Approaches to language learning and teach

Highlights of educational psychology

• Educational psychology deals with the development, application, and evaluation of theories of learning that enhance lifelong learning.

Major approaches

• the positivist school (behaviourism)

• cognitivism (Piaget’s constructivism)

• humanism (Maslow, Erikson)

• social interactionism (Vygotsky)

BEHAVIOURISM

• explaining learning in terms of some form of conditioning, e.g. Pavlov’s experiments

• the postulate that all human behaviour can be accounted for through S-R connections (classical conditioning)

• However: concentrating on various stimuli provoking particular responses cannot be applied to a whole range of human actions.

modern BEHAVIOURISM (B.F. Skinner)

• operant conditioning – learning is a result of environmental rather than genetic factors;

• operant – the range of behaviours that organisms perform or are capable of performing;

• If the behaviour is reinforced, then is it more likely to occur later.

• The theory was claimed to be applicable to language (forming a set of habits).

BEHAVIOURISM and teaching

• making it clear what is to be taught

• break tasks down into small steps

• using individualized programmes adjusted to the student’s pace

• providing positive reinforcement

• the audio-lingual approach:

1. a structural pattern is presented (stimulus)

2. the learner responds by repetition or substitution

3. reinforcement by the teacher; pattern drills, memorization of dialogues, choral repetition, rules are explained only afterwards

• little attention to the meaning (e.g. when drilling)

• no negotiation of meaning possible, no learning from mistakes

limitations of audiolingualism:

• the passive role of the learner

• little concern for the cognitive processes (e.g. learning strategies)

Still, the approach has dominated language learning around the world:

• quick

• easy to train teachers to use the following steps: presentation, practice, repetition, drills

COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

• interest in mental processes underlying learning

• the learner is an active participant in the learning process

• using various strategies to sort out the system of the language to be learnt, such as observing, categorizing, hypothesising

• a model of memory: a sensory register where stimuli are initially recorded and then passed to short-term (working) memory if attention is given to them;

• different mnemonic techniques are used in language learning to memorise vocabulary items, e.g. linkword method

• the information processing approach – concerned with the way in which people take in information, process it and act upon it; attention, perception and memory are the focus

• intelligence: according to Gardner (1983), it is not a unitary faculty and at least seven types are easy to identify in learners

• linguistic – good vocabulary, good reader, learns well from stories and likes doing crosswords,

• spatial – enjoys drawing, learns from pictures, charts, maps, likes completing mind maps or webs

• logical-mathematical – likes using computers, classifying, good at problem solving

• bodily-kinesthetic – learns through manipulating and moving objects and lively activities

• intrapersonal – good self-evaluator and likes to reflect, self-assessment activities, likes independent learning and creative writing

• interpersonal – learns from pair- and group-work activities

• musical – learns through chants, rhymes and songs

• naturalist – good at recognizing patterns in things

CONSTRUCTIVISM Jean Piaget

• ndividuals are actively involved from birth in constructing personal meaning from their experiences

• learner is the focus in learning theory and perception involves activity

• Cognitive development is a process of maturation, within which genetics and experience interact.

Key terms of cognitive development

• equilibration – a balance between what is known and being experienced

• assimilation – incoming info is changed in our minds to be fitted with what is already known

• accommodation – what is already known is modified for new info to be taken into account

• cognitive adaptation – an essential aspect of learning, particularly relevant to L2 grammar learning

The process of learning (J. Piaget)

• sensori-motor – exploring the environment through the basic senses

• intuitive/pre-operational – thoughts becoming more flexible, memory and imagination playing an important role,

• concrete-operational – getting to know that operations can be reversed; dependence on concrete rather than abstract examples

• formal operational – abstract reasoning increasingly possible

When teaching young learners, the teacher should provide experiences in L2 that are related to aspects of the child’s own world.

According to Piaget, language is a system of symbols for representing the world, distinct from operations which form the processes of reasoning.

J. Piaget – implications for teaching

• as learners are actively involved in constructing meaning in L2, teachers should help and encourage them

• teaching based on memorization will not lead to any deeper understanding because of the stage of the child’s development

• tasks should be adjusted to the cognitive development of the learner

• the notions of accommodation and assimilation are reflected in interlanguage theory

Jerome Bruner

• an advocate of Piaget’s ideas

• believing in the importance of developing cognitive skills and strategies – learning how to learn is central, learning at schools must have a purpose

• introduced the notion of spiral curriculum, now extensively used in language syllabuses

Jerome Bruner - three modes of thinking

• enactive – learning takes place through direct manipulation of objects and materials

• iconic – objects are represented by visual images one step removed from the real thing

• symbolic – symbols can be manipulated in place of objects or mental images; language is a means of representing the world

Jerome Bruner – implications for teaching

• Enactive stage: the use of drama, play, TPR

• Iconic stage – the use of pictures, or words in colour

• Symbolic stage – expressing ideas through L2 in context

HUMANISM

• emphasis on the importance of the inner world of the learner and the individual’s thoughts

• feelings and emotions, which are vital if we want to understand human learning in totality

Applying humanism to the language classroom

• create a sense of belonging

• make the subject relevant to the learner

• involve the whole person

• encourage the knowledge of self

• develop personal identity

• encourage self-esteem

• involve feelings and emotions

• minimize criticism

• encourage creativity

• develop study skills

• encourage self-initiation

• allow for choice

• encourage self-evaluation