Vygotsky’s implication to

effective teaching of
English vocabulary to 1st-
4th graders of the primary
school
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Vygotsky’s implications to learning and teaching
1.1. A social impact on learning and mental development
1.2. The role of the teacher in the process of learning
1.3. The role of words and meaning in learning
1.4. The essence of the ZPD
1.4.1. The main benefits of the ZPD
1.4.2. Other advantages of the ZPD
2. Effective ways of teaching primary students
2.1. Factors that influence L2 learning
2.2. Recommended techniques for teaching primary
students
2.3. The use of technology in the primary classroom
2.3.1. The use of Information technologies (ITs)
2.3.2. The use of the Interactive Whiteboard (the IWB)
 VYGOTSKY’S IMPLICATIONS TO
EDUCATION

Lev Semenovich Vygotsky is called the “Mozart of

psychology,” for his extensive knowledge of the
discipline and a few interrelated ones. Although his
life was rather short, his contributions to learning
and teaching are enormous and timeless. Not only
was he “a brilliant and charismatic thinker,” but
also a “speaker, mentor and builder” and “theorist,
clinician, and researchers.”
 A SOCIAL IMPACT ON LEARNING
AND MENTAL DEVELOPMENT

Vygotsky’s work contributed much to Social

Development Theory.
The psychologist claimed that social interaction has
a considerable impact on the development of
cognition, for the society and social relations fulfill a
vital role in forming meaning.
Vygotsky contended that learning cannot be
removed from a social aspect; hence, learning is a
social process.
 A SOCIAL IMPACT ON LEARNING
AND MENTAL DEVELOPMENT
The scholar noted that learning does not equal
development, but, if properly conducted leads to a
mental development: “development is not
development: however, properly organized learning
results in mental development and sets in motion a
variety of developmental processes that would be
impossible apart from learning.”

Vygotsky found that this applies to voluntary attention,

logical memory, and the formation of concepts, since
“all the higher functions originate as actual
relationships between individuals.”
THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER IN THE
PROCESS OF LEARNING

Vygotsky acknowledges that the person of a

teacher is critical to the progress of a student in L2
acquisition and learning. It is the teacher who has
adequate knowledge and who exposes students to
a setting in which communication in English takes
place.
THE ROLE OF WORDS AND MEANING
IN LEARNING

Vygotsky emphasizes the significance of words as units

in his theory of language learning. Since children
recognize lexical items in their L1, they will do the same
in their L2.
The scholar notes that new vocabulary is presented to
young students through the senses, e.g. touching,
showing real objects/ pictures, or by providing L1
equivalents. Consequently, the students are taught that
L2 comprises a set of individual words.
The initial stages in the development of word meaning
are transitory phases between teaching gestures and
real meanings of lexical items to children.
 THE ZONE OF PROXIMAL
DEVELOPMENT (ZPD)

ZPD is considered to be Vygotsky’s major contribution to

education.
The concept points to the disparity between these two, i.e. the
actual development and the possible development that can be
obtained.
ZPD is associated with what a language student can learn on his/
her own and what he/ she can achieve in this matter with
adequate training
(i.e. the potentiality, known as ‘scaffolding’).
Vygotsky’s ZPD stands in opposition to Piaget’s theory of learning.
The developmental psychologist maintains that the guidance or
assistance of an adult (i.e. teacher) or scaffolding fosters new
skills and may assume various forms in children at different
developmental levels .
 THE MAIN BENEFIT OF THE ZPD
Vygotsky claims that the main advantage of the ZPD to a
student is that “what the child is able to do in collaboration
today, he will be able to do independently tomorrow.”
According to Vygotsky, the preferred forms of work and
types of techniques applied involve:
- large/ small group and pair work;
- games and plays;
- the use of modern technologies (visual and auditory stimula),

for they develop communication, collaboration, and

combine the use of 4 skills.
 OTHER ADVANTAGES OF THE ZPD
Benefits for students:
• challenging but reasonable tasks that stimulate thinking and motivate efforts to learn;
meaningful instruction and feedback that helps drive further development at an
appropriate pace;
• a learning environment where they are valued as individuals, a collaborative group,
and a class;
• a learning environment where their creativity and thought processes are acknowledged
and accepted.

Benefits for teachers:

• identify and use areas of strength and weakness to tailor learning experiences at the
individual and group level;
• engage students in social interactions to enable learning;
• better understand students as individual learners, learners in small group setting and
learners in a larger social setting;
• discover unique thought processes that different students may use to solve problems.
 EFFECTIVE WAYS OF TEACHING
PRIMARY STUDENTS
Early primary school students are marked with specific features
and thus their education should be fitted to their needs and
possibilities.

Education of a 1st-3rd grader should be focused on teaching

listening comprehension skills and vocabulary, which would then
allow them to develop communicative competence.

