The Constructivist Approach in English Language Teaching:

A Psychological Review

 

N. Venkadeswaran1, S. Ramanathan2

1Ph.D. Research Scholar Research Dept. of English Dr. Zakir Husain College, Ilayangudi, Tamilnadu.

2Associate Professor and Head Research Dept. of English Dr. Zakir Husain College, Ilayangudi, Tamilnadu.

*Corresponding Author E-mail: venkadeswaran.english@rdgacollege.in, ramsforte@gmail.com

 

ABSTRACT:

By allowing students to interact with one another and draw from past experiences, constructivism is a novel approach that creates space for student-centric learning exposure and helps them to develop their language competence. Instead of being teacher-centered, it is student-centered, with the teacher acting as a facilitator. Constructivism held that an instructor at the front of the room cannot impart knowledge to students at their desks. As they create knowledge through an active, mental process of development, learners are the creators and builders of meaning. Students' interests, aptitudes both general and specialised, attitudes, success, goals, and drives all play a role. This method fosters motivation, flexibility, adaptability, creativity, and versatility in both the teacher and the students. It encourages students to learn via their own experiences, as well as with the help of others and relevant educational resources. If constructivism is successful in teaching and learning English, students' learning will be more enjoyable due to these distinctive features. It is an arrangement that will reduce students' reluctance and boost their confidence during English conversation because it involves working in mixed ability groups and rewarding the group based on its overall performance. In view of it, the current paper is focused has been done with a view to highlight the psychological review of constructivist approach in English language teaching.

 

KEYWORDS: Multilingual Teaching, Learning Exposure, Teaching Pedagogy, Learning Outcomes, Social Constructivism and Constructivist Approach.

 


INTRODUCTION:

Several psychotherapy treatments that are classified as constructivist emphasise that students actively participate in creating and defining their own life paths. Unlike other schools of modern thought, which believe that reality is predetermined and just waiting for consumers to find it, constructivist thinking is different.

 

 

Contrarily, constructivism is thought to be the true file learning methodology. People view English as a language of opportunity because it gives them access to knowledge, authority, and financial prosperity. In the great majority of global communication, ideas and concepts are communicated using the English language. Because of this, proficiency in English is thought to be the most crucial factor in determining one's ability to pursue higher education and employment prospects.

 

This is especially true in multilingual India, where traditional teaching methods are typically employed in classrooms, which restricts students' ability to acquire a variety of language skills. To address this conundrum, creative new approaches are being employed; among these approaches, the constructivist method could be helpful in enhancing the fundamental communication abilities needed to communicate in the English language, such as speaking, listening, reading, and writing.

 

At our educational system's secondary and senior secondary levels, the traditional teaching approach which centres learning around the teacher and treats students as passive recipients remains popular. This approach is widely used in Indian classrooms, where students are spoon-fed content using the "chalk and talk" method rather than more recent methods that encourage student participation. Flipped classrooms, smart classrooms, cooperative learning, and blended learning are a few examples of instructional strategies that involve students actively in a range of activities. Constructivism is one of these teaching strategies that encourage students to integrate new information by drawing connections to prior learning. Constructivism's central tenet is that knowledge is constructed by humans, who base new understanding on previously acquired knowledge. The new or altered knowledge that a person will acquire as a result of new learning opportunities is influenced by this prior information.

 

Constructivism views information organisation as a working subject that collaborates with the climate to create mental designs. Mental affinity will arise to the degree that reality is arranged according to the mental blueprint created by the real subject. The demands of the environment and the changing organic entity should be continuously taken into account when creating the mental design. Through the process of reconstruction, change continues to occur. Constructivist learning theory's central claim is that learners should understand accentuation in the learning system. Insight should be effectively fostered by learners, not by others. Students ought to be held accountable for their learning outcomes. Their vividness and inventiveness will help them maintain their mental isolation (Zajda, 2021). Trial learning is the goal of learning, and it is a beneficial change when considering significant lab involvement and discussions with colleagues who at that point pondered and generated new ideas. As a result, the focus of instruction and learning is on the students rather than the teachers.

