Proponents of a cognitive approach have as their first goal the development of competence (as the term is used in T-G linguistics) in the second-language learner. The means employed to achieve this goal are based on mentalistic interpretations of learning. A cognitive teacher accepts the fact that the native speaker does not have to think about language as such during the communicative process, but she does not agree that the language was learned in the same fashion. As Chastain (1969) said in an article in the International Review of Applied Linguistics:
They [cognitive proponents] feel that the fact that a habit is an action which can be performed without conscious thought in no way negates a process of conscious, continued application in developing the skill. For example, the fact that a man ties a tie or drives a car without conscious awareness of individual actions in no way signifies that this skill was attained without thinking through each step in the beginning stages of learning. Thus, these instructors place primary emphasis on student comprehension of structure. With further practice, the student can perfect his ability to use these same structures unconsciously, leaving his mind free to concentrate on the content of the speech.
The second goal is to give the students opportunities to develop functional, not necessarily perfect, performance skills. The students need to be placed in situations in which they can activate their interim learner language and compare the product with native language. They need to be given many and
continued opportunities to convert their thoughts into the second language, both in writing and in speech, independently and in conversational inter changes.
Cognitive presentations of material and cognitive exercises are outgrowths of the belief that new material must be presented in such a manner that the students are learning meaningfully. Exercises are designed to give the students a chance to demonstrate comprehension as they consciously select correct forms. The latter portion of any learning sequence contains materials and activities in which the students are given the opportunity to communicate using what they have learned. During the entire sequence, learning is viewed as primarily an internal process assisted by the text and the teacher.