Since a 4th-6th grader has the basic listening comprehension

skills, communicative skills and vocabulary developed, education
at this level is to center around improving them and extending
their scope.

In both cases, the emphasis should be laid on motivating students,

developing student autonomy, individualisation, collaboration,
applying modern technologies, as well as integrated and learner-
focused learning.
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE l2 LEARNING
A variety of factors may facilitate or hinder L2 learning. These are
learner’s physical, intellectual and psychological (affective)
qualities.

The student’s main individual features include:

- age, - personality,
- intelligence, - motivation,
- language aptitude, - attitude,
- cognitive style, - learning strategies.

The first five of them are changeless, while the rest is variable
due to external factors such as: the environment, the teacher,
the parent, etc.
 RECOMMENDED TECHNIQUES FOR
TEACHING PRIMARY STUDENTS
• no explicit grammar instruction;
• repetition of examples;
• ‘here and now’ tasks;
• diversified activities;
• varied sensory input, appeal to all senses, hands-on activities;
• the importance of affective factors, establishing a positive attitude
to learning a foreign language;
• context embedded language, the whole language approach;
• time for creative construction, mistakes are part of the process;
• topic based/ activities based syllabus;
• cross-curricular context;
• spiral sequence of structures and functions;
• developing memory through mental rehearsal;
• collaborative work;
• information technologies and various kinds of visual aids.
 RECOMMENDED TECHNIQUES FOR
TEACHING VOCABULARY

Teaching vocabulary should be planned according to three

following stages:
• Stage 1 - Introducing new words
• Stage 2 - Practising newly familiarized words
• Stage 3 - Consolidating + revising newly learned words.

As regards teaching vocbulary in a lesson framework, Stage 1

should be preceded with a warm-up and introduction of a topic,
while Stage 3 followed by homework
INTRODUCING VOCABULARY TO CHILDREN

Vocabulary items can be introduced using the following techniques:

- dictionary,
- simple teacher definition,
- description,
- examples,
- pictures/ drawings/ flashcards/ picture cards/ props,
- mime,
- putting words in context,
- synonyms and antonyms,
- translation,
- collocations and associated ideas.
-
 PRACTISING VOCABULARY WITH CHILDREN

Newly introduced vocabulary should then be practised to … and

this can be done using:

- teaching words in thematic groups,

- mind maps,
- matching words to pictures,
- odd-one-out activities,
- songs and rhymes,
- mnemonics,
- games (e.g. bingo, domino, etc.),
- storytelling,
- picture dictation,
- role playing,
- computer activities,
- IWB.
 THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN THE
PRIMARY CLASSROOM

Modern technologies (i.e. computer and computer-related

equipments/ programmes) play an important role in teaching
English to primary students.

Computer-assisted language learning (CALL) lays stress on

student-centered both structured and unstructured materials
that are marked by such features as interactive learning and
individualized learning, thereby allowing pupils to work
without a teacher’s help.

First CALL applications involved learners responding to

specific stimuli on the computer monitor, while the common
tasks were based on doing multiple-choice activities, filling
in the blanks, and joining sentences.
THE USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES (ITS)

Many of the Information and Communication Technologies

(ICTs) tools make for the CALL’s interactive and
communicative roles, as they support listening, speaking,
reading, and writing, and hence e-learning in the foreign
language teaching.
Teachers and learners may employ a variety of ICT tools
simultaneously with the CALL ones.
The most popular ICTs tools involve: the Interactive
Whiteboard (the IWB) and a projector; others include: TV,
radio, music players, flash drives, laser pointers, etc.
THE USE OF THE INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARD
(IWB)

The IWB is a big flat surface connected to the computer.

Projector projects a computer desktop on a Whiteboard and
learners can control the computer on the board using
stylus, finger, or pen. It can be used to run software loaded
on a computer, especially presentations. One of the
greatest uses of the Interactive Whiteboard is concerned
with shared reading, as teacher can project children’s book
on a Whiteboard with a book-like interactivity.
 ADVANTAGES OF THE IWB
Teaching English with the use of the IWB is dynamic, interesting
and entertaining for primary learners, as it allows for contact with
a foreign language through playing games, watching movies and
doing various kinds of activities, including the creative ones (e.g.
questionnaires, gap-fillings, crosswords, fieldtrips, mindmaps,
etc.).

Owing to the IWB, primary pupils deal with authentic English

which is presented in different ways and by inhabitants of
different regions (the exposure to distinct accents and intonation
patterns, etc.), thereby showing the richness of the English
language.

In addition, in most cases they are provided with hints on how to

correctly do the task, and immediate feedback. The colourful
content appeals to young learners and extends their attention
span, making language learning attractive for them, just as more
effective and efficient.
Thank you for attention!