An Empirical Research On Cognition-Based Vocabulary Learning Models

There are different approaches and longtime arguments over vocabulary learning such as receptive vs. productive, implicit and incidental vs. explicit and intentional, and inductive vs. deductive, and so on. In recent years some researchers go further and propose task-induced involvement focusing on learners'need, motivation and evaluation. But these theoretical and empirical literature on concepts of cognition in the narrow, information processing sense such as elaboration and attention, and the literature on affective components of cognition such as motivation and need, have not produced substantial progress in the domain of second language vocabulary learning, since the so-called meta-cognitive measures only limit itself into the management of learning and exercising as well as plan making.The research aims to make the learning or acquisition of the English vocabulary more efficient and enjoyable for non-English major learners. It enlightens the current classroom teaching and students'after-class learning, values the perception of teachers'guidance and supervising as well as students'autonomous learning, and helps learners develop proper learning methods and cultivate their cognitive capacity in actual learning and evaluate their learning reasonably. The paper also stresses the cognitive approaches in explicit learning, which facilitates vocabulary learning through cultivating learners'cognitive abilities.The research investigates English vocabulary through experiments from three dimensions—prototype, schema and metaphoric projection plus mental spaces in order to explore different learning approaches to words in different categories on the basis of learners'cognitive competence with the ultimate goal of developing students cognitive capacity and learning strategies, forming their own ways of analyzing words from different aspects so as to be efficient and effective in consolidating the connections between form and meaning.Based on the cognitive theories, the paper proposes experiments to explore the influences of pronunciation, word formation and meaning on spelling and vocabulary learning as a whole. Correlational test, multi-regression test and independent sample T-test have been carried out. The experiments showed that pronunciation, word formation and meaning are significantly related to spelling and can promote spelling and vocabulary learning, and the cognitive learning based on pronunciation, word formation and meaning is superior to learning merely through word lists. That is, the experiment results back up the cognitive approaches and models in learning vocabulary.