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Abstract：This study analyzes Modern Educational Technology (MET)in the perspective of the theory of category in cognitive linguistics.Categorization of lexical elements is discussed under MET circumstances，and to establish a category and to clarify the boundaries between two vague categories in the target language are two major applications in this study.The attempt of this study is trying to evolve the method of MET courseware designs and improve the effect of MET language lessons.
Key words：Modern Educational Technology，cognitive linguistics，categorization
The last decade of 20th century witnessed the significant leap in information technology (IT).The emergence of computer and its attached hard wares and soft wares led to tremendous changes in all ways of people’s life.The application of IT finally affects the skills and technology of language teaching in the 21st century.The representative title of IT application in language teaching should be awarded to modern educational technology (MET)，which has been embraced by the majority of Chinese College English teachers.This study attaches great importance to the cognition of learners in MET，in which learners’ categorization in the lexical level is highlighted.
For the categorization theory，Labov (Taylor，2007:33) puts it：If linguistics can be said to be any one thing，it is the study of categories：that is，the study of how language translates meaning into sound through the categorization of reality into units and sets of units.
The categorization theory is the most important part of cognitive linguistics，and it is the basic approach for human to get acquaintance with the world.To enter a learners’ cognition，a new thing or a new concept must be，or be similar to，a member of a category.John Taylor (2007:34) notes：“It is we speakers who impose categories on the world around us.”
In order to construct a clear-cut cognition for a lexical category，or to clear the vagueness of the boundary of a category，the first measure that a language the teacher can take is to give a “good example”，or a prototype，to learners when they are encountering the lexical category for the first time.A prototype，as Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics，refers to “a person or object which is considered (by many people) to be typical of its class or group” (Richards，Schmidt，Kendrick and Kim，2005:446)，and a prototype is usually the “best” example of its category.Therefore，the prototype will provide learners with a standard model for them to form the category quickly and easily in foreign language，and later project their knowledge of this category in their native language to the category in the foreign language.
Instance 1
When the teacher encounters the word “aircraft”，how does he choose proper examples for demonstration on the screen of MET? A Boeing 747 or a hot-air balloon?When the teacher is initiating the construction the lexical category “aircraft” in learners’ cognition，the best example for MET demonstration is a prototype.Obviously，the picture of a Boeing 747，or a visualized prototype，can stimulate learners’ cognitive process of category construction，and furthermore，aircrafts that are similar to Boeing 747 can enter learners’ cognitive category automatically.In short，the lexical category “aircraft” in foreign language is constructed.
In fact，creation of a lexical category by prototype is not a new attempt.Before MET’s emergence，illustrated dictionaries or visual dictionaries are pioneers to visualize lexical categories.However，MET makes this visualization convenient，and foreign language teachers can utilize the approach as a routine way for vocabulary teaching and achieve satisfactory result.
However，to demonstrate a prototype is not all for the construction of a category.Ungerer and Schimd (2001：19) notes：“Between prototypes and boundaries，cognitive categories contain members which can be rated on a typicality scale ranging from good to bad examples”.Here，“bad” examples are also members of the category，but their properties for this category are less than prototypes (Ungerer and Schimd，2001：17-19).If all the examples chosen by a teacher for a lexical category are “good” examples，the boundary of the lexical category is vague.Rocsh (1978:28) proposed the “Economic Principle” of cognition：“Human brains tend to maximize the application of category standard by minimum information.” In other words，if a lexical category contains only “good” examples，the lexical category in learners’ cognition is incomplete.Therefore，a cognitive category visualized by MET must contain “good” examples and “bad” examples simultaneously on one page to give the learners a clear boundary of a certain category.When a teacher is conducting a lexical category by MET，the learners’ cognitive target is the screen of MET，so one page of MET demonstration is a temporary category container，and it creates a concrete boundary for an abstract boundary of a lexical category in learners’ cognition.
However，to construct a lexical category is not the final goal of vocabulary teaching.Construction of a lexical category is to facilitate the vocabulary of its members to be acquired easily and stored stably by learners.Therefore，after constructing a lexical category by visualization of its “good” and “bad” examples，MET should promote learners’ cognitive acquirements to actual vocabulary learning.This promotion can be pure text listing of vocabulary of the constructed lexical category，or it also can be listing of vocabulary along with visualization.
