Social Interactionism and Foreign Language Learning

Wang Liyuan

Abstract： Social interactionism is a theory of sociology， but it plays an important role in understanding the process of foreign language learning. This essay firstly introduces two theoretical sources of social interaction theory， namely Vygotsky's theory of social interaction， and Feuerstein's theory of mediation， then analyze the five elements： parents， teachers， context， tasks and learners and the relationship between them. Whats more， in order to achieve a good teaching and learning effect， how to effectively promote the interaction between all the elements.

Key words： Social interactionism; mediation; foreign language learning; tasks

1. Introduction

"Social interaction"， that is， social interaction， refers to the dynamic process in which people， people and groups， groups and groups interact with each other in psychology and behavior under a certain social relationship background. To constitute social interaction， there should be three elements：

（1）There should be more than two parties. Since it is an interaction， the subject must not be less than two， and there is no specific limit on the number of people on each side， which can be either individuals or groups. Therefore， interaction can occur between individuals， individuals and groups， or groups and groups.

（2）There should be some form of contact between subjects. This form includes both language and non-language， such as bodily senses or other media. In other words， the subject of one party should send a certain "symbol" to the other party， that is， convey it to the other party by means of behavior or meaning expression.

（3） All parties can realize the meaning of "symbol". For the meaning expression or behavior made by one subject， other subjects can not only clearly recognize it， but also respond positively to it.[1]

2. Theoretical sources

Social interaction theory has two important theoretical sources， one is Vygotsky's theory of social interaction， the other is Feuerstein's theory of mediation.

2.1 Vygotsky's theory of social interaction

Vygotsky believes that the development of human psychological function is preconditioned by specific social essence and social process. In every sociocultural situation， children's participation in formal and informal teaching communication produces psychological functions appropriate to those situations. Through the two-way process of social interaction， children gradually establish systematic cognitive representation as the framework of explanation， and believe in the universal value system and code of conduct advocated in their own social and cultural context. In Vygotsky's theory， social interaction becomes the source of intelligence generation and development. Specific structures and processes expressed by individuals can be traced back to interactions with others.

2.2 Feuerstein's theory of mediation

Feuerstein suggests that right from birth a child's learning is shaped by the intervention of significant adults. He refers to these important figures in the child's learning as mediators or mediating adults and the experiences they provide as mediated learning experiences.[2] These adults， at first parents， but later teachers， select and organize stimuli that they consider most appropriate for the child， shape them and present them in the ways considered most suitable to promote learning. They also intervene in shaping the child's early attempts at responding to stimuli， directing and encouraging more appropriate responses whilst explaining why one response is more useful or appropriate than another.[3]

3.Implication for foreign language learning

3.1 Parents

Parents play an irreplaceable role in children's foreign language learning. It is often said that parents are the first teachers of children， that is to say， parents are important persons in children's learning process. So how do parents influence their children's foreign language learning？ First of all， parents are the important people that  children have the highest daily contact frequency before entering preschool. Children have a strong ability to imitate， so children will continue to imitate the parents of language behavior， expression and so on in daily life. In the daily interaction with parents， children can develop a basic understanding of language， behavior and other aspects gradually， which is an important basis for them to receive preschool education.

Therefore， parents should pay more attention to the interaction with children， use proper language and behavior in the process of interaction， so as to prevent the negative impact on the basic understanding of children.

3.2 Teachers

Based on the functions the teacher performs in different activities， Harmer defines the teacher's roles as controller， assessor， organizer， prompter， participant and resource-provider.[4] Teachers are the dominant factors in learners learning process. The process of education is mainly an interactive process between educators and learners. It is undeniable that teachers must attach importance to the interaction with students. This kind of interaction helps students to achieve an better understanding of language knowledge and exercise their listening， speaking， reading and writing skills.

In a word， teachers should try their best to use target language in language courses，and create a real situation for language learning.

3.3 Context

Through Feuerstein's mediation theory， we can know that learning context is very important in the process of foreign language learning. Therefore， situational teaching has become the focus of current research. Teachers should create a relax and cooperative learning environment， which must adapt to students' age， personality， hobbies and close to their lives. For example， when learning the sentences used in shopping， teachers should not just design a stereotypical scenario， but should adapt to the development of the times， and increase the daily vocabulary， so as to achieve better interactive effect.

3.4 Tasks

Vygotsky's most widely known concept is probably the zone of proximal development， which is the term used to refer to the layer of skill or knowledge which is just beyond that with which the learner is currently capable of coping. Working together with another person， either an adult or a more competent peer at a level that is just above a learner's present capabilities is the best way for the learner to move into the next layer.

Applying this theory， teachers should pay attention to the interaction between learners and tasks in the process of task design. That is to say， through the interaction with the task， students can achieve a sense of achievement through their own efforts to complete the task. This sense of accomplishment encourages learners to be enthusiastic in the next time.

3.5 Learners

The interaction between learners is equally important. Pair work， group work， whole class work are conducive to communication and discussion among students. These can stimulate each others? thinking through discussion， and promote the development of thinking ability. Therefore， teachers should pay attention to the design of cooperative activities in classroom teaching， enhance the interaction between learners so that produce more desirable effect.

4.Summary

Through the analysis and understanding of the social interaction theory and the understanding of the interaction among various elements in the process of foreign language learning， We can know that in the process of foreign language learning involves lots of elements， and it is a complex process that should be considered carefully. We should attach more attention to the interaction between children and parents， teachers and students， learners and context， learners and tasks， and interaction between different learners.

References：

[1] http：//zh.wikipedia.org.

[2] Marion Williams and Robert L. Burden. 2000. Psychology for Language Teachers：aSocial Constructivist Approach. P67.

[3] Feuerstein， R.， Y. Rand， M. Hoffman and R. Miller. 1980. Instrumental Environment. Glenview， Ilinois： Scott Foreman.

[4]  Harmer， J. 1983. The Practice of English Language Teaching. London; Longman.