Cognetive theory: A multi-disiplinary issue, concerned with the study of the human mind

from a comprehensive point of view. Hence it takes into account past and present
implications.

1/ The first trend that brought some developments in cognetive theory was Anthropology
which is concerned with the findings of ancient societies; their scripts, monuments,
tools...etc.

2/ The second trend that had an influence in cognetive theory was Linguistics which focused
on the analysis and interpretation of languages (Old grammars, Structuralism,
Transformationalism...etc) which considered language as a product of a devine power and
recently as an innate quality of humans used for communication.

3/ The third trend that contributed in the evolution of cognetive theory was psychology
because it described the human individual behaviour according to (Stimulus-Response-
Reward Principle) and added gestalt (Pattern) explanation of individual series of actions. This
in return, led to further explorations of the human mind that we now call cognetive theory.

4/ The fourth trend was computer sciences which invented technological machines for the
purpose of storing information and reckon quickly. The growth of electronic industry and the
developments in nano-technology provided modern machines which rely on electronic
impulses to feed information, process and store data in an artificial memory called the hard
disk.

5/ Neurosciences explored the human drain and attempted how it works. Neurology can
now easily describe the brain through lateralisation (left and right himospheres), lobes
(frontal, parrental, temporal, occipital), and visual and inferotemporal cortex. The human
brain is said to function according to impluses (chemical/electric) sent by the senses to
particular parts of the brain which use neurones to process and store information in short
term and long term memory.

Short-term memory

Short-term memory is called short because of the two main reasons. one is the time taken
(memory span approximatly0.7 seconds) and the limited number of items a person can focus
his attention on. What happens in short-term memory can have a number of explanation by
different psychologists. from the 1990s onward short-term memory came to be called Active
Dynamic Working Memory specially Greene.J 1987 considered that short-term memory is
the area of mental processing of information. It is the place where items of information are
activated either by retrieving previous information or perceiving new information through
our senses. It is a very dynamic activity which works on old and new information
simultaneously. Greene 1987 says: "Active working memory is a shift from short-term
memory" being a work space in which new inputs can be recieved and information from
long term memory can be retrieved. Working memory is necessary for cognetive functions
which depend on an interaction between old and new information. The emphasis of working
memory research on active pricessing replaced the traditional concept of short-term
memory as a passive store of to-be-remembered ietms, which had to be continiously
rehearsed if they were not to be forgotten. We can then add that both short term and long
term memory make us able to learn and process information. However this activity maybe
affected by "the number of items the human being is able to consider simultaneously"; "the
state of consciousness or awareness of the problems we are working on"; it contains only a
subset of all the vast ammount of passive knowledge available to us. Fantana 1995 considers
that short and long term memory are interdependent and states that: "Psychological
devision is purely for pedagogical reasons". (Gardner 1991, the frames of mind). Gardner
suggests intellegences:

1/ Interpersonal intellegence: The ability to understand intention, desires, motivations of

people.

2/ The spactial intellegence: The ability to feel space, colour, shape, form, size, it is the
ability to graphically represent spetial ideas.

3/ Logical mathimatical intellegence: The ability to use numbers effectively and

consequently adaprt their properties to various reasoning contexts.

4/ Verbal and linguistic intellegence: the capacity to use language in speaking or writting it is
also the manupilation of syntax, semantics and pragmatics of the language.

5/ Bodily kinaesthetic intellegence: The ability to use one's body to express ideas and
feelings or to solve problems.

6/ Interpersonal intellegence: The ability to understand one's strength, weakness, mood and
intention.

7/ Musical intellegence: The ability to sense rythm, pitch and melody.

8/ Naturalist intellegence: The ability to distinguish flora and fauna, clouds and rocks and
make best use of them.

Learning and information processing

Both incidental and intentional learning are the result of willingness and motivation. External
stimuly and environment contribute to make changes in addition to insights.A series or
continious changes:

1/ Attention: Attention starts when the senses are activated (sight, hearning) in order to
perceive the new items.

2/ Perceiving: Perception is the activation of the sensory memory (emidiate memory) that
makes a relationship between the senses and the interpretaion of visual and auditory items.

3/ Identification: At the level of identification qualities are attributed to the new items.
4/ Recognetion: Thsi stage of learning is also the imidiate activation of -already identified
information- activation of knowledge in dynamic working memory.

5/ Storage: Storage requires the ability of understanding a new item and classify it in the
long term memory. Understand consequently relies on attributing symantic qualities to the
new items so that they can be reused.

