Scribd
Upload
10 views2 pages

Constructivism in Language Education Experience

The document discusses constructivism as an active learning theory that emphasizes student exploration and peer interaction. The author shares their 13-year experience learning English in Türkiye, highlighting various constructivist activities like games, quizzes, and projects that encourage creativity and application of language. However, the author notes that the effectiveness of these activities was often hindered by teachers' reluctance and limited implementation, suggesting that the issue lies not in the theory itself but in its execution by educators.

Uploaded by

mevakocer51
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
10 views2 pages

Constructivism in Language Education Experience

The document discusses constructivism as an active learning theory that emphasizes student exploration and peer interaction. The author shares their 13-year experience learning English in Türkiye, highlighting various constructivist activities like games, quizzes, and projects that encourage creativity and application of language. However, the author notes that the effectiveness of these activities was often hindered by teachers' reluctance and limited implementation, suggesting that the issue lies not in the theory itself but in its execution by educators.

Uploaded by

mevakocer51
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

CONSTRUCTIVISM AND MY LANGUAGE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE

First of all ı am going to talk about constructivism. In that theory,


learning is an active constructive process. Teacher gives the input to the
student and then the student discover,explore and reflect. Also this
theory encourage peer interaction. As a result, instead of receiving
information, learners build knowledge by connecting new ideas to what
they already know. In my country (in Türkiye) we have been using this
theory for 20 years.

Let's talk about my experiences. I have been learning English for


almost 13 years. Every Turkish student starts learning English at very
young ages. As ı said before our education theory is Constructivism. And
in language lessons, activities are shaped by that theory. As far as ı
remember my english teachers mostly were using board games and
quizzes. These games involves student autonomy, creativity and
interaction with language in a fun low stress way. Also my teacher was
hanging posters about new words on our classroom walls. This is an
example of peripheral learning. The other activity was in the middle
school. Our teacher said us to write a scenario about daily things. Maybe
ordering food at a restaurant or going to a doctor. At the end of the
activity we used language in context, applied vocabulary and learned
from each other during interaction. We can see the aspects of
constructivism in that activity. Students think, create, construct and also
explore. Also in the middle school our teacher gave us a project about
cooking unit. He wanted us to do a video while we were cooking our
favorite food. We had to talk about the ingredients and the cooking
process. First we tought about our favorite food. And then investigated
the ingredients and the cooking process, finally we shot a video about it.
Activities were like that in my language education. Teacher was just using
the course book for giving the information. Also there was a notebook
which every student had. We were taking notes about informations that
our teacher gave us. Teacher was just giving information and we were
constructing these informations. At first sight these activities and this
constructivist theory seems nice and effective. But as far as ı saw in my
lessons; although there were many activities my teachers were not using
activities properly. Activity times were restricted and the teachers were
unwilling. In one year there were just 2 or 3 three projects or activities for
giving us an opportunity to use our knowledge and create new things.
The problem was not the constructivist theory it was the users of this
theory. My teachers generally were like that. As a teacher ıf you want to
give information clearly you need to reflect yourself properly.
In conclusion, constructivism has played a significant role in shaping
my language learning [Link] experiences show how powerful
constructivist approaches can be in language education, helping students
to build their own knowledge actively, creatively and [Link] If
ı were a teacher ı would be more creative. I would think about what can ı
do next and what did I do today?

You might also like