43
Pretest
85
52.00
7.00
listening
Posttest
85
69.46
9.04
19.36
0.000
comprehension
1-month post
85
68.00
9.34
Pretest
85
52.20
4.73
speaking
0.000
Posttest
85
71.66
7.80
22.70
expression
1-month post
85
68.33
11.46
Pretest
85
51.13
4.45
average
Posttest
85
65.20
5.21
38.59
0.000
performance.
1-month post
85
62.73
4.33
Before the experimental study was conducted, the analyzed data indicated that there was no
statistically significant difference for all participant college students in English proficiency. The
post-test analysis of variance ANOVA results show that the p-value figure of vocabulary is 0.212, more
than 0.05. The p-value of listening, speaking and average scores were 0000, less than 0.00. These
results show that there were no signature differences in improvement on the vocabulary part but students
have made improvement on listening and speaking parts as well as on the consolidated average.
Further, a rank-based multiple comparison test would be utilized to discover the hierarchy of these
learning periods on each part of the students’ English proficiency. The 3 periods of students’
performance on vocabulary, listening, speaking and consolidated average are explained below:
Table 3: Comparison of 3 the periods of the students’ performance
Learning period comparison（I / J）
Difference（I- J）
Comparison between pretest & posttest
-5.26
Vocabulary
Comparison between pretest & 1-month posttest
-2.46
Memorization
Comparison between posttest & 1-month posttest
2.80
Comparison between pretest & posttest
-17.46
Listening
Comparison between pretest & 1-month posttest
-16.00
Comprehension
Comparison between posttest & 1-month posttest
1.46
Comparison between pretest & posttest
19.46
Speaking
Comparison between pretest & 1-month posttest
16.13
Expression
Comparison between posttest & 1-month posttest
3.33
Comparison between pretest & posttest
14.06
Average
Comparison between pretest & 1-month posttest
11.60
Performance
Comparison between posttest & 1-month posttest
2.46
Item
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P-value
0.080*
0.406*
0.346*
0.000
0.000
0.640*
0.000
0.000
0.287*
0.000
0.000
0.157*
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Statistic LSD multiple comparison tests analyzes the score results in each part of the participant
students’ proficiency among the 3 periods ( p – value ）was significantly or not.
The data results indicated that the students’ vocabulary memorization ( knowledge storage ) in the 3
different learning periods had no statistical significant difference. In contrast, The data results showed
that the students’ listening comprehension skills （knowledge acquisition）, Speaking expression
( knowledge application ) and whole-language English performance had a statistically significant
difference. The grade differences among the 3 periods indicated that both the participating students’
posttest scores and 1 month after posttest scores are much superior to the pretest scores. The students’
scores between the posttest and 1 month posttest, showed no significant difference.
CONCLUSION
With the enormous selection of learning technologies available, teachers should enlighten and assist
college students to develop their ability to learn English from the perspective of knowledge management.
If students merely duplicate teachers’ knowledge, they will lose their creative abilities and they will not
be able to innovate or compete with others in their future.
In a comparison of behavioral learning theories which advocate that learning results from pleasant
or unpleasant experiences in life, cognitive theories of learning suggest that learning is based upon mental
processes. Cognitive learning theories focus more on the learning processes, such as concept formation,
problem solving and inner thinking, these processes fall less into the domain of behavioral learning.
Direct method goes far beyond behaviorism’s simple imitation of others. It is a powerful mechanism
providing the meaningfulness of knowledge fitting with the concept of learning in the era of knowledge
economy.
Direct method scholars, believe that bilingual learning of behavioral models should be avoided
because they hinder the natural acquisition of a good oral proficiency. They believe that the natural way
college students learn English should be an imitation of first language learning. With first language
speakers, the printed word must be kept away from second language learners; knowing language means
being able to speak it. They suggest that English education of students is not only learning; educational
diversity is the trend of the future; so, it includes content integration, knowledge construction, prejudice
reduction, equity pedagogy, and empowerment of competitive aptitudes. （ Kruidenier J, 2002,
Larsen-Freeman, Diane., 2008,）
As direct method based upon the cognitive methodology provides flexibility and adaptability for
students, the cognitive teacher aims to achieve "the maximum benefit from all the methods and
techniques at their disposal. With this cognitive enlightening, college students are able to learn English
more efficiently by finding, creating, thinking, or observation through the mental processes according to
cognitive theories.（Huang, C., 2004, Hunt, N. 1993,） Analysis of students’ performances are explained
in figure below.
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Figure1: Analysis of students’ performances by the comparison among 3 periods
The result of this study shows us the applicability of direct method to real social situations. The
advantages of direct method is not accommodate with knowledge recitation and storage, which may not apply
to many kinds of standardized testing that focus on memorization in a short term. Due to the impressive
performance on the students’ proficiency on listening and speaking parts, this cognitive method specializes in
knowledge comprehension, creation and innovation, making it especially suited to tests which require
problem-solving or free-form response. The following figure shows the characteristics of direct method based
upon the cognitive approach and its relationship of knowledge management.
Figure 2: Characteristics of direct method and its relationship with knowledge management
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Teachers cannot be limited to a single teaching method, and the teaching method used depends on
the specific teaching environment. Thus, in order to achieve good teaching effectiveness, teachers must be
experienced in the specific teaching and learning environment, teaching content and student interests and
needs, options and comprehensive use of various teaching methods. (Min Zhang, 2009)
Teachers cannot simply assume that college students will be able to transfer their school learning to
practical situations, so teachers must teach them how to manipulate knowledge. In practice, the direct
method helps college students process new information by taking advantage of existing knowledge and
aptitudes. Under the principles of cognitive theory, knowledge that makes sense and has significance to
college students is more meaningful than inert knowledge and knowledge learned by rote. Thus, a
student’s meaningful knowledge is constructed of networks and hierarchies of schemata.
In addition, Awareness of a range of available techniques will help teachers exploit materials better
and manage unexpected situations. Language is one of the main areas of development in teaching
methods to improve language acquisition. Teaches need to select among a variety of approaches,
methods and techniques in order to adequately fit to the needs of a given class at a certain time. They
need to find a good balance of theory and method, combining their strengths with their own teaching
needs, which would be considered as a wise pedagogy. (Min Zhang, 2009) Also, teachers should make
choices on the basis of the questions the main issues of language teaching. The use of direct method
with a variety of ideas and procedures from different existing approaches and methods will increase the
chances of learning taking place.
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