SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM...LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

On Learning a Foreign Language..


Vygotsky's social constructivism

Last year I participated in an Access Asia study tour run through the University of Melbourne. 17 teachers from varying locations throughout Australia and New Zealand went to China for 2 weeks. Later that same year I took a group of 35 Year 10 students on our own Asian Odessey, again to China, this time for 3 weeks.
Although I had access to excellent resources before leaving Australia, I was facinated to observe both my own and the students ZPD in relation to learning to communicate in Mandarin.
At times, I was on complete overload, like when ordering food for 40 starving people, or , more seriously, when having to take a student with a suspected heart condition to a non-English speaking hospital. Often what I wanted to communicate was just beyond my reach. It was at moments like these that I made quantum leaps forward in my scope to communicate, which facinated me.



Vygotsky's zone of proximal development has many implications for those in the educational milieu. One of them is the idea that human learning presupposes a specific social nature and is part of a process by which children grow into the intellectual life of those around them (Vygotsky, 1978). According to Vygotsky (1978), an essential feature of learning is that it awakens a variety of internal developmental processes that are able to operate only when the child is in the action of interacting with people in his environment and in cooperation with his peers.

Therefore, when it comes to language learning, the authenticity of the environment and the affinity between its participants are essential elements to make the learner feel part of this environment. These elements are rarely predominant in conventional classrooms.

Vygotsky's influence on Krashen's second language acquisition theory.





Although Vygotsky and Krashen come from entirely different backgrounds, the application of their theories to second language teaching produces similarities.

Influence or coincidence, Krashen's input hypothesis resembles Vygotsky's concept of zone of proximal development. According to the input hypothesis, language acquisition takes place during human interaction in an environment of the foreign language when the learner receives language 'input' that is one step beyond his/her current stage of linguistic competence. For example, if a learner is at a stage 'i', then maximum acquisition takes place when he/she is exposed to 'Comprehensible Input' that belongs to level 'i + 1'.


Krashen's acquisition-learning hypothesis also seems to have been influenced by Vygotsky. Although Vygotsky speaks of internalization of language while Krashen uses the term language acquisition, both are based on a common assumption: interaction with other people. The concept of acquisition as defined by Krashen and its importance in achieving proficiency in foreign languages, can be a perfect application of Vygotsky's view of cognitive development as taking place in the matrix of the person's social history and being a result of it.

Even the distinct concepts in Krashen's acquisition theory and Vygotsky's sociocultural theory are not conflicting but complementary in providing resources for language teaching methodology.

By explaining human language development and cognitive development, Vygotsky's social-interactionist theory serves as a strong foundation for the modern trends in applied linguistics. It lends support to less structured and more natural, communicative and experiential approaches and points to the importance of early real-world human interaction in foreign language learning.

On returning to Australia we have now sponsored a Chinese student to come to our school. We are planning to develop a Mandarin language interest group to promote ongoing language and cultural studies.
Upon our return I wrote to our colleages with whom we had attended the initial study tour. This reflective process helped me gain a humerous perspective on our amazing adventure.



Dear Everyone;
Well, Deirdre and I have just returned from 3 weeks in China with 35
Year 10 students. I couldn't actually alert you prior to our departure
because the organization came together in an amazingly whirlwind 5 weeks
fraught with problems and hurdles. I was finally convinced we were actually
successful when we boarded the plane in Brisbane on the 10th of November,
on a wing and a prayer, after securing a great deal with Singapore Airlines-
arriving in Beijing on the 11th Nov. Being a classic no frills school tour we stayed
in backpacker style accommodation, opposite Beijing Central Station, negotiating
the underground and bus systems with astonishingly simplicity. So many high-lights,
endless adventures , surprises and challenges, not to mention the continuous meals
and all those head counts! Oh how many times I thought of Jing's seemingly
effortless organizational ease. Ordering for 40 ! , let's just say I spent a few long
nights familiarizing myself with the Lonely Planet's Mandarin phrase book!
Whilst in Beijing we visited similar sights we toured in April...Hutong tour, Forbidden City,
Mao's mausoleum , fabulous acrobats, Peking duck plus of course the Great Wall.
The major difference about the later
being that the 11km's of the wall we walked hasn't quite made it to the regular guide books;
or if so is possibly underscored, 'for the intrepid traveller'. Chris- you would have loved it!
From Beijing we secured train tickets for our 28 hour trip to Chengdu. We travelled in
second class sleeper and the voyage was exceedingly memorable. The students were
amazed and enthralled - incredible landscapes, wonderful interactions with the other
passengers , fascinating food trolleys, cramped continuous conditions.....
In Chengdu we stayed in a military dormitory in military conditions with NO heating.
The temperature varied between 5 and 13 .Not that we were 'home' often. Our
hosts, The Chengdu Steiner School , succeeded in their determination to show us the
'real' Chengdu.......Ancient treasures ; modern wonders ; hidden dragons and panda bears.
We journeyed 3 hours to the 'not tourist mountain' , slept the night and the following day trekked
for 6 hours to bathe in the awe and splendor of a taoist temple. Before ascending the summit
we were reassured by a sign that read....you are now leaving this earth and entering the celestial
realms. At the top we found 1000 buddhas carved into the mountain and a resident monk who
had been the abbot at the temple for 15 years.
Back in Chengdu there was always action of some kind or other..... 300 children arrived to stay at
the military academy.. and participate in military training exercises , including 6am rise to the loud , loud
speaker....... the boys in our class discovered Chinese
fire crackers.....a wonderful day at a local high school - Chengdu v's Mullumbimby basketball.
One boy broke a bone in his foot, another required hospitalization for chest pains.... There was
a brief episode of vomiting and flu like symptoms.In the end we
decided to fly to Xian rather than go by train. So it was off to the terra-cotta warriors. More mystery
and marvel.......a bicycle ride around the city on top of the imposing city wall. Then flying on to Beijing
to shop our last 48 hours of what was a life altering experience for many or most and certainly one of the
best trips I've ever done.
Since we've been back it has been non stop end of year winding up business , reports etc.

So from Deirdre and I warm wishes and hoping you all have a refreshing break.

Thanks to Jill and Jing , both great travellers and inspiring models.

Sally








The structure of the language one habitually uses influences the way he perceives his environment ...