A Study on EFL Instructional Design from the Perspective of Cognitive Load Theory

Abstract

Cognitive load is commonly defined as the amount of mental effort that performing a specific task imposes on a learner’s cognitive system. For EFL learners, with their limited English proficiency and cultural immersion, always find it overwhelming to comprehend a content lesson delivered in English. Cognitive load theory draws on an understanding of human cognitive architecture to provide explanations for why certain designs of multimedia educational materials are effective and why some are not. This study evaluated the split-attention and redundancy principles in an Intensive Reading lesson for non-English majored students and their potential to decrease mental effort and increase learning.