In fact，MET teachers often employ the listing，but most of them demonstrate the MET demonstrating page like Figure 3.3 directly without the category construction process as illustrated in Figure 3.1 and Figure 3.2.According to the categorization theory discussed in 2.3，direct listing does not conform to human cognitive habit，which involves categorization of objects first and then collects its members.If listing of vocabulary in Figure 3.3 is based on the category construction in Figure 3.1 and Figure 3.2，the cognitive process of the vocabulary，including the category word (“aircraft” in this instance) and the words of its member，becomes natural and smooth.
This instance was conducted in one class (Class A) of Civil Aviation Flight University of China，and another class (Class B)was set as reference.The reference class was exposed to Figure 3.3 directly.The feedbacks come from dictation and a sentence-translation assignment.Two days after the lesson，a dictation of these words were arranged in both classes，and the correctness of Class A is 83% and that is 69% in Class B.One week later，a Chinese-English sentence translation assignment was arranged for both classes.The Chinese is 奥运期间任何液体行李不允许携带上飞行器。The assignment expected to test whether learners master the word “aircraft” and use it actively.The result was：
52% learners in Class A used the word “aircraft” for “飞行器”;
3%(only one student) in Class B used the word “aircraft” for “飞行器”，and the most of the rest used “plane”.
As a result，learners’ understanding and memorizing is highly improved by the cognitive categorization processing of linguistic points through MET.Moreover，Instance 1 also proposed that MET should not be confined in an orbit of the lesson text or fixed course wares.MET should be employed as a tool to enhance and enlarge the knowledge according to the learners’ cognitive habits.
Furthermore，demonstration is not enough；MET’s animation media enable the teacher to add or to delete some items from one MET demonstrating page.As mentioned in 3.1.1.1，the MET demonstrating page，in such a situation，is equal to the category in learners’ cognition subconsciously.Therefore，the adding and deleting act as correctors for some wrong categorizations in learners’ cognition.The animations are also emphases on the boundary of category to call learners’ attention.
By adding items，the teacher can make some “bad” examples ENTER the MET demonstrating page，so that the lexical category is complete.
Instance 2
When the teacher encounters the word “mammal”，a goat and a wolf are “good” examples，but how about a whale? whale is a member of reptile，but it is a “bad” example，or a lower-level example，for its appearance.So a whale is an ideal tool to mark the boundary of the lexical category “mammal” because it stands near to the border of the category domain.The animation effect of ENTRANCE in MET can conduct the teaching task perfectly.
Likewise，the teacher can also employs the animation effect of EXIT in MET to delete a wrongly categorized member from a category.
For the category “fishes”，how about a whale? It is a member of mammal instead of fish.If the teacher expels whale out of the category by the animation effect of Flies Out in MET，the lexical category in learners’ cognition will be highly enhanced and clarified.
Figure 1.Wrongly categorized example LEAVEs
Moreover，an MET demonstrating page can be divided into two parts by inserting Text Boxes，which can also project two cognitive category in learners’ brains.The animation effects of “ENTRANCE” and “EXIT” can be conducted simultaneously.A wrongly categorized example must be “bad” example of another category.Therefore，the teacher can demonstrate a wrongly categorized example Flies out of the improper category and Flies in the proper category simultaneously.
Figure 2.Wrongly categorized example Flies out of improper category and Flies in proper category simultaneously
The feedback of Instance 2 also comes from dictation.Two days after the lesson，a dictation of these words were arranged in both classes，and the correctness of Class A is 76% and that is 51% of Class B.Furthermore，once the category is constructed and its boundary is clear，learners will be positively influenced for long period.One month later，when the teacher encountered the word “spider”，and he told the students of Class A that “spider” should be categorized into insects category，the students’ dictation result for “spider” was also satisfactory.
The feedback should not be surprising.Taylor (2007:66) puts：“Categories enable people to make sense of the world，to reduce the variety of things in the world.” From this point of view，the construction of lexical category provides learners with containers to accommodate any newly-encountered words.And the existing category and its members in learners’ cognition will serve as clues for learners to understand and memorize new words.While MET creates a convenient platform to construct a lexical category and to correct wrong categorizations by its visual media，the construction of lexical category can be employed with convenience.As a result，the vocabulary learning will be finally enhanced.
