1. It might be helpful to compare Vygotsky’s view of the relationship of learning and development to Piaget’s. The following chart is intended to provide only a general outlook of the main differences between the two conceptions.

Vygotsky (1978)

ð The stress is on society as the determiner of development. The stages of cognitive development are not universal because each person’s history is different. There is a dialectical unity between biological foundations and dynamic social conditions.

ð Learning should always be one step ahead of development. But the relationship between the two is extremely complex.

ð The individual has two developmental levels that interact with learning since the time of birth.

ð Learning precedes maturation.

ð The individual progresses through interaction.

ð Progression is from an actual level to a potential level. Between the two is the “Zone of Proximal Development”

ð The importance of dialogue for the emergence of skills and abilities.

ð Knowledge is constructed through interaction.

ð “Scaffolding”-interaction with teacher or with more expert peers

ð The importance of play for the ZPD: “through play the child behaves beyond his average age”.

Piaget (1979)

ð The stress is on biology as the determiner in universal stages of development (see stages of cognitive development1).

ð The processes of learning and mental development are independent of each other.

ð Piaget proposes one level of cognitive development.

ð Maturation precedes learning.

ð The “readiness” principle. The individual progresses when s/he is ready.

2. For Freire (1970), there are two kinds of education: banking and libertarian. Which of the two practices foster real communication and is nearer to Vygotsky’s ideas?

3. According to Seliger there are two kinds of “input generators” (Amato: 41) What kind of generators receive more input and why? What are the implications for high input generators and low input generators respectively?

The i+1 and the Nature of Social Interaction

1. Why are “Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development and Krashen’s

i+1 similar concepts”?

2. The teacher is usually concerned both with the accuracy and fluency of the output. Accuracy and fluency: Can these two goals be reached simultaneously? (Amato: 43)

3. Do you think that direct error correction leads to greater accuray? What factors should you take into account?

4. What is ‘interlanguage’? (Amato: 44)

5. Name some of the strategies used in regular teacher talk. (Amato: 45)

6. As opposed to direct correction, the teacher in interaction uses modeling or indirect correction in the form of restatements. This process of collaboration is called adjustement (Ellis in Amato: 46). Discuss the example given on p.46.

When Instructed Grammar might help

1. What type of instructed grammar might help? (Amato: 49)

2. Are all learners ready to incorporate a structure at the same time? Discuss in relation to the following quote: “We, as teachers, can no longer rely on a single grammatical syllabus for everyone”. (Amato: 50)

3. “The rules governing much of language can only be internalized through a complex interactional process”. (Amato: 51) Discuss.

The Role of Output in the Acquisition Process

1. What is the role of output according to Swain? (Amato: 51)

2. A learner that knows that s/he will eventually be expected to produce is forced to pay attention to the means of expression necessary to convey his or her intended meaning. Discuss.

Adriana Valeria Lauri

UTN/INSPT-April 2001

1 Curtain Helena & Carol Pesola.1994. Languages and Children: Making the Match. White Plains, New York:Longman.(p.65-66).