Ch. 4 learning by doing part I

The first part of chapter 4 focuses on various theories of “learning by doing” from around the world. It also places these theories in the context in which they were formed in an attempt to enhance our understanding of them. First and foremost, the chapter asserts for learning to take place, students must “learn by doing”. It is not enough to simply study a language and it’s structures, but students must also engage in dialogue with L1 speakers, and actually speak the language they are attempting to learn to truly become proficient. I thought it was incredibly interesting that this idea of “learning by doing” was present in many different philosophies from various parts of the world.

            Wong explains the views of Marx, Mao, Freire, Dewey, and Bakhtinand while they each speak of learning by doing, they each have their own arguments for why. Mao’s thesis, for example, was that practice and knowledge reinforce each other because knowledge begins with experience. This clearly applies to language learning, as we have often discussed in class that to achieve maximum proficiency in a language, one must have experience utilizing it in realistic situations, whether that be in a study abroad experience or simply speaking with other speakers of the target language. Mao also believed in the social characteristics of school and moral education, and was critical of how knowledge was used, whether it was to empower the learners or to further oppress the lower classes.

            John Dewey also believed in the importance of learning by doing, however he was much more attached to Western science and philosophy. He believed in modeling education after the West, whereas Mao focused on social and political transformation through revolutionary struggle. I find it fascinating that both arrived at the idea of “learning by doing” and seemed to agree that it is central to education, though both arrived from very different starting points.

            I also thought the section on “claiming the right to speak” was important. In this section, Wong quotes a Bonny Norton article with which we are already familiar, and she brings up excellent points. It is extremely important when learning a language that students “learn by doing”. They must interact with the target language community so as to practice utilizing the target language and to increase their understanding of not only pragmatics, but the community in general. However, many factors can make this task much more difficult for the learner. If the learner is from a group that is considered more “vulnerable” or “powerless”, it can be more difficult for the learner to “claim the right to speak”. Wong used the example of Finnish students in Sweden and Australia. In Sweden, where they are discriminated against, the Finnish students tend to have less academic achievement than Finnish students in Australia who are seem as “good immigrants”. This is all despite the fact that Finnish is more similar to Swedish than it is to English. I find that fascinating, but also terrifying. It is awful to think that a student’s performance could be affected so severely by the dominant culture’s perception and treatment of the student’s cultural group. As educators we must be aware of how these kinds of factors can influence our students’ abilities not only in the classroom, but also their ability to claim their right to speak outside as well.