Language Cognitive Strategy Analysis in Learner Diaries of College Freshman Students in Kalinga State University, Philippines

Abstract

The study analyzed the language cognitive strategies found in learner diaries of college freshman students of Kalinga State University (KSU). Specifically, it determined the cognitive strategies employed by the learners in writing their diaries. The diary of each student was used to elicit the different cognitive strategies employed by the students. The cognitive strategies were classified based on the model of Richard (1975). The data gathered were identified, analyzed, and interpreted using the qualitative- descriptive method. It was found out that: (1) errors committed by the students are intralingual or developmental errors caused by the structure of the second or target language; (2)the students utilized varied cognitive strategies such as overgeneralization, ignorance of rule restriction, incomplete application of rules and false concepts hypothesized in their diaries; and (3) the errors committed by the students were not all influenced by the first language but by the complexity of the target language itself. Thus,(1) errors are considered inevitable in second language learning; the commission of errors is indicative of the interlanguage status of student; and (2) errors are developmental which can be overcome as the students reach a higher interlanguage stage of learning a second language.