Cognitive Skills and Language Learning. 

When teaching young learners there are many factors to take into account. But one that called my attention when reading the text by McKay about teaching young learners, was the factor of the cognitive skills. As it is mentioned in the text, young learners not only face the challenge of learning another language, they are also developing their cognitives skills. Now, the question is, how is that language learning can help them go through this process successfully?

Well, research shows very interesting outcomes in cognitive development in language learners. Language learning gives us tools to give students stimmuli and tools to reach high cognitive skills. According to the Theory of Cognitive Development of Jean Piaget; every person goes through certain stages depending on their age and their success in achieving them depends on the environment the person is exposed to. In the best of the scenarios we would like to get our students to what Piaget calls the formal operational stage. As McKay (2012) explains "...when they begin to hypothesize, build abstract categories and handle more than two variables at the time. Their interpretation of symbols in stories and art becomes less literal and their understanding of abstract social concepts, such as democracy, becomes more sophisticated".

If we make an analysis on language learning and the goals you have to reach in this stage according to Piaget, language learners have an advantage getting there. Learning a new language is a new way of seeing the world, as you start to learn new ways of calling the world around you, and not only that, a language reflects a whole culture, a way of living, that is where our tools are to help students reach cognitive goals. 

By learning a language students hypothesize, as when they try new ways of expresing and see if it works to communicate, they can build abstract categories, as when they categorize the language you use in different situations as well as cultural codes and like that so many possibilities. 

To conclude, this reading made me thought of our role as educator, we not only have our students learning a language, but we can be facilitators in their personal growth.

Oops, that wasn't what I was supposed to do! 

In test instructions there are two factors that seem to be crucial. First, make them clear enough, two that students actually read them.

As teacher we have the job, when assessing with tests, to make instructions clear and second to help our students know the importance of reading them. 

In my opinion one of the strategies we can do for our students to read the instructions, is to make some rehearse activities before the test, so they can get use to read the instructions. For example, if in the text you will have them answer specific information of a reading, help your students before, testing the instructions you plan to put in the test and revise them to see if they are clear and effective.

On the other hand, when planning how to write instructions you have always to have present that the purpose of the instructions is not to see if students can understand them, but that they help in the process of collecting your students performance and that they give all facilities for them to do their best in their tests. 

Now, what would you think could be another strategy to make instructions more effective?