A Research Into Cognition System Of Adults' Foreign Language Learning

Applied linguists have held different views about the influence of mother tongue on second language acquisition or the foreign language learning, In the 1960s, behaviorists think that second language acquisition or foreign language learning, like any other animal-type learning process, is a process of habit formation. They think language learners are stimulated by new language information in learning process, then have response to the stimuli like any animals. After continuous repeating and reinforcement, they form new language habits in their brain. They think the learner's mother tongue knowledge has "disturbance" to second language acquisition, so mother tongue has "negative transfer" in second language learning. Therefore, the method of "contrastive analysis" is used in language teaching so as to predict learner's mistakes in the learners' language learning. As a result, mother tongue is forbidden in second language classroom (Cook, 2001). Some linguists including Ellis (1984) believe that using mother tongue to organize classroom teaching reduces students' opportunities to take in target language information. Also students probably concentrate on the teacher's mother tongue rather than his target language.In the.1970s, Linguist Chomsky had a fierce attack on behaviorism learning theory, and cognition psychology theory took the place of behaviorism theory step by step. The role of mother tongue in second language learning was valued again by language researchers and language learners. For example, Corder (1978) redefined "disturbance of mother tongue" as "intercession", namely a second language learner's communicating strategy because he has not mastered enough second language knowledge. This explains why second language learners rely more on their mother tongue in the early stage.Psycholinguists believe that first language acquisition mainly depends on "Language Acquisition Device", a mental mechanism while second language acquisition is a process of cognition development, a creative construction of cognition. As learners become more fluent in second language, the role of mother tongue will die away gradually. It provides theoretical foundation for the teachers and students to use some mother tongue in the process of second language learning.Adult students are learning foreign language in a mother tongue environment, so it has many differences from children's language acquisition. One of the big differences is that they have already had a perfect knowledge structure and a cognition structure of mother tongue before they begin to learn a foreign language. Therefore, it is impossible for them to be dominated only by one cognition structure in foreign language learning. Their learning activities can also not be controlled by only one language thinking. Therefore, adults' mental mechanism and cognition processing are worth studying because they have prominent characteristics in foreign language learning.My tutor, professor Yin De-mo, having been concentrated on the study of English teaching methodology concerning language and thinking for many years, put forward for the first time in domestic a hypothesis theory about adults' "BILINGUAL STRUCTURE" in the process of foreign language learning, which involves the functions of language and thinking in the knowledge structures and cognition structures of two languages in learner's brain. It points out that the proportion of knowledge structures and cognition structures between mother tongue and foreign language unceasingly change in different stages. Mother tongue plays a different role in foreign language learning according to learner's foreign language level. Moreover, the two cognition structures of different languages interact each other, influence each other, and then adjust and improve each other at last.This selected topic is a branch research of professor Yin's hypothesis, with the purpose of a further proving and studying the theory put forward by professor Yin Demo. This paper has a detailed study of the relationship between language and thinking, the difference between a child's language acquisition and an adults' language learning, then has a further study of adults' "bilingual cognition structure", further explains how adults use their psychological mechanisms in their foreign language learning. At last it points out how adults make use of their mother tongue knowledge and cognition structure in their foreign language learning to promote their foreign language study. In this way, the language researchers and language learners can have a clearer picture about adults' cognition structure system in their minds.In order to prove the role of mother tongue knowledge in foreign language learning, this research specially carried on an empirical study about how mother tongue knowledge affects adults' vocabulary learning.