Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T11:36:58.022Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

14. CONSTRUCTIVIST ISSUES IN LANGUAGE LEARNING AND TEACHING

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 June 2004

Abstract

Constructivism has emerged in recent years as a dominant paradigm in education and has had a major intellectual impact on the development of pedagogy, especially in mathematics and science. Rooted in the cognitive developmental theory of Piaget and in the sociocultural theory of Vygotsky, constructivist notions have had an impact on the development and application of technologically enhanced microworlds and on linguistic investigation into literacy and narrative development. To date, constructivism has had little impact on language pedagogy; however, the advent of content-based pedagogical paradigms as an anchor of language education has opened new opportunities for integration of interdisciplinary collaborative approaches for language teaching and learning. Furthermore, the current emphasis on standardsbased accreditation and reconceptualization of teacher education programs will likely expand the horizons of language pedagogy, bringing constructivist approaches to the foreground in language teacher education and opening new avenues for linguistic and interdisciplinary classroom-based research.

Type
CURRICULUM, PEDAGOGY, AND TEACHER PREPARATION
Copyright
© 2004 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). 2001 Designs for science literacy: Project 2061. Washington, DC: Author.
Appleby A. 1978 The child's concept of story. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Bailey K. M., & Nunan D. (Eds.). 1995 Voices from the language classroom. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Barton D. 1994 Literacy: An introduction to the ecology of written language. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Beatty K. 2003 Teaching and researching computer-assisted language learning. London: Pearson.
Benson P. 2001 Autonomy in language learning. London: Pearson.
Bickerton D. 1990 Language and species. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Blumenfeld P. C., Krajcik J. S., Marx R. W., & Soloway E. 2001 Promising new instructional practices. In M. C. Wang & H. J. Walberg (Eds.), Tomorrow's teachers (pp. 4778). Richmond, CA: McCutchan.
Bransford J. D., Brown A. L., & Cocking R. R. 2000 How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Brinton D. M., Snow M. A., & Wesche M. B. 1989 Content-based second language instruction. New York: Harper and Row.
Brooks J. G. 2002 Schooling for life: Reclaiming the essence of learning. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD).
Brooks J. G., & Brooks M. G. 1993 In Search of understanding: The case for constructivist classrooms. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD).
Brown D. 2004 Language assessment: Principles and classroom practices. White Plains, NY: Pearson.
Burns A. 1999 Collaborative action research for English language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Carroll L. 2003 Jabberwocky. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.
Clay M. 1991 Becoming literate: The construction of inner control. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Clegg J. (Ed.). 1996 Mainstreaming ESL: Case studies in integrating ESL students into the mainstream curriculum. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
Cole M. 1990 Cognitive development and formal schooling: The evidence from cross-cultural research. In L. Moll (Ed.), Vygotsky and education: Instructional implications and applications of sociohistorical psychology (pp. 89110). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Cocking R. R., & Mestre J. P. (Eds.). 1988 Linguistic and cultural influences on learning mathematics. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Crandall J. 1993 Content-centered learning in the United States. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 13, 111126.Google Scholar
Crandall J., Dale T. C., Rhodes N. C., & Spanos G. A. 1990 The language of mathematics: The English barrier. In A. Labarca & L. Bailey (Eds.), Issues in L2: Theory as practice/practice as theory (pp. 129150). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Crandall J., & Kaufman D. 2002 Case studies in content based instruction in higher education. Alexandria, VA: TESOL.
Cuban L. 1993 How teachers taught: Constancy and change in American classrooms (2nd ed.). New York: Teachers College Press.
Cuevas G. 1984 Mathematics learning in English as a second language. Journal of Research in Mathematics Education, 15, 134144.Google Scholar
Darling-Hammond L. 2001 Forward. In L. Darling Hammond (Ed.), Studies of excellence in teacher education (pp. vxi). Washington, DC: American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE).
DeVries R., & Kohlberg L. 1987 Programs of early education: The constructivist view. New York: Longman.
Driver R. 1983 The pupil scientist. Philadelphia: Open University Press.