6/ Retrieval: The ability of the mind to find a previous knowledge up into the present
moment. It requires locating that information within a network of semantic relations
(meaning relations).

7/ Rehearsal: Keep learning effective because it provides many occasions for repetition,
application and practice of using the same items. The acquired knowledge becomes part of
the tactical, strategic behaviour of the individual.

ATTENTION-PERCEPTION-UNDERSTANDING-STORAGE-RETRIEVAL-REHEARSAL

Bottom-up, top-down and schematic processing, the cognetive acts of understanding,

storage, retrieval and rehearsal are not performed at random; they are organised in a
process that makes the individual use them easily and imidiatly. Many scholars in psychology
of learning tried to explain this organisation by providing models of information processing.

1/ Bottom-up processing: This model explains information processing and learning by the
accumulation of language and knowledge elements from the bottom-up to reach a linguistic
competence; this ammount of knowledge. Provides the learner with accuracy (grammatical
correctness) and a wide language repertoire (diction). Most structuralist scholars and
psychologists consider it as a synthetic learning process through which the leaner assembles
the elements he acquires to build-up his own knowledge of language.

2/ Top-down processing: This model explains information processing through investment of

language and knowledge elements in a wholistic, analytic way by considering every instance
of learning as a global picture, identifying the elements to be learned and store them in
mind to be reused appropriatly in any other new learning situation. This process favours the
development of linguistic performance. Although the two models represent a dichotomy,
most scholars, consider them nowadays as complimentary. The individual learner uses
usually an intermidiate model which combains both top-down and bottom-up processing.

3/ Schematic processing: The term schema/schemata in used to define and explain a frame
of meaning representation in the networks of symantic memory. A schema is stereotypic
representation of knowledge in one's mind which opens up to digest (process) new elements
of meaning. And hence the schema may share elements of meaning that is why most
schemas overlap.

Learning process and affective factors

1/ Motivation: The enternal drive characterised by the willingness, desire, determination,
curiousity, explanation, self-esteem, incentives and knowledge of results. Given these varied
characteristics scholars identify motivation as integrative/instrumental:

A- Integrative motivation: Is the desire of the learner to learn the language and at the same
time integrate someaspects of the cultural community features. Some learners learn or
acquire a language because they like its poetry, music, arts..., and hence integrate that
community cultural features by adding-up clothing, food, ways of like.

B- Instrumental motivation: Is characterised by knowledge of results and purpose; many

people nowadays learn or acquire a foreign or second language because they want to reach
an objective, or achieve a result at the end of the learning process. In addition to what the
learner has now, she/he may want to improve his social status, find a job, travel abroad,
settle somewhere in a foreign country, fulfil higher education requirements, or just do some
kind of business with a foreign partner.

The term integrative and instrumental seen relevant to acquisition and learning of languages
but do not fit to explain all human behaviour. other scholars preferto use the terms intrinsic
and extrinsic motivation as characteristics of learning styles and personality. Intrinsic is, the,
considered as a high internal drive and desire for learning. However, extrinsic motivation is
considered as a high reliability on and correlation with incentives, reward, and knowledge of
results.

2/ Affect:The affective factors and anxiety: The affective state of the learner proved its
importance in the acquisition/learning process according to many scholars. The most
important study in this field was the affective filter hypothesis/theory proposed by Krashen,
S.D. 1982 "Principles and practice in 2nd language acquisition" Krashen hypothesis in this
theory that if the learner is exposed to an ammount of input of material (the context of
language and knowledge) that she/he learns in good affective atmosphere, anxiety will be
reduced and consequently his in-take will increase; this in-take will represent the ammount
of output that the learner will be able to use. However, if the affective atmosphere is
affected by frustration, fear of failure and punishment, the affective filter will increase
anxiety and reduce classroom atmosphere, and types of activities undertaken by the learner
is obvious through language games, information transfer activities and classroom
interaction.

Learning styles and strategies

Cognetive, affective, psychological traits which are indecators of how learners perceive,
interact with and respond to learning environment.

Brown considers five lerning styles:

1/ Field Dependent/Independent (wholist/serialist) : Field indepedent learners have a

tendency to perceive a particular ietm, concentrate on it, analyse its variables in comparison
to other items inorder to create a whole environment of knowledge. In real language
learning situations appropriate communicative reactions require pragmatics field
independent styles. Field dependent learners have a tendency to understand learning as a
whole picture and use a general configuration of a problem or an event which they
comprehensively percieve all together as a whole system, they break down that whole
picture into parts.