Bibliography
1.Richards，Schmidt，Kendrick and Kim，2005，Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguisitcs ，Beijing：Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press
2.Rosch，E，1978，Principles of Categorization .In：E Rosch and B Lloyd，eds，Cognition and categorization，Hillsdale/N.J.，N.Y.：Lawrence Erlbaum，27-48
3.Taylor，John，2007，Ten Lectures on Cognitive Grammar by John Taylor ，Beijing：Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press
4.Ungerer and Schimid，2001，An Introduction to Cognitive Linguistics ，Beijing：Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press
Key words：Modern Educational Technology，cognitive linguistics，categorization
The last decade of 20th century witnessed the significant leap in information technology (IT).The emergence of computer and its attached hard wares and soft wares led to tremendous changes in all ways of people’s life.The application of IT finally affects the skills and technology of language teaching in the 21st century.The representative title of IT application in language teaching should be awarded to modern educational technology (MET)，which has been embraced by the majority of Chinese College English teachers.This study attaches great importance to the cognition of learners in MET，in which learners’ categorization in the lexical level is highlighted.
For the categorization theory，Labov (Taylor，2007:33) puts it：If linguistics can be said to be any one thing，it is the study of categories：that is，the study of how language translates meaning into sound through the categorization of reality into units and sets of units.
The categorization theory is the most important part of cognitive linguistics，and it is the basic approach for human to get acquaintance with the world.To enter a learners’ cognition，a new thing or a new concept must be，or be similar to，a member of a category.John Taylor (2007:34) notes：“It is we speakers who impose categories on the world around us.”
In order to construct a clear-cut cognition for a lexical category，or to clear the vagueness of the boundary of a category，the first measure that a language the teacher can take is to give a “good example”，or a prototype，to learners when they are encountering the lexical category for the first time.A prototype，as Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics，refers to “a person or object which is considered (by many people) to be typical of its class or group” (Richards，Schmidt，Kendrick and Kim，2005:446)，and a prototype is usually the “best” example of its category.Therefore，the prototype will provide learners with a standard model for them to form the category quickly and easily in foreign language，and later project their knowledge of this category in their native language to the category in the foreign language.
Instance 1
When the teacher encounters the word “aircraft”，how does he choose proper examples for demonstration on the screen of MET? A Boeing 747 or a hot-air balloon?When the teacher is initiating the construction the lexical category “aircraft” in learners’ cognition，the best example for MET demonstration is a prototype.Obviously，the picture of a Boeing 747，or a visualized prototype，can stimulate learners’ cognitive process of category construction，and furthermore，aircrafts that are similar to Boeing 747 can enter learners’ cognitive category automatically.In short，the lexical category “aircraft” in foreign language is constructed.
In fact，creation of a lexical category by prototype is not a new attempt.Before MET’s emergence，illustrated dictionaries or visual dictionaries are pioneers to visualize lexical categories.However，MET makes this visualization convenient，and foreign language teachers can utilize the approach as a routine way for vocabulary teaching and achieve satisfactory result.
However，to demonstrate a prototype is not all for the construction of a category.Ungerer and Schimd (2001：19) notes：“Between prototypes and boundaries，cognitive categories contain members which can be rated on a typicality scale ranging from good to bad examples”.Here，“bad” examples are also members of the category，but their properties for this category are less than prototypes (Ungerer and Schimd，2001：17-19).If all the examples chosen by a teacher for a lexical category are “good” examples，the boundary of the lexical category is vague.Rocsh (1978:28) proposed the “Economic Principle” of cognition：“Human brains tend to maximize the application of category standard by minimum information.” In other words，if a lexical category contains only “good” examples，the lexical category in learners’ cognition is incomplete.Therefore，a cognitive category visualized by MET must contain “good” examples and “bad” examples simultaneously on one page to give the learners a clear boundary of a certain category.When a teacher is conducting a lexical category by MET，the learners’ cognitive target is the screen of MET，so one page of MET demonstration is a temporary category container，and it creates a concrete boundary for an abstract boundary of a lexical category in learners’ cognition.
However，to construct a lexical category is not the final goal of vocabulary teaching.Construction of a lexical category is to facilitate the vocabulary of its members to be acquired easily and stored stably by learners.Therefore，after constructing a lexical category by visualization of its “good” and “bad” examples，MET should promote learners’ cognitive acquirements to actual vocabulary learning.This promotion can be pure text listing of vocabulary of the constructed lexical category，or it also can be listing of vocabulary along with visualization.
In fact，MET teachers often employ the listing，but most of them demonstrate the MET demonstrating page like Figure 3.3 directly without the category construction process as illustrated in Figure 3.1 and Figure 3.2.According to the categorization theory discussed in 2.3，direct listing does not conform to human cognitive habit，which involves categorization of objects first and then collects its members.If listing of vocabulary in Figure 3.3 is based on the category construction in Figure 3.1 and Figure 3.2，the cognitive process of the vocabulary，including the category word (“aircraft” in this instance) and the words of its member，becomes natural and smooth.