 

As educators, we are acutely aware of the numerous delays in applying theory to practice. Deferred academic recommendations in altering physical learning environments, practical challenges encountered in effectively utilising remote and distance learning as amazing opportunities, or creative ways to provide students with the course experiences necessary to effectively construct and add significance to their own learning—all of these are ongoing solutions to the general problem of postponed practical application of theory. Since students cannot be given information directly, the goal of instruction is to provide experiences that engage with the creation of information. This final point is worth repeating. A traditional method of teaching focuses on providing students with information, but constructivism argues that this information cannot be given directly to them. With students, a simple interaction can help them develop their own understanding. Thus, organising these interactions is the goal of teaching. As a result, the review of the methodology used to develop the constructivist learning approach in English language instruction is now complete.

 

To find out the research gap of the present study, few of the following studies are taken into consider as a review of literature.

 

Güneş, Hilal. (2023) have analyzed the instructing and learning starting points of pre-organization English language instructors with respect to direction and grade level. That's what the discoveries exhibited, in contrast with standard beginning, pre-organization English language teachers have a more significant level of constructivist start. Besides, a really exceptional contrast was found between the individuals' constructivist foundations and their orientation personality, for the female members. Moreover, the standard beginnings of the individuals contrasted fundamentally founded on grade level, with lower-level individuals having a more elevated level of regular start. The survey finished up with a conversation of the discoveries from the earlier investigation and given a few intriguing ramifications. The motivation behind this study is to give valuable data to teachers, material modelers, educator instructors, and makers of English language guidance procedures.

 

Krishnaswamy, Deepa. (2022) have directed a review that plans to feature the results of the constructivist technique for showing optional school understudies how to articulate their thoughts in English. The constructivist strategy recognizes that information should be procured by significant activity and that learning happens in a specific circumstance. Learning is a continuous, profoundly imbued process that outcomes from answering outer boost. Hopefully students will recognize, seek after, and consider their own learning objectives as they address the squeezing worldwide issues. Consequently, the specialist exhibited English verbalization to the auxiliary school students in Coimbatore city utilizing the constructivist technique. The survey was led utilizing an exploratory arrangement, and the outcomes show that there is a massive distinction between the pre-and posttest mean scores for optional school understudies' capacity to accurately talk. It recommends that a constructivist approach gets legitimate enunciation somewhat.

 

Lemohang, Hilda and Tjabaka, Lemohang. (2022) have researched an investigation of the strategies utilized by the educators at Mapoteng Optional School to upgrade perusing, composing, and communicating in abilities in English language guidance. To additional improve the students' social abilities, the center things likewise incorporate activities that coordinate and ponder the constructivist open methodology. The Constructivist Instructive Methodologies gave a diagram to the audit. The discoveries uncover that most educators utilize basically the conventional strategies since they need assets and time, and in light of the fact that their understudies are unmotivated. By the by, the concentrate additionally uncovers that open methodologies and conventional sentence construction would basically be utilized couple to supplement each other.

 

The outcomes likewise show that understudies who gain syntactic perspectives through perusing work on their perusing and composing abilities. As per the survey, involving genuine material in the homeroom, for example, various texts work on understudies' capacity to involve words in setting and fosters their sociolinguistic abilities. This concentrate likewise makes sense of why showing English sentence structure through a constructivist open methodology empowers dynamic help in the homeroom, which thusly advances second language procurement and high-level execution. Exercises like watching films, perusing, talking about, and carrying on nearby and worldwide issues further develop constructivist open methodology.

 

Oanh, Pham and Nhung, Nguyen. (2022) have summed up their concentrate as constructivism is viewed as quite possibly of the most creative thought in schooling. It proposes colossal proposals for how instructors ought to exhibit and secure the specialty of educating. Subsequently, as a perspective of educating and learning at optional schools in Vietnam, constructivist learning hypothesis is inspected inside this article. Constructivism is a learning hypothesis established in cerebrum science that explains how individuals retain data and obtain abilities, in this way coordinating preparation execution. In this way, the survey reasoned that auxiliary educator ought to think about their strategies to integrate these plans into their work, and constructivist instructors urge understudies to constantly evaluate how the action adds to their comprehension.