Duckworth E. 1987 The having of wonderful ideas and other essays on teaching and learning. New York: Teachers College Press.
Dyson A. 1989 Multiple worlds of child writers. New York: Teachers College Press.
Edge J. 1996 Cross-cultural paradoxes in a profession of values. TESOL Quarterly, 30, 930.Google Scholar
Edge J. 2002 Continuing cooperative development: A discourse framework for individuals as colleagues. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.
Evans L. 2002 What is teacher development. Oxford Review of Education, 28, 123137.Google Scholar
Ferreiro E., & Taberosky A. 1989 Literacy before schooling. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Forman G., & Kuschner D. 1977 The child's construction of knowledge. Belmont, CA: Wadworth.
Fosnot C. 1993 Rethinking science education: A defense of Piagetian constructivism. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 30, 11891201.Google Scholar
Fosnot C. T. (Ed.). 1996 Constructivism: Theory, perspectives, and practice. New York: Teachers College Press.
Freeman D., & Richards J. C. 1996 Teacher learning in language teaching. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Freeman D., & Johnson K. E. 1998 Research and practice in English language teacher education [special issue]. TESOL Quarterly, 32, 3.Google Scholar
Gabel D. L. (Ed.). 1994 A handbook of research on science teaching and learning [A project of the National Science Teachers Association]. New York: Macmillan.
Gebhard G., & Oprandy R. 1999 Language teaching awareness: A guide to exploring beliefs and practices. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Goodlad J. 1990 Teachers for our nation's schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Goodman Y. & Wilde S. 1992 Literacy events in a community of young writers. New York: Teachers College Press.
Graves K. (Ed.). 1996 Teachers as course developers. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Hall J. K. 2002 Teaching and researching language and culture. London: Pearson.
Harris M., & Hatano G. (Eds.). 1999 Learning to read and write: A crosslinguistic perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC). 1992 Model standards in science for beginning teacher licensing and development: A resource for state dialogue. Washington, DC: Author.
Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC). 2002 Model standards in science for beginning teacher licensing and development: A resource for state dialogue. Science Standards Drafting Committee, Washington, DC: Author.
Johnson D. W., & Johnson R. T. 1984 Circles of learning: Cooperation in the classroom. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Johnson K. 1999 Understanding language teaching: Reason in action. Boston: Heinle & Heinle.
Johnson K. E. 1992 The relationship between teachers' beliefs and practices during literacy instruction for non-native speakers of English. Journal of Reading Behavior, 24, 83108.Google Scholar
Johnson K. E. (Ed.). 2000 Innovations in teacher education: A quiet revolution. Case Studies in Teacher Education (pp. 17). Alexandria, VA: TESOL.
Juster N. 1961 The phantom tollbooth. New York: Knopf.
Kamii C. 1981 Application of Piaget's theory to education: The preoperational level. In I. Sigel, D. Brozinsky, & R. Golinkoff (Eds.), New directions in Piagetian theory and practice (pp. 231265). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Kamii C. 1985 Young children re-invent arithmetic. New York: Teachers College Press.
Kaufman D. 1996 Constructivist-based experiential learning in teacher education. Action in Teacher Education, 18, 4050.Google Scholar
Kaufman D. 1997 Collaborative approaches in preparing teachers for contentbased and language enhanced settings. In M. A Snow & D. M. Brinton (Eds.), The content-based classroom: Perspectives on integrating language and content (pp. 175186). White Plains, NY: Longman.
Kaufman D. 2000 Developing professionals: Interwoven visions and partnerships. In K. Johnson (Ed.), Case studies in teacher education (pp. 5169). Alexandria, VA: TESOL.
Kaufman D., & Grennon Brooks J. 1996 Interdisicplinary collaboration in teacher education: A constructivist approach. TESOL Quarterly, 30, 231251.Google Scholar
Kessler C. (Ed.). 1992 Cooperative language learning. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Regents.
