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English Language Teaching (ELT)
ELT Theories
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Introduction:
Learning
as a process focuses on what happens when the learning takes place.
Explanations of what happens represent learning theories. A learning theory is
an attempt to describe how people learn; thereby helping us understands the
inherently complex process of learning.
Learning
theories have two chief values according to Hill (2002). One is in providing us
with vocabulary and a conceptual framework for interpreting the examples of
learning that we observe. The other is in suggesting where to look for
solutions to practical problems. The theories do not give us solutions, but
they do direct our attention to those variables that are crucial in finding
solutions.
The
three prominent categories or philosophical frameworks under which learning
theories falls are Behaviourism, Cognitivism, and Constructivism. These
theories try to develop efficient learning programs and study the psychology
involved in an individual’s ability to learn.
Each
of these theories has its own virtues, allowing educators to employ them to
various degrees.
Behaviourism
focuses only on the objectively observable aspects of learning. Cognitive
theories look beyond behaviour to explain brain-based learning. In addition,
Constructivism views learning as a process in which the learner actively
constructs or builds new ideas or concepts.
Behaviourism
Behaviourism
is a learning theory that treats individual learning as non-existent. It
instead focuses on “the observation of the environment and responding to it” as
the basis of education.
Behaviourist
theory focuses on how people learn and form habits. The general idea is that
‘all the behaviour learned by an individual is through interactions with the
environment.’
John
B. Watson (1878-1958) and B. F. Skinner (1904-1990) are the two principal
originators of behaviourist approaches to learning. Behaviourism was formally
established with the 1913 publication of John B. Watson's classic paper,
"Psychology as the Behaviourist Views It."
Watson
and Skinner believed that if they were given a group of infants, the way they
were raised and the environment they put them in would be the ultimate
determining factor for how they acted, not their parents or their genetics.
Pavlov’s
Dogs is a popular behaviourism experiment. A group of dogs would hear a bell
ring and then they would be given food. After enough time, when the bell would
ring the dogs would salivate, expecting the food before they even saw it. This
is exactly what behaviourism argues—that the things we experience and our
environment are the drivers of how we act.
The
stimulus-response sequence is a key element of understanding behaviourism. A
stimulus is given, for example a bell rings, and the response is what happens
next, a dog salivates or a pellet of food is given. Behavioural learning theory
argues that even complex actions can be broken down into the stimulus-response.
From
about 1920 through the mid-1950s, behaviourism became the dominant school of
thought in psychology.
Individual
traits and natural tendencies have a minimal role to play in the education of
an individual. Individuals get conditioned by their interaction with the
environment, leading to the development of a habit.
Behaviourist teaching strategies:
Teachers
can implement behavioural learning strategy techniques in their classroom in
many ways, including:
Drills:
Teachers may practice skills using drill patterns to help students see the
repetition and reinforcement that behavioural learning theory uses.
Question
and answer: Teachers can use a question as a stimulus and answer as a response,
gradually getting harder with questions to help students.
Guided
practice: Teachers can be directly involved in helping students go through
problems to give them the reinforcement and behaviour demonstration you want
them to follow.
Regular
review: Reviews are important to behavioral learning theory. Going back over
material and giving positive reinforcement will help students retain
information much better.
Positive
reinforcement: Behaviourist classrooms utilize positive reinforcement
regularly. This can be in the form of verbal reinforcement and praise, reward
systems, added privileges, and more.
Types of Behaviourism
The
behavioral theories under two broad categories are,
S-R
(Stimulus-Response) theory with reinforcement
E.L Thorndike- Trial and Error
theory
B.F Skinner- Operant
Conditioning
S-R
(Stimulus-Response) theory without reinforcement
Pavlov- Classical Conditioning
Behaviourism learning theory:
Ardent
behaviourists believe that “all behaviours are the result of experience” and
that “any person, regardless of his or her background, can be trained to act in
a particular manner given the right conditioning.”
In
the classroom, the behavioral learning theory is key in understanding how to
motivate and help students. Information is transferred from teachers to
learners from a response to the right stimulus. Students are a passive
participant in behavioral learning—teachers are giving them the information as
an element of stimulus-response.
Behaviourism
believes that people are born as a blank slate (tabula rasa). Using rewards and
punishments as a basis of conditioning, people slowly learn appropriate
behaviour.
Teachers
use behaviourism to show students how they should react and respond to certain
stimuli. This needs to be done in a repetitive way, to regularly remind
students what behaviour a teacher is looking for.