 

Demirkol Orak, Suheyla et al. (2021) have found from their review while understudies in the twenty-first century are supposed to be precisely capable and self-persuaded to stay aware of creative progressions, instructive specialists find it trying to get ready more youthful understudies for this interest. In any case, when contrasted with different strategies, constructivism can be considered the most present day and fitting hypothesis of the educating and educational experience, since it plans understudies to satisfy the needs of the twenty-first 100 years. Constructivism is the nearest hypothesis to accomplishing this objective, particularly since self-impelled learning and responsibility are two characteristics that 21st century students should have. The objective of this position paper was to lay out a procedural connection between constructivist learning and 21st century presumptions. The paper additionally portrays the jobs of educators and understudies with regards to constructivist educating in ELT homerooms in the 21st century.

 

Constructivist Approach in English Language Teaching and Learning:

Education is a social process that modifies society and the role of adults in it by shifting the responsibility for training from parents to teachers and from homes to schools. Social orders alter the way they must use education for the purpose of organising, developing, implementing, and evaluating educational programmes. It facilitates the learning process in a homeroom setting, increases student accomplishments and learning outcomes, and reduces student dropout rates as well as weight, stress, tension, and disappointment.

 

Therefore, the current advancement of new showing systems is essential for students' overall progress (Saleem, Kausar and Deeba, 2021). Constructivism theory which has emerged as a prominent method of instruction during the past ten years, is the foundation of constructivist teaching. It provides verifiable points of reference for constructivist learning theory, with contributions from Dewey, Montessori, Piaget, Brunner, and Vygotsky among others. Constructivism deals with a shift in viewpoint from education in the context of behaviorism to training in the context of mental theory. The focal points of behaviorist epistemology are insight, target spaces, and support and informational levels. The majority of people credit Jean Piaget with formalizing constructivism theory, verbalizing component as the process by which students integrate information. He suggested that people build new knowledge from their experiences through "convenience" and "absorption."

 

The constructivist method is predicated on the idea that meaningful learning can occur when students successfully create their own understanding. The central idea of the constructivist framework is that knowledge is acquired by students via experiences and reflection on those experiences. Request-based learning is incorporated into the constructivist approach to language learning because it gives students the freedom to participate in active and request-based exercises that provide experiential learning. The self-revelation approach known as "request-based learning" emphasises the importance of making critical thinking and dynamic instruction quick and efficient by giving students the freedom to learn by discovering the real world. The constructivist approach allows students to develop their own method of learning to complete an assignment under "Inquiry based learning," and it provides enough opportunities for learners to work at their own pace (Lee andSlatta, 2004). It views students as creators of meaning and knowledge through amicable interactions and arranges for them to set up experiments, make decisions, and reflect on what they have learned.

 

A constructivist teaching approach to language learning encourages students to experiment with the language, make mistakes, and grow from them. The method focuses on the importance of meaningful correspondence, enabling students to engage with the language in real-world situations, and emphasising seeing rather than memorization (Hashmi, Wishal and Kiyani, 2021). The positive approach also emphasises how important cooperation and teamwork are. Students are encouraged to work in pairs or small groups, practising speaking, listening, reading, and writing in a supportive environment that can support their learning in a more effective and positive way (Soeharto, 2020).

 

The components of the constructive approach are as follows:

·       There is an engagement in coordinated effort and association, which helps students cooperate. Additionally, they gain knowledge from one another's experiences and viewpoints.

·       Input and reflection are important components of the learning system because they enable learners to assess their progress, identify areas for improvement, and adapt their learning strategies.

·       When learning is approached constructively, students take responsibility for their education, setting their own goals and moving at their own pace.

·       Students are actively involved in the educational process, contributing to the language through one-on-one interactions and group projects.

·       Emphasising understanding and meaningful correspondence over memorization of rules and jargon, the approach is tailored to each learner's requirements, interests, and preferred method of learning.