Ko J., Schallert D. L., & Walters K. 2003 Rethinking scaffolding: Examining negotiation of meaning in an ESL storytelling task. TESOL Quarterly, 37, 303336.Google Scholar
Levin I., Korat O., & Amsterdamer P. 1996 Emergent writing among Israeli kindergartners: Cross-linguistic commonalties and Hebrew specific issues. In G. Rijlaarsdan, H. van-den Bergh, & M. Couzijn (Eds.), Theory, models, and methodology: Current trends in research of writing (pp. 398419). Amsterdam, Netherlands: Amsterdam University Press.
Mason J. M., & Sinha S. 1993 Emerging literacy in the early childhood years: Applying a Vygotskian model of learning and development. In B. Spodek (Ed.), Handbook of research on the education of young children (pp. 137150). New York: Macmillan.
McCabe A., & Peterson C. 1991 Getting the story: A longitudinal study of parental styles in eliciting narratives and developing narrative skill. In A. McCabe & C. Peterson (Eds.), Developing narrative structure (pp. 217254). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
McGroarty M. 1998 Constructive and constructivist challenges for applied linguistics. Language Learning, 48, 591622.Google Scholar
Mohan B. A. 1986 Language and content. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Mohan B., Leung C., & Davison C. 2001 English as a second language in the mainstream. Essex, UK: Pearson.
Murphy J., & Byrd P. 2001 Understanding the courses we teach: Local perspectives on English language teaching. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Murrell P. C. 2001 The community teacher: A new framework for effective urban teaching. New York: Teachers College Press.
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). 1991 Toward high and rigorous standards for the teaching profession (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). 2001 Professional standards for the accreditation of schools, colleges, and departments of education. Washington, DC: Author.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). 2000 Principles and standards for school mathematics. Reston, VA: Author.
National Research Council/National Science Foundation (NRC/NSF). 1996 From analysis to action: Undergraduate education in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology: Report of a convocation. Washington, DC: Author.
Nunan D. 1988 The learner-centred curriculum. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Nunan D. (Ed.). 1992 Collaborative language learning and teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Nunan D., & Lamb C. 1996 The self-directed teacher: Managing the learning process. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Pappert S. 1980 Mindstorms: Children, computers, and powerful ideas. New York: Basic Books.
Pearson Casanave C., & Schecter S. R. (Eds.). 1997 On becoming a language educator: Personal essays on professional development. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Pennington M. 1995 The teacher change cycle. TESOL Quarterly, 29, 705732.Google Scholar
Perkins D. N., Schwartz J. L., West M. M., & Wiske M. S. (Eds.). 1995 Software goes to school: Teaching for understanding with new technologies. New York: Oxford University Press.
Piaget J. 1954 The construction of reality in the child. New York: Basic Books.
Piaget J. 1955 The language and thought of the child. New York: Meridian.
Piaget J. 1970 The science of education and the psychology of the child. New York: Basic Books.
Piaget J. & Inhelder B. 1971 Psychology of the child. New York: Basic Books.
Pontecorvo C., Orsolini M., Burge B., & Resnick L. 1996 Children's early text construction. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Prabhu N. S. 1996 Concept and conduct in language pedagogy. In G. Cook & B. Seidlhofer (Eds.), Principle and practice in applied linguistics: Studies in honour of H.G. Widdowson (pp. 5771). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Read C. 1986 Children's creative spelling. London: Routledge.
Richard-Amato P. A. 2003 Making it happen: From interactive to participatory language teaching theory and practice (3rd ed.). White Plains, NY: Pearson.
Richards J. 2001 Curriculum development in language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Richardson V. 1990 Significant and worthwhile change in teaching practice. Educational Researcher, 19, 1018.Google Scholar
Russel T. 1993 Learning to teach science: Constructivism, reflection, and learning from experience. In K. Tobin (Ed.), The practice of constructivism in science education (pp. 247258). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Sexton T. L., & Griffin B. L. (Eds.). 1997a Constructivist thinking in counseling practice, research, and training. New York: Teachers College Press.