2/ Left/Right Brain dominance:

Left brain dominance learners use alot of neurological activities in the left hymosphere. They
have a tendency to remember names, respond to verbal langauge, read analytically, prefer
to talk and write and solve logical problems. They also tend to think logically, make objective
judgments,rely on language to think and remember and control their feelings. They are
generally said to be intellectual. However right brain dominance learners use a lot of
neurological activities in the right hymosphere they have a tendency to remember faces,
respond to demonstration, visual and symbolic instructions, read synthetically and prefer to
draw and manupilate objects, solve problems intutively. They tend to think intutively and
make subjective judgments. They rely on images to think and remember but have more
freedom of feelings. They are said to be intutive and artist.

3/ Visual/Auditory Styles: As a learning style symbolic or verbal language is important to

broden one's knowledge. Although they are considered distinct in the left/right brain
dominance they are still prefered tendencies for learners. Some learners prefer to read,
study charts, learning maps and other graphically represented information. However other
learners prefer listening to lectures. Brown 2000 p 121 distinguishes the prominance of
visual or auditory styles according to cultural background and educational background.

4/ Introvert/Extrovert: Introvert/extrovert styles of learning are much more relatedto the

psychological mood and temper of the learner they represent personality tendencies of
being reflected or impulsives. While and introvert reflective learner tends to be slow at
learning,taking risks wisely and making calculated decisions, an extrovert impulsive learner
tends to be quick at learning, taking a lot of risks, making gambling guesses, leading to
learning by trail and error. The reflective learner has got intrinsic qualities of motivation and
less metacognetive strategies.

5/ Tolerance/Intolerance of Ambiguity: Tolerant/Intolerant style is a condition of personality

actors, educational and cultural attitudes towards differences. A learner who tolerates
ambiguity can distinguish easily and accept differences in the foreign language speech
habbits, speech co-articulations, symantic variation and syntactic relations. He is much mre
tolerant of conflicting cultural issues of his own culture with the target language culture. A
learner who does not tolerate ambiguity would face difficulties to cope with speech
varaition, mainly syntactic organisations in the foreign language, a misinterpretation of
cultural topics of the target language.

Strategies: Learning strategies are specific ways, or tactful learning actions undertaken by
the learners. They may desire from styles, however they represent what every individual
does while learning. The extent of their use varies from one person to another. Their study
explains individual differences among a learning population. Consequently teachers should
vary their teaching techniques and activities so that the learner have opportunities to use
their own strategies.

1. Direct strategies:

They are called direct (Oxford 19901) because they are derived from the sencory and
cognetive abilities of the mind.

Oxford (ebid) draws three sub categories of direct strategies.

a- Memory strategies:

They are actions or operations of perception (visula, verbal) which help the learner link the
new items with the old ones as a process of understanding, storage, retrieval and rehearsal.

b- Cognitive strategies:

They are elaborate, complex, and pragmatic mental operations that the mind undertakes in
order to improve one’s knowledge, communicate with the external world, and interpret/
defend opinions and arguments.

c- Compensation strategies:

Whenever the learner faces difficulties of finding solutions to understanding or

communication problems, he would try to compensate for that problem/failure; the learner
may use the mother tongue, rely on others for help or use other alternatives to overcome
the difficulties.

2. Indirect strategies:

Are not directly related to the mind as they represent one’s organisation of thinking, affect
and social relations.

a- Metacognetive strategies: Metacognetive is generally known as an awareness of

one’s potentials, abilities, skills and knowledge, and a regulation, organisation, and
correction of one’s abilities.

“We can’t correct something without evaluating it”

These strategies are also called “high order skills” (higher that cognetion) because they guide
the learner to improve his/her language skills or any other skills.

b- Affective strategies:

They are related to personal feelings, mood and temper which may affect one’s potentials
for learning. Anxiety represents here a negative factor for learning; it has been distinguished
as a major variable by (Krashen 1982) and consequently teachers are adviced to lower it.
Individual learners can lower their anxiety, on their own, by: meditation, music, humour…

c- Social strategies: As every individual learner is a member of a social group, he

undertakes social relations with members of that group; let it be the familly, a class,
 a sport’s team, a crew or any other professional communities. Learners who have
and use social strategies generally develop good public relations.

Here’s how to « Bloom-ise » your lessons

Use these key words to bloomise your lessons, no matter what subject you teach. Ask
questions and provide verbal and written instructions that contain these thought-provoking
language power words.

