Psychology for Language Teacher: A Social Constructivist Approach
by M. Williams ad R. L. Burden (1997)
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
When Applied
Linguistics and Educational Psychology successfully merge, the feat of writing
the current book is not unexpected. Educational Psychology undoubtedly has
implications for those involved in educational process especially language
teachers. The book is not just the result of a theory-to-practice approach of
the authors to the field, but the contributions of teachers from different
contexts whose practice-oriented minds have had a lion share in the creation of
such a great work. The progression has a lot to do with the title of the book;
the process of constructing and reconstructing meaning, because new experiences
lend a new perspective to language teaching and account for different
methodologies teachers might utilize in their profession. Hence, teachers’
conceptions of learning process and the variables having effects on the very
process are of crucial significance to inform and underpin language teachers’
teaching practice both in the classroom context and even out of the classroom milieu. Besides, language
teachers, to make proper decisions in their teaching practice, are to be
conscious about their learning and teaching beliefs.
The book serves
as an introduction to some pivotal issues in psychology offering insights into
how language learners learn and transfer such an understanding to their
classroom practice. The concepts introduced in the chapters are presented with
examples. The book aims to direct teachers to decide in accordance with the
context in which they are offering language courses. It is built on the belief
that teachers construct their own version of reality and apply it to their
immediate contexts, here classrooms. With regard to the cognitive theories, the
book inevitably takes a constructivist approach where individuals try to
construct their own version of reality as per their experience. Moreover, it
delineates that learning needs a proper context and never happens in a ‘vacuum’!
Accordingly, there should be a framework within which the psychological
concepts can aptly function; hence, Social Interactionism comes into play,
according to which the concept of ‘self’ cannot be well developed unless
appropriate interactions with significant others including parents, siblings,
peers, and teachers are established. Besides, motivation is explicated and
attempts are made to explain why some learners are more/less motivated to learn
than others and theories related to types of motivation are put forward. The
current book provides teachers with different issues in educational psychology
helping them to cope with learners’ issues in their daily teaching practice. It
also tries to give language teachers an upper hand in analyzing situations
where they are offering the courses, hence, better decisions are expected.
The book starts
with an introduction to the concept of Educational Psychology and how the
discipline has evolved from positivism and cognitivism. Then, such schools of
thought as Humanism and Social Interactionism are explored and the bridge
between them and Social Constructivist model is established and the extent of
relationship between such ideas and teaching/learning a foreign language are
discussed. The book also identifies four elemental dimensions of the
teaching/learning process, namely teachers, learners, tasks, and contexts which
act interactively in a dynamic way. What language teachers bring to the
teaching/learning process and what teachers do to promote learning are among
the issues which are tapped, too. The role of the learners and what they bring
to the teaching/learning contexts and how they deal with the process of
learning are among the other key issues discussed in other chapters. The status
of tasks and the issue of the role of context in which learning takes place
bring the book to the final stage where all ideas are pulled together and the
interplay between them is assessed.
As the title of
the book reveals, it aims to serve language teachers at different levels. It
can be used by language teachers from various contexts and cultural/social
backgrounds. Teacher trainers are also among the beneficiaries of the book and
can assist would-be language teachers with the pitfalls the reason of which
mostly lies with learners’ psychological aspects. The book also helps the
readers to know how the relationship between teachers and learners should be
formed, and, how they can come up with their own versions of educational
factors.