This instance was conducted in one class (Class A) of Civil Aviation Flight University of China，and another class (Class B)was set as reference.The reference class was exposed to Figure 3.3 directly.The feedbacks come from dictation and a sentence-translation assignment.Two days after the lesson，a dictation of these words were arranged in both classes，and the correctness of Class A is 83% and that is 69% in Class B.One week later，a Chinese-English sentence translation assignment was arranged for both classes.The Chinese is 奥运期间任何液体行李不允许携带上飞行器。The assignment expected to test whether learners master the word “aircraft” and use it actively.The result was：
52% learners in Class A used the word “aircraft” for “飞行器”;
3%(only one student) in Class B used the word “aircraft” for “飞行器”，and the most of the rest used “plane”.
As a result，learners’ understanding and memorizing is highly improved by the cognitive categorization processing of linguistic points through MET.Moreover，Instance 1 also proposed that MET should not be confined in an orbit of the lesson text or fixed course wares.MET should be employed as a tool to enhance and enlarge the knowledge according to the learners’ cognitive habits.
Furthermore，demonstration is not enough；MET’s animation media enable the teacher to add or to delete some items from one MET demonstrating page.As mentioned in 3.1.1.1，the MET demonstrating page，in such a situation，is equal to the category in learners’ cognition subconsciously.Therefore，the adding and deleting act as correctors for some wrong categorizations in learners’ cognition.The animations are also emphases on the boundary of category to call learners’ attention.
By adding items，the teacher can make some “bad” examples ENTER the MET demonstrating page，so that the lexical category is complete.
Instance 2
When the teacher encounters the word “mammal”，a goat and a wolf are “good” examples，but how about a whale? whale is a member of reptile，but it is a “bad” example，or a lower-level example，for its appearance.So a whale is an ideal tool to mark the boundary of the lexical category “mammal” because it stands near to the border of the category domain.The animation effect of ENTRANCE in MET can conduct the teaching task perfectly.
Likewise，the teacher can also employs the animation effect of EXIT in MET to delete a wrongly categorized member from a category.
For the category “fishes”，how about a whale? It is a member of mammal instead of fish.If the teacher expels whale out of the category by the animation effect of Flies Out in MET，the lexical category in learners’ cognition will be highly enhanced and clarified.
Figure 1.Wrongly categorized example LEAVEs
Moreover，an MET demonstrating page can be divided into two parts by inserting Text Boxes，which can also project two cognitive category in learners’ brains.The animation effects of “ENTRANCE” and “EXIT” can be conducted simultaneously.A wrongly categorized example must be “bad” example of another category.Therefore，the teacher can demonstrate a wrongly categorized example Flies out of the improper category and Flies in the proper category simultaneously.
Figure 2.Wrongly categorized example Flies out of improper category and Flies in proper category simultaneously
The feedback of Instance 2 also comes from dictation.Two days after the lesson，a dictation of these words were arranged in both classes，and the correctness of Class A is 76% and that is 51% of Class B.Furthermore，once the category is constructed and its boundary is clear，learners will be positively influenced for long period.One month later，when the teacher encountered the word “spider”，and he told the students of Class A that “spider” should be categorized into insects category，the students’ dictation result for “spider” was also satisfactory.
The feedback should not be surprising.Taylor (2007:66) puts：“Categories enable people to make sense of the world，to reduce the variety of things in the world.” From this point of view，the construction of lexical category provides learners with containers to accommodate any newly-encountered words.And the existing category and its members in learners’ cognition will serve as clues for learners to understand and memorize new words.While MET creates a convenient platform to construct a lexical category and to correct wrong categorizations by its visual media，the construction of lexical category can be employed with convenience.As a result，the vocabulary learning will be finally enhanced.
Bibliography
1.Richards，Schmidt，Kendrick and Kim，2005，Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguisitcs ，Beijing：Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press
2.Rosch，E，1978，Principles of Categorization .In：E Rosch and B Lloyd，eds，Cognition and categorization，Hillsdale/N.J.，N.Y.：Lawrence Erlbaum，27-48
3.Taylor，John，2007，Ten Lectures on Cognitive Grammar by John Taylor ，Beijing：Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press
4.Ungerer and Schimid，2001，An Introduction to Cognitive Linguistics ，Beijing：Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press