Knowledge: Who, What, Where, When, Which, How many, Name, Identify, Remember.

Comprehension: Describe, explain, in your own words, compare, contrast.

Application: Solve, what else, name of other, instead of, choose, apply, what is, sort, list.

Analysis: Why, how, describe, give reasons, identify, analyze.

Synthesis: Create, develop, devise, suppose, predict, what if, think of, invent.

Evaluate: Decide, judge, discuss, choose, recommend, give opinion, which do you prefer,
explain why.

Taxonomy of Thinking Levels

Thinking Levels Cue words : Instructions

KNOWLEDGE Observe Memorize Repeat
Recall Recall Label/Name Recount
Remembering Cluster Sort List
previously learned Outline/Format stated Record Define
material Match
Recognize Locate Identify
COMPREHENSION
Restate Paraphrase Tell
Translate
Describe Report Express
Grasping the meaning
Explain Review Cite
of material
Document/Support Summarize Precise/Abstract
Select Use Manipulate
APPLICATION
Sequence Organize Imitate/Show
Generalize : Using
Demonstrate Frame How to
learned material in new
Apply Dramatize Illustrate
and concrete situations
Test/Solve Imagine/Information known
ANALYSIS : Breaking Examine Classify/Distinguish Differentiate
down material into its Outline/No format given Map Relate to
component parts so Characterize Compare/Contrast Research
that it may be more Analyze Conclude (draw conclusions)
easily understood Question
SYNTHESIS : Compose
Propose Plan Compose
putting material
Formulate Design Construct
together to form a new
Imitate Imagine/Speculate Create/Invent
whole
 Compare Prioritize/Rank Judge/Value
EVALUATION : Judging
Decide Rate/Assess Evaluate
the value of material
Criticize Argue Justify
for a given purpose
Convince Persuade Predict

http://iteslj.org/Articles/Hismanoglu-Strategies.html

2.0 Semantico-grammatical categories:

2.1.0 Time

In many, though not all, languages it is scracely possible to produce a sentence without
being involved in expressing time concepts. This is because tense systems tend to require
choices based on time. We commonly indicate time by relating an event to the moment of
utterance. In this sense, time might be considered partly a deictic category. However for
convenience both deictic and non-deictic aspects of time are considered together here.

2.1.1 Point of time

Although the importance and exact significance of time indicators varies according to
culture, they are obviously and important part of the speaker's repertoire. The prominance
given to expressions of time in language courses is a fair sign of this. Grammatically, points
of time are usually expressed through adverbials:

e.g now, then

on Monday the 23rd of April 1957

at twenty-five past eight

yesterday, today, tomorrow

this/yesterday/to-morrow morning

this/last/next month

It is interesting to note how many time expressions are deictic.

That is to say, it is not possible to know the exact time referred to without knowing either
the linguistic or the situational (temporal) context. While this is evident with expressions like
now, then, this morning, it is not so apparent with on Monday January 1st. yet in the context
I shall have a new car…, this can only mean next January, that is the first January after the
moment of utterance. In response to the question when did you last see him?, it would refer
to January 1st previous to the moment of utterance. Even quite narrowly specified points of
time can take the moment of utterance as their point of utterance.
 Time expressions are commonly taught as almost fixed phrases with limited productivity.
However, points of time can equally be indicated through time clauses and through
embedded sentences.

It must be finished when I come back

It must be finished by six o'clock

It must be finished by the time I leave

In these particular examples the time indicates the termination of an event, but it could
equally mark its inception or the limits of its duration. The potential for embedding
sentences in such time expressions offers a vast range of communicative potential, but,
equally an adequate competence exists even where a speaker has not mastered this kind of
grammatical feature. It is likely that in a pedagogic ordering the embedded constructions
would be deferred until later stages of learning.

