Chapter 2 – Approaches to (Language) Learning
Learning Theories
Logan Fisher; Bibi Halima; and Keli Yerian
Preview Questions
- What are some key theories about how we learn?
- How do they relate to ways of learning language?
- Which theories are most reflected in your own language learning so far?
There are many different learning theories, but let’s talk about three very influential ones: behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. You’ve likely been influenced by all of these during your years of education, but have not known how 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 actually doing when we learn. Different strategies are supported by different theories, and a strategy that builds long-term recollection of vocabulary for one person might not work for another person. 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, 2019, p. 23). 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 in the image below, behaviorism relies on eliciting a specific response to a specific stimulus and the consequential reward to indicate correct behavioral patterns.
Language apps like Duolingo are a perfect 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 the hormone 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 we’ve been harping on common language learning apps so much, we’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 by listening to them and seeing them with translation. You may spend as much time as you want studying the cards, but once you move on to the video in the next section, don’t come back to the flashcards. We want you to notice what you learn. Maybe how much, or how little, you remember. How difficult was it? Maybe you know how to say certain phrases, but can you put them in context?
Punjabi Flashcard Exercise
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, 2019, p. 39). Instead of the regurgitation of knowledge and skills that occurs in behaviorism, there is more active engagement of the learner’s brain than we see in behaviorist tasks. Cognitivist learning can include things like solving language puzzles, analyzing scripted dialogues, or using clever memory strategies since these activities encourage our brains to search for relationships in the material.
Cognitivism involves the active engagement of the learner’s mind and the creation of new ideas through drawing on mental schemata. 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 the next activity that relates more to cognitivism, you’ll be watching a conversation in Punjabi and analyzing what you think is happening based on your prior experiences. Abhay and Halima, two of the authors of this OER, 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, see how you can use your brain to make some sense of what is happening. For example, use the Punjabi words you have already learned in the previous flashcard activity as well as your own powers of observation, reasoning, and inferences based on your own lived experiences.
Punjabi Dialogue Between Abhay and Halima
Watch this video first
Punjabi Dialogue Exercise
Choose the right answer for each question.
How do you feel after this activity? Confused? Overwhelmed? Interested? Maybe you are excited that you could recognize a few words, or pleased that you could infer that they were greeting each other without understanding everything (or hardly anything) they were saying. All of these are completely normal reactions. As mentioned above, cognitivism is a theory that says learners need to do this mental work, to “search for the relationships that exist between the various bits of information” (Bates, 2019, p. 39). We can’t just memorize information; we need to puzzle through it actively to really learn it well.
However, cognitivism is missing something that the third theory, constructivism, has: learning through social interaction. The next section shows what happens when we blend our own understanding of ideas with the ideas of other people, pulling from our communal lived experiences to create new thoughts and sentences.
Constructivism
Constructivism is a theory that stresses how learners actively build their own understanding in their learning environments. It emphasizes the role of interaction with others and reflection in the learning process. It is important to note that constructivism, unlike cognitivism, does not separate learners’ mental process from their learning experience. Instead, it highlights that “… the individuals’ contributions to what is learned are not negligible and the culture and social environments in which individuals interact with others are also important in acquisition of skills and knowledge” (Baştürk, 2016, p. 904).
This essentially means that according to a constructivist approach, the social environment in which learning occurs is quintessential to forming a learner’s knowledge. Learning does not only consist of the internal, individual learning seen in cognitivism. Whereas a teacher who is influenced mostly by cognitivist theories might be happy to just lecture in front of the classroom and give homework for students to practice individually, a teacher inspired by constructivist ideologies would emphasize student-led activities, questions, projects, and anything that helps the students learn together.
We can’t fully demonstrate constructivism in this book since you are likely reading it on your own. Instead, in this last activity we’ll offer some scenarios for you to imagine what constructivism could look like in practice.
Extending Punjabi Dialogue to Constructivism
Let’s keep going with our Punjabi example and imagine each of the following examples of constructivism in real life
- Traveling to Pakistan or India where Punjabi is spoken and learning by practicing with local speakers
- Finding a South Asian culture club near you and finding people with whom to practice Punjabi
- Going on language learning social media apps and finding Punjabi speakers
Furthermore, outside of the Punjabi specific examples, constructivism can also look like…
- Exploring shopping sites in your target language with a study buddy
- Going to a restaurant of your target language’s culture with friends and speaking in your target language the whole time
- Describing an image to your peer who cannot see it and have them guess it
- Creating an original dialogue with a peer in a language class
Think back…
Reflecting on your past language learning
Now that we know about and have practiced and imagined learning a language with a focus on three main learning theories, sit down and ask yourself the questions that we started with. How have you been learning languages in the past? Has it been effective? What works and doesn’t work for you?
Your ideal learning situation may be unique and different from everyone else’s on the planet, so the beauty of independent language study, whether you are also taking a language class or not, is that you get to create your own environment and choose your own strategies. Learning is not a one-size-fits-all situation. Your ideal environment might incorporate varying degrees of behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. Notice that these three theories can all help describe different aspects of language learning, and they can even build on one another, as we saw in the activities above. Maybe you use Duolingo for 15 minutes a day to review and learn vocabulary, watch one episode of your favorite show in your target language, and speak with your more fluent friend for 20 minutes. It’s best to not limit ourselves to one idea of language learning as the ‘best method’. Perhaps some combination of all of these is best. Ultimately, experiment and decide for yourself!
References
Basturk, S. (2016). Primary pre-service teachers’ perspectives on constructivism and its implementation in the schools. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 4(4), 904-912. http://doi.org/10.13189/ujer.2016.040428
Bates B. (2019). Learning theories simplified: … and how to apply them to teaching (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Media Attributions
All original videos on this page © Abhay Pawar are licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 (Attribution NonCommercial) license.
All original illustrations on this page © Addy Orsi are licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 (Attribution NonCommercial) license.
The language you are currently learning
Something that causes the change or stirs the action
The use of game-like thinking and game-like mechanics in non-game situations, typically to engage users
Often referred to as the "feel good" chemical that is regulated in the brain
Our prior framework of knowledge that organizes and interprets information based on our prior experiences in the world
The Latin-based writing of a language that doesn't use a Latin alphabet