·       This allows learners to explore and experiment with the language in ways that are meaningful to them. Furthermore, the teacher and their assistants also need to be crucial players in the application process. The social constructivism apparatus consists of four parts. They include coaching, mental apprenticeship, framework, and beneficial learning.

 

1.     Cognitive apprenticeship is a teaching approach in which the teacher has faith in the students' ability to present the best possible work and to create an environment that is conducive to learning.

2.     Cooperative learning is the process of studying something as a group while considering individual perspectives.

3.     The process of increasing student capability and reducing teacher guidance is known as scaffolding.

4.     Tutoring is an effective way to help students learn by providing clarification that can be completed between an adult and a child or between a child who is more gifted than a less gifted child.

 

Psychological Factors in Constructivist Approach:

Learning used to be primarily teacher-centered, with students serving as little more than a passive audience for their teachers' opinions and little chance for debate or disagreement. Speaking is still a difficult skill to acquire, even though English language teachers have used a range of teaching techniques in recent decades. Furthermore, teachers' teaching strategies are greatly impacted by the language learning habits of their students. Speaking should therefore be taught using more sophisticated techniques and methods as it is the main aspect of oral proficiency. Scholars are beginning to acknowledge social constructivism (Richard, 1999), a student-centered approach, as a potentially effective way to teach speaking and remove most of the obstacles that keep kids from speaking confidently and fluently. Even though conversational English is becoming increasingly important, a lot of students struggle with it because of psychological problems like anxiety and insecurity.

 

Anxiety:

Students' ability to communicate in the target language can be hampered by anxiety (Bowlby, 1960). She contends that this is related to a fear of failing or receiving unfavourable feedback from others. The opinions and experiences of the writers of this paper indicate that this situation is typical at the University of Constantine's Department of English. Apart from language issues like inadequate vocabulary, these are the main reasons why a lot of students find it difficult to express themselves. According to Tseng, the primary causes of students' anxiety are oral presentations and a very formal classroom setting. He continues, "another big source of worry is the fear of making mistakes in front of others." These are a few of the causes of students' frequent lack of participation or tendency to remain silent in class. Children with speech anxiety tend to be quiet and reserved, which makes their teachers less interested in them. Despite frequently giving up in the beginning of their studies, these students maintain their composure throughout their academic careers.

 

Lack of Confidence:

One of the biggest psychological problems that hinders students' ability to speak effectively is a lack of confidence. Lack of confidence is an issue that both educators and students face. This component makes learning a foreign language more challenging and hinders students' ability to communicate fluently (Bacher-Hicks, 2019). It is common for students who lack motivation or self-assurance to find oral presentations difficult. It follows that student who have a high sense of self-worth are likely to accomplish much more and speak more fluently than those who are afraid of looking foolish in front of others. As both teachers and students, the authors have seen firsthand how difficult it is for many students to express their opinions verbally, even those who possess highly developed writing and other skills.

 

Typically, they stay silent in class. This could lead some teachers to assume that the students who engage the most are the ones who are the brightest. The authors have observed that administrators and teachers have had different levels of interest in the four language skills for many years. The ability to write has always been a top priority for students since they can always edit and revise what they have written. Pupils won't be able to prepare and arrange their ideas in advance because ideas must be expressed verbally on the spot. Speaking is the hardest skill to master and execute because of all these factors that exacerbate anxiety and nervousness (Bacher-Hicks, 2019).

 

Students often pick up on their lack of confidence when others don't understand what they're saying when they speak. Making them feels safe and giving them the freedom to speak freely is a challenging task for the teacher because they are often anxious and frustrated in the classroom. High levels of speaking anxiety may therefore negatively affect students' motivation and ability to learn. One of the main causes of their inability to communicate verbally is anxiety. In this instance, students' anxiety increases to the point where they are overcome with terror and give a poor performance when speaking in front of an audience. Children with low confidence often have a negative self-perception, which makes them uncomfortable when speaking. People consequently start to doubt their own skills, which has a big effect on how well they perform orally.

 

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION:

Writing proficiency demonstrates both the ability to apply language and the capacity for logical reasoning. The ability to write in English is one of the requirements for current talents. As an output skill, English writing is essential to the study and instruction of the language because it helps students improve not only their writing but also their speaking, listening, and reading comprehension (Abdelwahab, 2022).