2.1.2 Duration

The need to express periods of time may not be as essential as the need to express points of
time, but languages nonetheless possess a range of resources which can be exploited for this
purpose. A period of time may be denoted by explicit statement of its duration or by
reference to its inception or termination. In English at least these distinctions are made by
use of prepositional phrases:

e.g. for five years

until six o'clock

since Monday

from Monday

Lexical constructions are also possible including some which in a different context may refer
to points of time:

e.g. all the day

the whole day

this week

last year

A comparable range of clausal constructions is available in English, introduced by such

conjunctions as while, when, since and until. Expressions of points of time can be embedded
to indicate the beginning or end of periods:

e.g. she stayed at work until just before the clock struck seven
 It is not unusual for languages to have the means of categorising events as punctual or
durative by grammatical devices. The progressive (be+ -ing) form in English is sometimes
described as a durative, although the present itself is only occasionally punctual. The system
of English requires the speaker to mark an event (verb) as durative or non-durative. A
language like French expresses duration throught periphrasis and the tense system
possesses forms which are not marked as either durative or non-durative:

e.g. je lis

je suis en train de lire

2.1.3 Time relations

One of the major tasks that faces anyone learning a European language is acquiring the
formal systems through which time relations are expressed. Events are placed in time by
being related to the moment of speech and to time axes that have been established by other
events. A characteristic of European language is that these relations are expressed
principally through verb forms (tenses), but this is not universally the case and there are
many languages where verb forms are invariable and time relations are expressed by other
devices.

In a notional approach we take a logical devision of time as the strating-point. Such a

devision would need to go beyond a simple three-term system of past, present and future,
since each of these may be oriented. A system like the following, therefore, would be
capable of handling more subtle time distinctions.
We may consider that the revolution in the study of the language started from the introduction of the
concept of DEEP STRUCTURE which was determined by CHOMSKY 1965 “Aspects of the Theory of
Syntax”. This idea explains that the concepts of grammar are universal, common to all human beings;
however they are different when they are expressed at the surface structure that is why Chomsky’s
theory came to be called GENERATIVE. It means that every human being who has a conceptual
framework of grammar is able to generate or create an infinite number of grammatical sentences.

The concept of time used to be structurally explained according to tenses and adverbs however
according to these categories (of Wilkins) time is divided into sub-concepts: Point of time (a date, a
moment, a period, a day, a month, a year).Duration of a particular action or event through time
(continuous action) a period of time is determined by two particular moments or points of time the
Beginning and the End of the action. Time relations which serve to distinguish the different tenses
and their relationships by fixing a point of time; either in the present, the past or the future helps the
human beings build tense relations with reference to the fixed point of time.

Time can be expressed in many categories and that is why we have a variety of tenses relative to
culture and language. Frequency of the action through time explains how many times an action
happens it is generally expressed in adverb or adverbial phrase. Another type of sub-time relations is
the Sequence of actions or events. Other scholars like Trimble 1985 “EST discourse approach” call this
category time order which expresses chronological order, natural order, numerical order, and order
determined by the speaker or writer.

Quality is a concept which is a set of characteristics, features, attributes to a particular element in

acquisition we need to perceive every element by identifying and recognising its qualities which
maybe sub-divided into further subcategories like shape, size, colour, age, substance, smell ...etc
which are generally expressed by adjectives.

Quantity is also a concept which helps us perceive the world around us according to amounts that we
can divide and count and other amounts that we cannot divide and count. Words which express the
unity of human beings, animals, substance or matter which cannot be precisely counted are said to be
uncountable. However our perception of things that we can divide and count would lead us to use
new words and mathematical operations to divide and count establishing tools of measurement.

Science knowledge is a matter of culture: Science fiction.

Space is a very complex and large concept, which helps us understand our physical environment. Its
representation in our mind helps us also to remember the absence of a given space that we had
already seen and imagine fictitious and virtual spaces. The concept of space helps us determine the
location of a place (where we live or other places), the direction to other places, (to school, North,
East or West depending where we are), the distance between place (time and duration of a journey
from one place to another).

Motion and speed through space develops as an experience of measuring distance and velocity (the
speed between two objects in motion); children develop this concept gradually.

Meaning relation and relational meaning: (Abu Hamid Elgazzali).

The conceptual framework is very dynamic in the human brain. It helps us determine who did what,
to whom, when and where and with what results and benefits. This complex framework is deeply
rooted in all humans’ minds, but it’s syntactically represented at the surface structure by different
terms, combinations and sequences. Hence, categories of relational meaning can be the agent of an
action which can be also the instrument of the action. The effect of the action is distinguished in
direct and indirect objects, beneficiary (who takes advantage from the action) or the instruments
which carry the action. This network of conceptual cognitive meanings is not exhaustive (not finished,
unlimited) and cannot be generalised because it is culture and language specific.

Epistemology (the way we organise ideas together to make a line of thought): is the field which
explains the order and relationships of ideas to create a piece of discourse in speech and writing.
Coherence of the ideas is basically realised by the logical relations between the subjects, attributes
and predicates and reference to persons, objects, time, place, gender, number... At the surface
structure these are categorised as nouns, adjectives, adverbs of time and place, prepositions, verbs,
pronouns and auxiliaries...

