Schema Theory
Schema is a term used in psychology and cognitive science, which describes a systematic pattern of thought and behaviour. Schemata affect attention and the absorption of new information. People use schema to organize prior knowledge and provide a framework for future understanding.
   Definitions of Schema :
In 1781, Kant Immannel proposed the word “schema”. He defined it as frame, script or background knowledge (Kramsch, 1993), which has long rooted in philosophy, psychology, and cognitive information process and so on. Cognitive psychologists used schema to explain the psychological process. British Gestalt psychologist, Sir Frederic Bartlett is regarded as the first person who used the term schema. He thinks that the term “schema” means an active organization of past reaction, or of past experience, which must always be supposed to be operating in any well-adopted organic response (Bartlett, 1932).
Role of Schema theory in foreign language learning
• As a cognitive framework which consists of a number of organized ideas, and abstract knowledge models or structures which may be of use in solving problems . It assumes that those knowledge models are stored in one's memory. And by the application of the stored knowledge structures, one can deal with a problem in learning the foreign or second language.
In order to learn the new or foreign language following process takes place:
Schema’s Construction :
• First, construction of linguistic schema is introduced. Linguistic schema refers to the language knowledge, which is the fundamental of understanding a text and is an essential part in understanding passage background knowledge.
• Vocabulary accumulation is one of difficult points for the foreign language  learners. They always think memorizing words wastes a lot of time and are not efficient. The reason why this problem is caused is that they don’t master a good method to memorize words. In the process of teaching words, teachers can combine the new words and words that have memorized, which can activate students’ schema that was grasped. In the process of word teaching, the context where the word is in should be paid attention.
• Grammar accumulation is also important. Grammar knowledge is an important part in reading. Teachers can explain the grammar that is encountered in teaching. This can also activate foreign language  students’ schema in mind.
• Secondly , construction of content schema is introduced. Content schema is the background knowledge related to a reading passage. If readers lack the necessary cultural background knowledge, they still can’t comprehend a text well although they master enough linguistic schemata. This is the reason why readers can understand words, phrases and sentences in a text, but they can’t comprehend the text. Lacking enough cultural background knowledge, readers’ linguistic schema can’t make an interaction with the relevant content in the text. Hence, teachers can encourage students to read books or journals related to targeted countries’ cultural background.
• Meanwhile, the cognition of the world and common sense are also important in content schema. So teachers can make a piece of advice to students read broadly so that their content schema can be aa and enriched.
• Third, the construction of formal schema took place which is “the background knowledge about the formal, rhetorical, organizational structures of different kinds of texts in a language.” (Carrell, 1983), formal schema is “abstract, encoded, internalized, coherent patterns of meta-linguistic, discoursed, and textual organization that guide expectations in our attempts to understand a meaningful piece of language” . In learning foreign language , students  may take various types of texts as model essay to let them know different genres and types of texts. Only in this way, students can construct the formal schema well for a language.

 Role of Schema in reading process of  targeted language :
In order to learn a language there must be reading process so that the basic information about that language should be collected which develops particular schema. A person who develops the command on reading the text of a particular language can understand that language more easily. Readers do not need to focus on every word, instead they make prediction on the meaning of the new words that they encounter. Obviously, here students' prior knowledge receives much importance since it produces the ability to predict meaning in reading process.
 Schema’s Activation :
Schema’s activation includes pre-reading activities, while-reading activities and post-reading activities.
 Pre-reading Activities
Based on schema theory, schema determines readers' comprehension of the text. But sometimes the information that the texts provides are not enough to activate the relevant schema in students' minds. That is, there are cases when students do not store the proper schema. Under such circumstances, teachers can help students activate previous schema or construct related schema through the activities at the pre-reading stage of Targeted language. Question, brainstorming and pre-teaching, pre-texting and pre-discussing are the simple and efficient pre-reading activities.
 While-reading Activities :
In the pre-reading activities, students' schemata are activated and expanded. While it is possible to activate existing schemata with a given topic, it does not necessarily follow that a student can use this activated knowledge to develop new knowledge and skills. Build on what they already know, students are required to expand on the terms and information they already understand, elicit a large number of associations by the prior knowledge they already possess and make clear connections. Reading under the guidance of teacher and discussing with partners are all effective on-class activities which benefits the development of students' reading abilities.
 Post-reading Activities:
Schema theory views that the more schema students have, the better students predict about a specific language. So it is necessary to do the post-reading activities to solidify and enlarge students' schema. Otherwise, the problems students meet in the pre-reading stage and the while-reading stage need to be cleared more after class. There are several effective ways, such as outlining, abbreviation and so on, which are helpful to students' comprehension.
 Role of Schema in fluency:
Fluency is most important factor while speaking a foreign language. Command of schema is a necessary component of fluency. Spoken words vanish soon after they are said but speakers connect what comes next into the context of what was said already to form a coherent text. Reading mimics this process when a reader holds what was read in mind as his eyes fall on another clue to what comes next.
 Role of Schema in comprehension of language:
One can't learn a language without having the ability to comprehend the text of that language. Comprehension is termed as an interactive process which works between the text and reader's background knowledge. Therefore, it always happens that readers contribute more information than the print on page.
• Readers understand what they read since during reading they tend to take the stimulus beyond its graphic representation and assign its membership to an appropriate group of concepts which are already stored in their memories. Reading skill depends on efficient interaction between them. The reading process activate schema and allow readers to comprehend the text. Therefore, the schemata of various knowledge and experiences play a very important role in reading comprehension.
 Role of Native language schema in learning foreign language:
                      A native speaker has stored information about all the things and events taking place in his society it means that he has developed schemas for everything but when he found himself in the foreign land where the things are same but their names are different So, as he already know what the thing is it would be more easy for him to learn the name of that things. As it is stated that:
"one's background knowledge plays a more important role than new words and new structures in learning the second language " (Rumelhart, 1985)
But when the person is even unfamiliar with the things or culture then there will be the process of developing new schemas.
CONCULSION:
In the process of learning a foreign language , the past knowledge and
knowledge structure play a crucial role in people's cognitive activities. Schema influence attention and the absorption of new knowledge of a language : people are more likely to notice things that fit into their schema, while re-interpreting contradictions to the schema as exceptions or distorting them to fit. People use schema to organize current knowledge of Targeted language and provide a framework for future understanding. The application of schema theory to new language learners  facilitates to cultivate reading interest, quicken their reading speed and make proper judgments. So,in the process of developing new understanding and learning new language schema plays very important role.