Sexton T. L., & Griffin B. L. 1997b The social and political nature of psychological science: The challenges, potential, and future of constructivist thinking. In T. L. Sexton & B. L. Griffin (Eds.), Constructivist thinking in counseling practice, research, and training (pp. 249261). New York: Teachers College Press.
Shavelson R. J., & Stern P. 1981 Research on teachers' pedagogical thoughts, judgments, decisions, and behavior. Review of Educational Research, 51, 455498.Google Scholar
Shohamy E. 2001 The power of tests: A critical perspective on the uses of language tests. Essex, UK: Pearson.
Short D. 1993 Assessing integrated language and content instruction. TESOL Quarterly, 27, 627656.Google Scholar
Short D. J. 1994 Expanding middle school horizons: Integrating language, culture, and social studies. TESOL Quarterly, 28 (3), 581608.Google Scholar
Sigel I., & Cocking R. R. 1977 Cognitive development from birth through adolescence: A constructivist perspective. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Sigel I. E., Brozinsky D. M., & Golinkoff R. M. 1981 New directions in Piagetian theory and practice. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Smith L. 1993 Necessary knowledge. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Snow M. A., & Brinton D. M. (Eds.). 1997 The content-based classroom: Perspectives on integrating language and content. White Plains, NY: Longman.
Snow M. A., Met M., & Genesee F. 1989 A conceptual framework for the integration of language and content in second and foreign language instruction. TESOL Quarterly 23, 201217.Google Scholar
Song M., Elias T., Muller-Witting W., & Chan T. K. Y. 2003 Using virtual reality to bring Syngaporean heritage to life. IEEE Proceedings Computer Graphics International Conference, 240243.Google Scholar
Spivey N. 1996 The constructivist metaphor: Reading, writing, and the making of meaning. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Stigler J. W., & Hiebert J. 1999 The teaching gap: Best ideas from the world's teachers for improving education in the classroom. New York: Free Press.
Stoller F. (this volume). Content-based instruction: Perspectives on curriculum planning.
Swain M., Brooks L., & Tocalli-Beller A. 2002 Peer-peer dialogue as a means of second language learning. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 22, 171185.Google Scholar
TESOL. 2002 TESOL/NCATE Standards for accreditation of initial programs in P–12 ESL education. Alexandria, VA: TESOL.
Tobin K. (Ed.). 1993 The practice of constructivism in science education. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Tobin K., Tippins D., & Gallard A. J. 1994 Research on instructional strategies for teaching science. In D. L. Gabel (Ed.), A handbook of research on science teaching and learning (pp. 4593). [A project of the National Science Teachers Association]. New York: Macmillan.
Tolchinsky-Landsmann L. 1996 Three accounts of literacy and the role of the environment. In C. Pontecorvo, M. Orsolini, B. Burge, & L. Resnick (Eds.), Children's early text construction (pp. 101126). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Treiman R. 1993 Beginning to spell. New York: Oxford University Press.
van Lier L. 1996 Interaction in the language curriculum: Awareness, autonomy and authenticity. New York: Longman.
von Glasersfeld E. 1995 A constructivist approach to teaching. In L. Steffe & J. Gale (Eds.), Constructivism in education (pp. 316). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
von Glasersfeld E. 1998 Cognition, construction of knowledge and teaching. In M. R. Matthews (Ed.), Constructivism in science education (pp. 1130). London: Kluwer.
Vygotsky L. 1962 Thought and language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Vygotsky L. S. 1978 Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. (M. Cole, V. John-Steiner, S. Scribner, & E. Souberman, Eds. & Trans.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Wang M. C., & Walberg H. J. 2001 Tomorrow's teachers. Richmond, CA: McCutchan.
Wheatley G. H. 1991 Constructivist perspectives on science and mathematics learning. Science Education, 75, 921.Google Scholar
Williams B. (Ed.). 2000 Reforming teacher education through accreditation: Telling our story. Washington, DC: NCATE.
Zamel V., & Spack R. (Eds.). 2002 Enriching ESOL pedagogy: Readings and activities for engagement, reflection, and inquiry. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.