Vygotsky and Piaget learning theories and classactivities in English as a second language class in one Chinese institutional school

Wu Piao

【Abstract】Two main types of constructivist theories， i.e. social constructivism originated from Vygotsky （1978） and cognitive （or individual） constructivism from Piaget （1977）， are constantly applied in an effective class （Powell & Kalina， 2009）. Constructivism is a concept explaining the phases of how learners learn by constructing their own knowledge using their own experience （Ackermann 2004）. Vygotsky has tied great significance to culture as well as society to knowledge obtaining and stressed that a socio-cultural backgrounding is vital for students learning. Piaget （1977）， on the other hand， put more emphasis on cognitive construction and how individual constructs knowledge. “Cognitive constructivism came directly from Piagets work” （Powell & Kalina 2009 p242）. Piaget thinks students acquire knowledge through a series of constructing process by associating the new information with their own understanding and this process cannot be oversimplified and regarded as "receiving" and "storing" （Ackerman 2004）. Students have to build up their own knowledge based on their individually experiences. However， although Piaget developed his central theories on individual cognitive development， he also admitted the significant impact of social interactions on students development.

【Key words】Vygotsky Piaget learning theories Cooperative learning

【作者簡介】Wu Piao， University College London.

1. Introduction

This essay introduces both Vygotskys and Piagets constructivist theories and discusses their application in English as a second language （ESL） class in one of the Chinese institutional school （called EIC ChangSha） where I personally worked as an English teacher for over three years. The context of the institutional school has been fully introduced. The essay illustrated in details of Vygotskys socio-cultural theory （1978） including zone of proximal development theory and the later-developed "scaffolding"theories as well as Piagets theory on cognitive development and knowledge construction （1953）. Teachers ought to have better understanding of both constructivist theories from Vygotsky and Piaget in order to conduct teaching strategies， tools and methods more effectively （Ackermann 2004）.

2. Cooperative learning

Cooperative learning “is a student-centered， instructor-facilitated instructional strategy in which a small group of students is responsible for its own learning and the learning of all group members”. （Li & Lam 2005 p3）

It has been gradually acknowledged and verified by a substantial amount of research （Storch 1999， Storch 2007， Dobao 2012）， that cooperative learning has been an effective instructional strategy for students second language learning. Cooperative learning method is a flexible and effective approach which highly rooted in Vygotskys socio-cultural theories. According to Slavin （1987） cooperative learning can help students to achieve higher effectiveness. While the vital aspect for cooperative learning is group collaboration， which allows students to interact with each other， to question， negotiate and compromise so to co-construct knowledge and cultivate critical thinking （Slavin 1987）. This form of instructional strategy can provide students ample opportunities to interact with each other rather than merely memorizing knowledge （Li & Lam 2005）， altering the traditional teacher-centered pedagogy to student-centered and transferring teachers monologue to students discussion therefore students are in an actively interaction environment （Slavin 1987）. Put it another way， teachers are not transferring the conceptual knowledge to students through by just one-way lecture; they are constantly aware of their students understanding and knowing and how students justify their beliefs （Li & Lam 2005）.

Similarly， as Piaget （1926） also believes that it is only through interactions with others that social knowledge， in this case， language， can be obtained. Peer interaction during cooperative learning should also be deemed as logically significant in disequilibration （Slavin 1987） because the "childs egocentric conceptualizing and providing feedback to the child about the validity of logical constructions" （Piaget 1926 p19） What is more， peer interaction can enable leaners to construct knowledge， because during the interaction， students who appears to be nonconserving gains a lot through the conversation with the conservers （Li & Lam 2005）. To be more specific， the cooperative learning session would certainly raise significant cognitive conflicts between leaners in the discussion， as their “prior experience” could conflict with the new information brought up by their peers and then "inadequate reasoning will be exposed， disequilibration will occur， and higher-quality understandings will emerge" （Slavin 1987） .

In summary， cooperative learning is a remarkably beneficial instructional strategy which enables students to be the “expert” and the “novices” at the same time so to offer and receive “scaffolding” assistance for each other. Also， during the peer interaction process， teachers are provided the opportunity to observe students cognitive development and give assistance within their ZPD. Lastly， disequilibration could occur and bring up cognitive development during the assimilation and accommodation process. In summary， cooperative learning is an effective teaching strategy which is highly incorporating with both Vygotskys and Piagets learning theories due to its involvement with constant interaction， problem-solving procedure and knowledge co-construction.

3. Conclusion

In the text， two main types of constructivist theories， i.e. social constructivism originated from Vygotsky （1978） and cognitive constructivism from Piaget （1967）， have been discussed and explained in details about how they have been applied in certain teaching strategy and class activity. Vygotsky （1978） put social and cultural factors as the central in knowledge obtaining and stressed that a socio-cultural environment is vital for learning. Students learn from each other by social interaction and such interaction could be organized by class activities and the perspectives of group （Wang 2007） .Then， two of the most influential Vyvotskian theories are introduced. The first is the most influential theory of Vygotsky， "zone of proximal development" （ZPD）， the zone in which students can achieve more with the assistance of a “more capable learner” than conducted by himself alone （Vygotsky， 1978）. The second is called the "scaffolding" theory developed later based on Vygotskys theory， which implies the "capable learner" give assistance for the learner when it is needed and withdraw as soon as the learner can complete the task by himself. By fully understanding ZPD and scaffolding theory and incorporating in class， teachers would conduct more effective class and enable students to learn within their ZPD， giving scaffolding assistance， providing abundant opportunities for students to interact， raise their critical thinking and expand ZPD gradually. In both cooperative learning and in feedback process， where various group activities are organized and teacher-peer， peer-peer interaction are active， ZPD and "scaffolding" theories are applied thoroughly. On the other hand， as a cognitive constructivist， Piaget （1953） put more stress on individual and the process of individual constructing knowledge. Piaget thinks students acquire knowledge through a series of constructing process by associating the new information with their own understanding （Ackerman 2004）.

There are other forms of instructional approaches applied in class which are also considered effective as they secure social interaction， collaboration， and trigger individual discovery learning. It is of great significance to ensure both students and teacher in an interactive facilitating atmosphere （Powell & Kalina 2009）.

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