Current issues in second language learning - Essay Example

e constructivist approach, wherein the learner needs to be actively engaged in the learning process through his/her interactions with the environment. The role of a teacher within a constructivist framework would be largely a facilitative one – aiding a student to learn by encouraging him/her to construct, rather than the traditional role of supplier of information. The policy of Constructivism takes into account the nature and development of knowledge and according to Van Glasersfeld, constructivism is a "theory of knowledge with roots in philosophy, psychology and cybernetics.

"1 Therefore, when learning is examined from a constructivist perspective, there is an underlying implication that the manner in which knowledge is constructed within an individual’s mind is fashioned by the environment that he is subjected to. Therefore teaching methods must be modified accordingly in order to accommodate learning practices. For instance, if students are perceived as mere learning receptacles, then teaching would constitute only the transmission of knowledge however, when applying constructivism, the knowledge that is being transmitted will be additionally processed by a student, then the teaching approach must incorporate attempts to transmit meaning and understanding to the students to help them make sense of their world2.

The Constructivist approach transforms the learning process into a one on one process between an individual and his environment. Knowledge becomes intimately associated with and unique to every individual learner, since it is not an absolute entity existing as a separate external reality but rather it is integral to every learner whose knowledge will be conditioned by his/her own experiences. Therefore, applying this principle, reality is made up of “the network of things and relationships that we rely on in living.

”3 Hence reality will be interpreted and constructed in accordance with the individual learner’s experiences and interactions