I found the three concepts behaviorism, cognitivism and constructivism difficult to understand. I think it is because these three concepts are abstract and they don’t come out often in our daily learning or reading. Therefore without proper examples to demonstrate the concepts, they can be very difficult to understand by simply reading the definitions or explanations of them. Since it is difficult to understand the concepts by their definitions, I looked up for the examples of each concept. I looked for the classroom activities that uses the three concepts respectively and understood them better with the definitions and the examples provided.
The process of my learning to speak English as a second language can be a good example of cognitivism. When I was in middle school, I only learned to read and write in English. I had little chance to practice speaking. When I went abroad, I finally had the chance to use English in speaking. I found it really difficult as first because being used to reading and writing, listening to other people’s thought, giving responses and then putting my thoughts into words is a long process for me and choosing the right expression took me a lot of time. This made me nervous and it would usually take me very long time to come up with a sentence. I took classes on speaking in particular and the teachers had very helpful strategies such as giving me an imaginary conversation so that I could practice speaking with vocabulary and expressions that I was familiar with. In the process, the teachers also help me to make connections to the vocabulary and expressions that I could use in writing. With lots of practice, I found it increasingly easy to connect speaking with writing and words came out more easily than it used to be when I first used English in speaking.
My practice in speaking English based on my prior knowledge in English vocabulary and grammar showed how cognitivism works in my learning. I think I was able to speak English because I already had the necessary knowledge stored in my brain. The way I used the knowledge in reading and writing was different from the way I use it in speaking, and the practice is making new connections to existing understandings which is supported by the theory of cognitivism.
Good job connecting Cognitivism with your personal experience! As a second English language learner myself I can relate to your experience. In fact, speaking is one of the most difficult skills to acquire compared to reading, writing, and listening. Learning how to speak in a foreign language can be overwhelming for some learners as it requires an understanding of both linguistic and socio-cultural norms. Therefore, on top of cognitivism, some aspects of constructivism might be used to help you communicate in English. Specifically, “imaginary conversations” or role plays/simulations.