Summary of Foundations of English Language Teaching

## Introduction Learning theories explain how people acquire, process and retain knowledge and skills. This material summarizes the main theories in psychology that describe learning: **Behaviorism**, **Cognitivism**, **Constructivism**, **Humanism**, and **Social Interactionism**. Each theory highlights different processes and has distinct implications for how learners are supported and taught. > **Definition:** A learning theory is a systematic framework describing how learners acquire, organize and use knowledge and skills. ## Behaviorism Behaviorism focuses on observable behaviour rather than internal mental states. Learning is seen as habit formation through conditioning and reinforcement. > **Definition:** Behaviorism is the view that learning is a change in observable behaviour caused by external stimuli and consequences. ### Key concepts - **Classical conditioning** (Ivan Pavlov): learning by association; stimulus → response. - **Operant conditioning** (B. F. Skinner): learning through reinforcement and punishment; stimulus → response → reinforcement. - Positive reinforcement: rewards that strengthen behaviour. - Negative reinforcement: removal of an unpleasant stimulus that strengthens behaviour (escape or avoidance learning). - Punishment: weakens behaviour. ### Practical examples and applications - Use of drills, repetition and memorization to form habits. - Immediate correction and modelling of the correct response. - Reward systems to encourage desired behaviours (stickers, points, praise). Fun fact: Behaviorist principles are widely used in habit-forming features of apps, such as daily streaks and reward notifications. ### Strengths and limitations - Strengths: Effective for teaching observable skills and routines; clear structure and measurable outcomes. - Limitations: Neglects internal thought processes and creativity; mistakes are treated as something to be avoided rather than learning opportunities. ## Cognitivism Cognitivism emerged as a reaction to behaviorism and treats the mind as an information processor. It emphasizes mental processes such as attention, memory and problem solving. > **Definition:** Cognitivism views learning as an active mental process where information is received, organised and stored for later retrieval. ### Key assumptions 1. The memory system is an active, organized processor of information. 2. Prior knowledge strongly influences new learning. ### How learning works - Input → mental processing (attention, encoding, storage, retrieval) → output. - Instruction should be sequenced, meaningful and organized to support encoding and recall. ### Strategies and techniques - Use spaced practice, retrieval practice and repetition in meaningful contexts. - Teach organization strategies: chunking, summarising, imagery and linking to prior knowledge. - Encourage active processing: asking explain-why questions, worked examples and metacognitive reflection. Did you know that cognitive research shows spaced practice leads to better long-term retention than massed practice (cramming)? ### Strengths and limitations - Strengths: Focuses on internal processes that explain how and why learning happens; useful for designing instruction to improve memory and understanding. - Limitations: Sometimes treats the mind like a computer and downplays emotional, social or embodied aspects of learning. ## Constructivism Constructivism sees learning as an active, constructive process where learners build their own understanding from experience. > **Definition:** Constructivism is the theory that learners construct knowledge by integrating new experiences with prior understanding, creating personally meaningful representations. ### Core ideas - Knowledge is built, not transferred; meaning is rooted in experience. - Mistakes are a natural and valuable part of learning. - Learning is learner-centred; the learner actively interprets input. ### Practical approaches - Problem-based learning and pr