Cognitive strategies are essential in learning a new language. Such strategies are a varied lot, ranging from repeating to analyzing expressions to summarizing. With all their variety, cognitive strategies are unified by a common function: manipulation or transformation of the target language by the learner.

Four sets of cognitive strategies exist:

1.Practicing: Strategies for practicing are among the most important cognitive strategies. Language learners do not realize how essential practice is. During class, potential practice opportunities are often missed because one person recites while the others sit idle. Given these facts, the practicing strategies take on special value:

 

Repeating
Formally practicing with sounds and writing systems
Recognizing and using formulas and patterns
Recombining
Practicing naturalistically

2.Receiving and sending messages: Two strategies for receiving and sending messages are

 

Getting the idea quickly
Using resources for receiving and sending messages

The former uses two specific techniques for extracting ideas, while the later involves using a variety of resources for understanding or producing meaning.

3.Analyzing and reasoning: This set of five strategies concerns logical analysis and reasoning as applied to various target language skills. Often learners can use these strategies to understand the meaning of a new expression or to create a new expression:

 

Reasoning deductively
Analyzing expressions
Analyzing contrastively
Translating
Transferring

4.Creating structure for input and output: The following three strategies are ways to create structure, which is necessary for both comprehension and production in the new language:

 

Taking notes
Summarizing
Highlighting