REFLECTION-4

What I learned was that language functioning extends well beyond cognitive thought and
memory structure.According to Holzman in language development the adult language user
has a socializing-teaching-nurturing role.It means that children learn language through
interactions within their environment and with the adults who care for them.Most children
acquire appropriate language skills with little or no direct instruction,however,adults can
nurture development by understanding the process of language acquisition and providing
children with a language-rich environment.Children who experience more verbal
communication and responsive teacher involvement exhibit higher levels of language
development.In order to acquire language,children need to be exposed to environments rich
with language.Competence is one’s underlying knowledge of a system which is
nonobservable.Performance is the actual doing of something.Even though everything is
perfect in competence,it may not be perfect in performance.For example,we may know all
grammatical rules of language, but we may not speak because of lack of experience.Due to
the fact that child cares about performance,we can’t talk them about grammar
rules.Because they have not developed abstract things,they more and more concern with
performance.According to Chomsky competence is the ideal one but competence cannot be
perfect because slip of tongue not feeling secure,lack of experience hinder the idealized
performance.In child language,production is superior to comprehension.They understand
more than they actually produce and also they are able to produce certain aspects of
language they can’t comprehend.The theory of universal grammar holds that there are
certain fundamental grammatical ideas which all humans possess,without having to learn
them.Universal grammar acts as a way to explain how language acquisition works in
humans,by showing the most basic rules that all languages have to follow.I also learned
about educational psychology.It is the application of theories and principles of learning and
instruction that can enhance lifelong learning.An educative learning must give a broader
value and meaning to the learner’s life.There are two major psychological
approaches:behavioursim,cognitive psychology.According to behaviourism all human
behaviour could be explained in terms of stimulus-response connections. According to
Skinner who is founder of modern behaviourism learning is a function of change in overt
behaviour.Changes in behaviour are the result of an individual’s response to events that
occur in the environment.When a particular stimulus-response pattern is reinforced,the
individual is conditioned to respond.Skinner argued that education could be improved by the
adoption of some procedures.He suggested that teachers should make explicitly clear what
is to be taught,tasks should be broken down into small,sequential steps,students should be
encouraged to work at their own pace.
I suppose I need to focus more on Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development which is really
important for helping our students to reach their potential.

In my teaching I can use zone of proximal development so that my students can reach his or
her potential development.As a teacher,I can recognize where he or she is within the zone of
proximal development by asking questions and recognizing the learner’s individual learning
style.Thus,I can define learner’s immediate needs and the shifting developmental
status,which allows for what has already been achieved developmentally,and for what the
learner will be able to master in the future.Because children understand more than they
actually produce I can provide them with different comprehension resources (such as
videos,films,books,music )so that they can start producing in the second language.In
addition to these,I should encourage my students to work at their own pace so they will be
responsible for their own learning.Lastly,as a teacher in 21th century I shouldn’t just
transmit information but I should guide,train,lead,help them to find their way and to reach
their potential.