 

The following are just a few of the many constructive ways to learn English and strategies to address the psychological issues that result from it:

1.     One form of brief therapy that has been used to treat a variety of individuals, families, and problems is called solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT). The strengths and potential solutions of the client are highlighted, as in many constructivist therapies. Focusing on what is already functioning rather than what isn't leads to the emergence of more solutions.

2.     A form of psychotherapy called emotionally focused therapy (EFT) is mainly used with couples to help them strengthen, preserve, and grow their relationships. Although EFT is categorised as constructivist, its foundation is attachment theory, which highlights the importance of developing a safe and secure emotional connection with another person.

3.     The use of narrative therapy has proven beneficial for adults, families, and children. Clients of narrative therapy are able to take control of their lives by means of the stories they tell themselves. With the assistance of a narrative therapist who supports them in bringing chosen realities to life, clients can virtually re-author their lives.

 

The teacher is given more weight in the conventional method. Memory, mechanical exercises, and repetition are the hallmarks of the classical methods. Given that English is the official language of the globe, it is imperative that we learn it in a way that goes beyond just speaking, writing, and listening. Therefore, innovative approaches aid in change, which is typically for the better. It helps students learn more rapidly, effectively, and interactively. As a result, educators must abandon traditional methods and adopt cutting-edge techniques like cooperative learning, smart classrooms, multidisciplinary approaches, and flipped classrooms. Among these methods is constructivism, in which students create new knowledge by connecting it to prior knowledge. The development of fundamental English communication skills can greatly benefit from this method. Because of this, the constructivism approach has emerged as a key resource in English language schools for figuring out the best teaching strategies for instructors and students.

 

Constructivism is a theory of learning that allows students to create their own understanding of the material by constructing associations through their experiences and reflections on those experiences. This theory is a response to behaviourism, which places more emphasis on educators' focus than constructivism does on students' focus. The students in the homeroom are dynamic, according to constructivism theory. An educator's role is to facilitate learning. Through questioning, the teacher can guide the class in a particular way. By encouraging inquiry, teachers can help students determine what matters to them. Two varieties of constructivism exist. Social constructivism and mental constructivism are these. Piaget is credited with creating mental constructivism. According to his conceptualization, learning is the result of building in light of prior knowledge and insight. For Vygotsky, however, social constructivism was born. It was his expectation that understanding would be constructed through social interactions in the context of the application of information. Even though they have different levels of suspicion, they are comparable in that they both help students determine the value of an object based on their own observations and the associations they make through interactions.

 

Constructivism theory can be applied to a variety of learning scenarios, including case-based, project-based, request-based, issue-based, and revelation learning. With revelation learning, students are given minimal guidance from the teacher and are free to work in a collaborative environment. The other application of constructivism theory is request-based learning. It emphasises the importance of students' roles as expert scientists' researchers or analysts. Constructivism theory, in general, can be interpreted as a good theory to create dynamic students by fostering the connection between the material being learned and the reflection of that knowledge through experience.

 

The pupils will be cooperative during the teaching and learning process. Additionally, constructivism fosters a homeroom environment that emphasises collaboration and idea sharing, which advances social and relational skills. Hat argues, like other educational theories, that constructivism is not a universal solution to every informative problem. Teachers and educators should have the choice to limit the application of this theory because it has limitations and difficulties that apply to all learning situations. When interpreting learning outcomes and creating learning-friendly environments, constructivism plays a major role. People should have a foundation of knowledge, skills, and interests in order to create an extraordinary relationship when developing their insight, according to the constructivist learning perspective. Both educators and students participate in the creation and handling of information. It is recommended that students broaden their understanding and develop a sense of self-awareness in order to take responsibility for their actions.

 

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Received on 28.02.2024         Modified on 15.03.2024

Accepted on 30.03.2024      ©AandV Publications All right reserved

Res.  J. Humanities and Social Sciences. 2024;15(2):131-136.

DOI: 10.52711/2321-5828.2024.00019