L2 learning as the development of a complex cognitive skill

Practice, practice, practice!

New theories evolve and in comparison to Krashen's theory of language acquisition being a subconscious process, the new theories focus on the importance of PRACTICE. Learning a second language as the development of a complex cognitive skill. I looked up the word Cognition in the dictionary and got this explanation: the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience and the senses. A result of this; a perception, sensation, notion or intuition.

So in order to become more fluent in a language you have to build on already existing knowledge. To manage that we have to put our knowledge in our long-term memory. If we only save it in our short-term memory we will forget it because the short-term memory has a very limited capacity, there's just not enough space there. And this is where the practice comes in. If you use time on practicing, your knowledge will get saved in the long-term memory and not the short-term. When you practice a language it gets more and more automatized. This is also described in Barry McLaughlin's hierarchy of goals;

First-order goal: to express a particular intention

Second-order goal: to decide on a topic

Third-order goal: to formulate a series of phrases

Lower-order goals: to retrieve the lexicon needed

to activate articulatory patterns

to utilize appropriate syntactic rules

to meet pragmatic conventions

When you look at the goals on top you see that the main function of these goals is to express meaning. On the bottom you see that the focus is on how to find the right words, to be able to use the proper grammar and form phrases. This is the difference between a native speaker and a speaker who isn't fluent. The native speaker would focus on WHAT he wanted to say and not HOW he would say it. To express a particular intention is the main focus. The more you practice your second language and the more knowledge you store in your long-term memory you will in time notice that your language skills improves. You will then use less energy on looking for the right words in conversation and it will be easier to express what you really want to say.

To focus more on meaning and less on words is an important goal for me in learning to speak english. I want to be able to express myself and speak my mind without wasting time on looking for the right words. I want my language to be automized and that means PRACTICE!