Learning Theories

There are many different learning theories, but let’s talk about three very influential ones: behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. You’ve likely had run-ins with these but been unable to identify them. “Why is it important to identify them?” You might ask. Since many people have different ways and preferences for learning, these theories can help us understand what we are doing when we learn. The things that build long-term recollection of vocabulary for one person might not work for another. If you want to continue teaching yourself languages, diving into learning theories is imperative to optimize your knowledge of not only your target language but also how you learn in general.

Behaviorism

Behaviorism explains learning by saying, “People need to be directed and […] if the stimulus is something that the individual wants (a reward) or fears (a punishment), then the individual will respond accordingly and there will be a noticeable change in behaviour” (Bates, 2016).  This means that you are training your brain like a ringmaster trains a lion to do tricks in the circus. Much like the lion and the ringmaster, behaviorism relies on providing a specific response to a specific stimulus and the consequential reward to indicate correct behavioral patterns.

Language apps like Duolingo are an amazing example of behaviorist learning. Each time you get an answer right, you are rewarded with a *ding*. Whether you realize it or not, that ding (positive reinforcement/reward) makes your brain feel happy because it releases serotonin – the positive reinforcement for your correct response. At the end of the lesson, you are rewarded yet again with experience points, which in turn means the release of more serotonin. Your brain is being rewarded for regurgitating information it doesn’t necessarily know how to use in context. This “gamification” of language learning is not bad. Still, learners may overestimate their skills because of that serotonin release, thinking that mastery can be achieved on an app.

Let’s put this concept into context. Let’s do a miniature language lesson, and since I’ve been harping on common language learning apps so much, I’ll format this lesson like theirs. You will see flashcards in Punjabi that relate to activities later in this section, and it is your job to remember words solely by seeing them and their translation. You may spend as much time as you want studying the cards, but once you move on to the video, don’t go back to the flashcards. I want you to notice what you learn. Maybe how much, or how little. How difficult was it? Maybe you know how to say certain phrases, but can you put them in context?

Though you may have done well and perhaps even memorized all the vocabulary, remember that the validation you receive is not always indicative of your skill to actually use the language in real life.

Cognitivism

Cognitivism is a vastly different learning theory from behaviorism. It acknowledges that “information is actively processed inside the mind of the person and the behaviour modification takes place by searching for the relationships that exist between the various bits of information. ” (Bates, 2016). Instead of the regurgitation of knowledge that occurs in behaviorism, there is more active engagement of the learner’s brain than we see in behaviorist tasks. Cognitivist learning can look like the solving of language puzzles, the analysis of scripted dialogues, and more since these activities encourage our brains to search for relationships in the material.

Cognitivism sees the active engagement of the learner and the creation of new ideas built on class material through drawing on our schemata – our prior knowledge. Through analyzing written or spoken dialogues, for example, you might be able to guess at some phrases right away – things like ‘Hello’, and ‘My name is’ based on your knowledge of body language or how greetings typically work. In a crossword in your second language, you may use your knowledge of your first language and word play to figure out a clue. Using your brain to form more long-term connections and pattern recognition leads to better retention and understanding of knowledge.

For our activity this session, we won’t be actively engaging in the conversation, but we’ll be watching a scripted conversation happen. Abhay and Halima are two of my colleagues who also wrote this book, and they also happen to both speak Punjabi. There will be subtitles in Punjabi and romanized Punjabi, so feel free to follow along out loud. Throughout this activity, you might struggle to understand what Abhay and Halima are saying unless you speak Punjabi. If you don’t speak Punjabi, let’s see how you can use your brain to try to make sense of what is happening in this next video, using the Punjabi words you have already learned in the previous flash-card activity, your own powers of observation, reasoning, and inferences based on your own lived experiences.