Constructivism+and+language+teaching

© Basia =Constructivism and language teaching=

Marlowe and Page summarize the foundation of a constructivist approach as:

//1. about constructing knowledge, not receiving it//

//2. about thinking and analyzing, not accumulating memorizing//

//3. about understanding and applying, not repeating back//

//4. being active, not passive. (Marlowe & Page, 2005)//

Constructivist learning has developed as a substantial approach to teaching. During past decades many researchers and scientist had elaborated on the historical precedents for constructivist learning theory. In this view constructivism represents the shift from education based on behaviourism, to education based on cognitive theory. Thus, behaviourist episteology essence is based on intelligence, domains of objectives, levels of knowledge and reinforcement, however in the case of constructivist epistemology it is the learner who constructs their knowledge on the basis of interaction with the environment.

__**CONSTRUCTIVIST DESIGN MODELS**__
1) **Constructivist Design Model**, developed by George W. Gagnon. Jr., and Michelle Collay, favours all the assumption of the constructivist learnig and teaching and forms six elements which teacher should take into consideration while planning the lesson. They focus on the developnemt of situations as a way of thinking about constructive activities of the learner rather that teacher's demonstrative behaviour while conducting the lesson. Most conventional teacher planing models are centred on verbal explanations or visual demonstratins of the issues by the teacher to the learners and only by then followed by stuent's practice, while it should be the learner who discovers the knowledge themselves. Six elements of constructivist learning model, have been desiged to provoke teacher planning and reflection on student's process of learning.

1. **Situation** - teacher develops the situation for students to explain 2. **Groupings** - teacher selects the process of grouping the material as well as the learners (whether they want the learners to work in whole class, individually or in collaborative thinking teams of two, three etc.) 3. **Bridge** - teacher should build the bridge between what the students already know and what they might learn by explaining the situation. (This may involve simple problem to solve, whole class duscussion, playing game, or making lists) 4. **Questions** - anticipating possible questions and answers without providing students with the final explanation of the situation. 5. **Exhibit** - this stage involves student's presentation of their findings, conclusions or records of thinking as they were explaining the situation to the class. This can be done in writing description, verbal presentation (graph, chart), visual representation (acting out, role play, making video tape, photographs, etc.) 6. **Reflections** - these are the student's reflections on their learning, on what they have learned, what were their feelings while finishing the exercises, what they expected the final explanation to the problem to be, etc. Reflective practice of the teacher applies to student's learning.

2) **The Learning Cycle** - three-step learning model can be applied to many kinds of constructivist activities. This model was previously used in science education. 1. **Discovery phase** - the teacher on the basis of various materials encourages the students to generate questions and hypotheses. 2. **Concept introduction** - the teacher focuses on students' questions and helps them create hypotheses and design experiments. 3. **Concept application** - students work on problems that reconsider the concept introduced in the first two steps.

__**PRINCIPLES OF CONSTRUCTIVIST FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING**__
http://webdoc.gwdg.de/edoc/ia/eese/artic20/marcus/8_2000.html
 * __Action-orientedness__


 * cooperative learning
 * creative forms of classroom work
 * learning by projects
 * LBT - learning by teaching

__Learner-centredness__


 * individualisation of learning
 * autonomy of learner

__Process-related awareness__


 * learning awareness
 * language awareness
 * intercultural awareness

__Holistic language experience__


 * content-orientedness
 * authentic and complex learning environment ||

One of the most important principles in constructivist aproach to language teaching is action orientedness. Coopeartive learning (such as pair work, group work or any other social forms of learning), creative and active participation in classroom activities, learning by preparing various projects as well as learning by teaching (when the student is asked to take over teacher's role) have been treated as the major tasks reffering to the action oriented method.

The second substantial principle in constructivis FLT is individualisation of learning which is centred on the learner. Dieter Wolff, a notable German FLT researcher claims, that learning can only be influenced by teaching in a very restricted way. It is the learner who is allowed to decide about the fragments and sections of the materials provided by the teacher during the lesson. This possibility to make choises fosters learner's autonomy, thus it takes into account their preferable style and type of learning. However, the crutial thing is that beforehand the learner should be instructed on how to become aware and take responsibility of his/her own learning, what considers strategies and techniques selected and applied during learning.What is also important is that learning awareness should be complemented by language awareness as well as intercultural awareness.

Another principle of contructivism referes to holistic language experience which referes to content-oriented FLT and usually takes place in bilingual classes or project instruction. According to this approach, acquiring foreign language will be effective in autentic and complex learning environment or situation.



CONSTRUCTIVIST TEACHING INVOLVES NEGOTIATION
Negotiation unites teachers and students in a common purpouse. It is importatnt for the teacher to talk openly with the learners about the choice of new information as well as the way of introducing it during classes, and the formal constrains such as obligatory curriculum. What is also vital is negotiation of the curriculum, which implies student's contribution to the modification of the educational program. It would benefit in student's sense of their investment both in learning and the outcomes.

If you are interestes in the teacher's role in constructivist classroom, see http://constructivisminelt.wikispaces.com/Constructivism+and+language+teacher If you search for more in-depth information about constructivist learner, visit http://constructivisminelt.wikispaces.com/Constructivism+and+language+learner

__CONSTRUCTIVIST ACTIVITIES __
In the constructivist classroom students are mostly working in groups, and learning and knowledge are interactive and dynamic. The accent is put on social and communication skills as well as cooperation and change of ideas.

Constructivist Activities for Language Teaching

 * Designing and Pursuing Research and Projects
 * Role Playing
 * Necessiate Multiple Learning Environments
 * Situational and Contextual
 * Theme and Content Based
 * Oral Presentations
 * Critical (Lateral and Parallel) Thinking
 * Discussions and Debates
 * Conceptual Contradiction
 * Metaphors
 * Interactive
 * Collaborative
 * Meaning making
 * Real Life Examples
 * Portfolio Evaluation
 * Students Actively Participate
 * Phantasy
 * Creative
 * Reflective
 * Reflect the Complexity of the World
 * Autonomous
 * Readers Response
 * Perception Aesthetics

Students can construct aditional knowledge by writing:
poems short plays screen plays legal briefs song lyrics journals diaries memoirs travelogues interviews letters (or e-mail) to experts original advertisements new endings for stories or songs "what if..." thought experiments

Students can construct additional knowledge by taking / inventing / designing / drawing :
posters cartoons timelines models charts maps graphs board games concept maps multimedia presentations

Students can construct additional knowledge by performing/presenting:
a play a concert role-play lecture (such as a well-known person from history) a dance based on literature or historical event collected songs about a topic from another era

ADDITONAL READING:
The examples of authentic activities: []

Constructivist issues in language learning and teaching: []

Implementation of constructivism in English language teaching for Turkish learners: []

Constructivism: Theory and Its Application to Language Teaching []

Reference:
Gagnon, Jr. G. W. ve M. Collay (2001) Designing for learning: Six Elements in Constructivist Classrooms. Corwin Press, Inc, Thousand Oaks, CA, USA. Marlowe, B. A. & Page, M. L. (2005). Creating and sustaining the constructivist classroom (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Williams, M. & Burden, R.L. (1997). Psychology for language teaching: a social constructivist approach//.// Cambridge CUP. Gray, A (1997). Constructivist Teaching and Learning. SSTA Research Centre Report [|h] ttp://saskschoolboards.ca/research/instruction/97-07.ht m [|http://www.prainbow.com/cld/cldp.html June 6, 2005] []

Contructivist Teaching and Learning