If
teacher find specific actions by individuals desirable, he provide them with a
suitable reward as positive conditioning. If student’s certain actions are
undesirable, he provide them with punishments as negative conditioning. The
result of this conditioning done repeatedly is the development of behaviour in
individuals.
Cognitivism
Cognitivism,
on the other hand, treats individuals as mental beings that analyse and
evaluate the information. Thus, it directly counters the beliefs of
behaviourism.
Cognitive learning theory (CLT) was coined in
1936 by an Educational Psychologist, Jean Piaget. He believed that knowledge is
actively constructed in your mind while you’re learning, building on
previously-learned knowledge.
Cognitivism believes that humans are creative
not just imitative. Learners are viewed as very active participants in the
process of learning. This theory emphasizes the idea of making knowledge
meaningful and helping learners to organize and relate the new information to
the existing knowledge in memory. The best way to apply this theory is to ask
questions to help students refine their thinking.
Main principles of Cognitivism:
Learning
must be purposeful and focused.
Learning
must be self-directed;
Learning
must come from Analysis to Discovery.
Organising
information into Schemas helps students build conceptual models.
Long-term
memory is enhanced by enabling students to organise and encode learning
material.
Curriculum
content must be well-sequenced and understood in the context of the bigger
picture.
Cognitive Learning Theory:
Cognitive
learning denotes an active and enduring form of learning. This particular type
of learning is typically highly interactive, involving learners in diverse
activities that optimize brain efficiency, facilitating the acquisition of new
knowledge.
Inside
the classroom, cognitivism emerges via interactive activities that spark the
thinking potential of students. For example, when students receive
thought-provoking questions, it guides their brains to look deeper into their
present knowledge to find solutions.
Activities
involving self-reflection and memorizing also help in building the learning
potential of students. Asking students to demonstrate a concept, reciting and
retaining poetry, giving them hands-on problems, and interactive discussions
are some ways that enforce cognitive learning inside the classrooms.
Types of Cognitive Theory:
The
theory can be broken down into two further theories: the Cognitive Behavioral
Theory and the Social Cognitive theory.
Cognitive
Behavioral Theory explores the influence of cognition on individuals'
behavioral patterns. It suggests that individuals' behaviour is directly
influenced by their self-concepts, which can be shaped by external or internal
factors, regardless of whether they are positive or negative. It involves:
The Self
The World/Environment
The Future
Social
Cognitive Theory takes three factors into consideration:
Behavioral factors
Environmental factors (extrinsic)
Personal factors (intrinsic)
Cognitive teaching strategies:
The
following are Cognitive teaching strategies:
Repetition,
Organising
new language,
Summarising
meaning,
Guessing
meaning from context,
Using
imagery for memorisation.
Constructivism
Constructivism
relies on the idea that individuals create an understanding and interpretation
of lessons based on their prior experience and knowledge. The theory also
asserts that all knowledge and learning exists solely inside the mind.
The constructivist approach to learning
characterizes learners as active participants in the process who play a role in
constructing their knowledge.
Constructivist
theories of learning were influenced by Piaget (1973), who developed the
cognitive constructivism view of learning, Vygotsky (1978), who developed the
social constructivism view of learning.
Constructivism
treats learning as an active and social process. The students bring their own unique
experiences and perspective to the classroom, shaping their understanding of
concepts taught to them.
Constructivism
shifts the focus of learning from the teacher to the students. It believes that
students bring their own unique experiences to the class, improving and
diversifying the learning potential of the entire class.
Types of Constructivism:
Constructivism
is divided into three broad categories:
Cognitive constructivism, based on
the work of Jean Piaget;
Social constructivism, based on the
work of Lev Vygotsky;
and
Radical constructivism.
Constructivist teaching strategies:
The
following are constructivist teaching strategies:
Knowledge
will be shared between teachers and students.
Teachers
and students will share authority.
The
teacher’s role is one of a facilitator or guide.
Learning
groups will consist of small numbers of heterogeneous students.
Constructivism learning theory:
Teachers
employ constructivism inside the classroom in different ways to create learning
opportunities for students. The students
utilize their own understanding and experience for gaining unique insights on
the subject.
Allowing
students to drive learning via discussions, debates, and the sharing of
knowledge between peers, are some ways constructivism makes its way inside
modern classrooms.
The
students are allowed freedom of interpretation, as they each experience the
knowledge provided to them differently. The theory of constructivism primarily
focuses on treating knowledge as a process solely existing inside the mind,
making motivation a key factor.
According
to constructivism, an unmotivated student cannot learn anything.
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