Modality: at surface level of language modality is divided into a set of modal verbs (will, must, shall,
should, may, could). However, at the conceptual level modality is divided into scales of certainty and
degrees of committement. The scales of certainty vary according to objectivity and possibility.
Objectivity is a distinction between what is and what is not (confirmation, affirmation, negation).
Possibility represents all the scales that vary between Yes and No; they are degrees of (certainty,
probability, possibility, uncertainty).

These degrees of certainty may also vary according to personal opinions when the individual
expresses his notions of conviction, assumption, doubts and disbelief. This scale of personal modality
gets more engagement when the person expresses his/her intentions or obligations.

Value judgement and Argumentation: communicating concepts to others: activating meaning in mind
is prior to any language expression (ideas before words). Every idea we want to express is
valued/judged/estimated before it is expressed. The quality of the idea we want to express is
primarily appreciated as an assessment of evidence, condition, cause, effect which the person would
approve, disapprove or conciliate. The purpose of expressing these concepts is to convince, persuade
other people of our value judgement. Persuasion leads to suggesting, advising, ordering, predicting
and warning.

Arguments: argumentation in the most complex conceptual stage because it requires the use of all
the concepts discussed so far (relational meaning, value judgment, persuasion). Building an argument
is based on determining a position (your stance or value judgment), supporting your position with
arguments or details (logical patterns of causality and result, condition and prediction, or natural
order of time patterns and space patterns).
Cognitive Development of the child and Language Acquisition

The bubbling stage is universal because all humans use their lips to block and release air or let it
escape through the nose. Hence, the sounds “B” and “M” are produced first in comparison to other
bilabials, labiodentals, dentals and alveolar, later on children develop other fricatives, velars sounds
and affricates.

The acquisition of vocabulary with the combination of syllables helps the child to perceive and name
all items around him. This specific function of identification and recognition takes two dimensions;
either the words are used for abstractions of feelings, mood or ideas, or these words are used for
generalisations of the specific features to other similar items.

Example1: the word bread maybe used for specification or abstraction; the specification is directly
referring to food, while the abstraction is referring to hunger.

Example2: the word dog may specifically refer to that domestic animal as it may also refer to a
generalised concept of animals with four legs and a tail (generalisation of a scheme).

Semantic markers and meaning relations are characterised by the attribution of semantic relations to
particular words. The most elementary semantic feature is the role of the word which may act as an
agent, an action or an object.

Example1: the word Dad may mean dad has come in/arrived.

Example2: the word bottle may mean I want to drink.

Example3: Mom mom mom! Would mean give me some sweets.

Building semantic relations between words requires the use of semantic markers (definite, indefinite,
direct, indirect, tense, transitivity ...). Children use correctly or incorrectly until they develop an
internalised competence for correctness. This competence becomes obvious not by stating rules but
by correcting the others when making mistakes.

The second stage is the two-words utterance one characteristic feature of the two-word utterance is
the Pivot grammar where the child would use a limited number of pivot single words in these
utterances there is always a central word considered as a pivot (the number of pivot words is limited
and increases slowly over time) around which the child would add many other words (with less
frequency) to create more meaning relations. The regularity and the frequency of words added to the
pivot are unpredictable.

Language production characteristics beyond the pivot grammar children have a tendency to produce

A Telegraphic Speech consisting of different word classes without cohesive markers. This speech
implies various meaning interpretations depending on context and word order.

Word order is the order of words in a given utterance is generally known as SVO (subject, verb, and
object) but this is not to be generalised to all languages (in Arabic it’s not the case verb, subject, and
object) which may have other conventions. Hence, according to the exposure of children to their
native language, they develop the appropriate, socially accepted word order. Mastering this syntactic
order with the use of cohesive markers occurs during the pre-operational stage where the child tests
his intuitive/symbolic meaning against social conventions of language: he rehearses syntactic
structures intuitively through the commonly known egocentric speech
Egocentric speech it’s called egocentric because it is a language addressed to oneself. The ego
representing a state of consciousness becomes the centre of the speech behaviour. It seems that
children tell stories to themselves even in the absence of other people around them. Creating
scenarios, imagining communicative contexts with others or answering questions when they are not
asked. This self-direction, self-correction, ands self-esteem helps the child develop an internalised
system of grammatical correctness and social appropriateness.