Paola Sarmiento Lozada's Definitions and Explanation of Vygotsky's Philosophy.

TASK 1A: Defining concepts. 

Learning: is the process of acquiring skills and knowledge through practice, experience or study. The activity of learning a second language its complex and it depends, in many cases, on different factors such as the social and cultural context, the age of the learners, the purposes, the learner’s characteristics and I personally consider that also the motivation and the teacher’s style (methodology) is key in the success of a L2 teaching program. When learners are exposed to different methodologies and many hours of language exposure (or any other knowledge), you can see that the learning process it’s faster and more effective. 

Language: In general terms, I think language is a system of symbols that people use to communicate and express ideas, thoughts and feelings. It’s acquired in the early stages of growing and it’s essential to social and cultural development in our lives as humans. There are many kinds of languages that are not only related to linguistics but also music languages, mathematics etc. Language it’s universal and necessary to all cultures for communication purposes , so this is why the learning process of the mother tongue it comes natural with growing, but the learning of a second language its’ definitively more complex and make us reflect on the different structures and basis of language acquisition. 

Teaching: It’s the act of imparting or giving knowledge to someone through lessons or instructions. It’s definitively a noble and important action that allows knowledge and wisdom to pass through generations. Teaching it’s also related to the activity of setting the right environment for learning processes, understand the learner’s characteristics in order to set the right techniques and methods that will enable learning. In my personal teaching experiences, I’ve seen that techniques must be adapted to the different group of students, depending on their specific characteristics and also depending on the purposes and motivation of the students. For example, immersion techniques are necessary for those students that need to travel or work in a foreign country.

TASK 1B: Understanding language. 

Constructivism: It’s a multidisciplinary approach that says the learner is an active element in the learning process; it’s a constructor of his own knowledge. Learning happens trough experience and its base on the contact with reality. It has two branches: social constructivism and cognitive constructivism. This school of thought had its main representative in the researcher Lev Vygotsky. His theory states that a learner’s previous knowledge can be used to acquire new knowledge (ZPD). In general terms, the child can learn through discovery and the construction of meaning in a social context. 

EXAMPLES: I would like to present a few examples of constructivism in English classes that I have experience.

· Immersion Class: this technique put English learning into real context so it applies Social constructivism approach because the students must interact simulating a real life context like a conversation in a restaurant, or going to the supermarket, or taking a taxi and go on vacations etc. These activities imply having social relations with people and use vocabulary to respond under the pressure of a social conversation. This way, the learner it’s a participant of their own process and learns by facing and comparing reality. 

· Group activities: another important part of social constructivism is collaborative social practices, so classes like singing a song with friends, watching a movie together or debating a topic are good examples on how social interaction and dialogical techniques can be successful in the acquisition of a second language. 

· Problem Based Learning (PBL): These kinds of activities are perfect to develop collaborative learning. The students do research and experiments around a topic in groups, trying to solve a problem. This way they learn from their own experience and others