DiscussiononBusinessEnglishLearningBasedonTheoryofConstructivism

楊天+賈悅

【Abstract】based on the theory of constructivism， this paper discusses the application of constructivism learning view in business English teaching， aiming at improving the effectiveness of business English teaching.

【Key words】constructivism； Business English； English learning

Business English is an important branch of ESP（English for Special Purposes）. Strevens （1988） has proposed four distinguishing characteristics of ESP： （I） meet specific learners demand；（II） relating to a particular major or profession；（III） vocabulary， syntax and discourse are put in the language application of specific professional activities；（IV） contrast with ordinary English. This means that the learning of Business English should also be centered around these four characteristics to train and cultivate students language skills and communicative competence in the context of business. However， the traditional business English teaching and learning mode， whose focus is still the language， hasnt cultivated well and fully students to use the language communicative competence because professional， practical and basic characteristics as knowledge of the course has not been reflected. Students are also in the dull classroom atmosphere lack of initiative and self-consciousness of learning English. Theory of constructivism is “a revolution” in traditional teaching which provides a new way for the reform of Business English teaching and learning and great significance for Business English learning.

The theory of constructivism

Constructivism is essentially a search for answers to “how to acquire knowledge” from Piagets Epistemology. Piaget， from the angle of cognitive occurrence and development of childrens psychological system with in-depth study of cognitive subject， put forward on the basis of the existing knowledge and experience to build new knowledge voluntarily， rather than passively accepting from external stimulation. On the basis of Piaget theory， many experts have developed the theory of constructivism from various angles. Vygotsky put forward the theory of social constructivism. He emphasized the importance of learning social and cultural essence and collaborative learning. American psychologist Bruners theory is a blend of Piagets constructivism and Vygotskys theory of social constructivism， which make further development and improvement to put forward the teaching theory of “l(fā)earners as the center”. Later， he advocated “discovery learning”. Knowledge is not instilled in students by teachers， but students in the guidance of teachers to discover and to construct. Although these theories are different， they have a common principle for learning： emphasis on learning initiative， social and situational aspects.endprint

The basic idea of constructivist learning theory is that learning is the process that learners actively construct internal mental structure. This is a dynamic and developmental process， and learners are always consciously and actively interacting with the environment. Constructivism theory advocates the learning method under the guidance of teachers and students as the center. Students are active constructors of knowledge. Knowledge is not taught by teachers， but by the help of other people in a certain situation， by using the necessary learning resources and by means of meaningful construction. Therefore advocated by constructivism learning theory， teaching mode should be “take the student as the center， and in the whole teaching process teachers play a role of organizer， instructor， helper and promoter. The use of the learning environment elements such as situation， cooperation and conversation give full play to the students initiative， positivity and pioneering spirit， to make students learning effectively in the purpose of construction current knowledge”. In summary， the ideal learning environment consists of four elements： situation， collaboration， conversation and meaning.

“Situation” is a more realistic scene and corresponding communication activity for the language communication activities that teachers create for learners. The aim is to make the students complete the meaning construction in such environment and language activities. “Collaboration” refers to the communication and consultation activities during the learning process. These include the sharing of learning materials， the evaluation of learning results and the establishment of the final meaning， which should be carried through the whole learning activity process. “Conversation” is the most basic and indispensable link in the process of collaboration， which refers to the communication and discussion between teachers and students to solve relevant problems and complete the required learning tasks. “Meaning of construction” is the ultimate purpose of the whole learning process， which refers to the inner link between things， in order to help students to construct meaning and achieve a deep understanding of content.

The constructivist learning concept clearly illustrates the cognitive law of human learning process， and four factors are of great guiding significance for business English teaching.

The application of constructivism in business English learning.endprint

Gagnon & Collay have carried out a systematic research on the theory of constructivism and summed up the six basic elements of constructivist learning design， namely， establishment situation， asking questions， bridges-building and reflection process， organization coordination and displaying results. These six elements can best embody the characteristics and requirements of business English teaching， and it has universal guiding significance for business English teaching.

（1） Create a situation. The research shows that there are three basic characteristics of situational teaching： the first is the learners center， that is， each learner is the subject of understanding knowledge and constructing meaning. The second is the situation center， that is， the living situation of the real world is the “platform” for the learners to solve the problem and construct the meaning， which is integrated with the spiritual world of the learner. The third is the problem center， namely， the real problem is the center and focus of the learners thoughts， and the process of solving the problem is the process of meaning construction. According to these characteristics， an English teacher in the classroom teaching should carefully design simulation business situations， such as classroom according to need can be designed for trading companies by simulating business networking， trade talks， business meetings and other situations. Also using of multimedia network pictures， videos etc stimulates the students to the greatest effectiveness of imagination， arouses the enthusiasm of them to participate in interactive learning.

（2） Ask questions. “Learning through problem solving” is a way of teaching advocated by constructivism. Teachers present to students teaching content in the form of questions， establish the learning tasks， and wake up the relevant schemata and experience in their long-term memory. In business English teaching process， according to the topic content and actual business activities teachers design exploratory and open questions to ask students to solve problems by using professional knowledge they have learned. In the process of problem solving， students should use the original knowledge to the integrated use of their own， consult the relevant data， analyze current problems and make reasonable conclusion or inference to form their own assumptions and solution. And then they will construct the corresponding business English knowledge. Teachers can also set the case as the study background. In the classroom teachers require the students to choose a real business case to make an analysis in English；students improve their ability to use English through the analysis of real cases and strengthened their ability of analysis.endprint

（3） Build Bridges. That is to connect the students existing knowledge with the new knowledge they have learned. Traditional classroom teaching mode often doesnt discover students existing knowledge. Constructivism teaching argues that priority should be to determine how much of new knowledge understood by students to carry out targeted teaching better. Teachers should act as a support in the process of building the students knowledge （scaffolding）. Scaffolding is the concept of “theory of the zone of proximal development” by Vygotsky. The original intention is the scaffold in the construction industry， which is used by vivid metaphor as a kind of teaching mode. It refers to the teachers who guide teaching and make students master， construct and internalize knowledge skills so as to have higher levels of cognitive activity. Therefore， teachers should provide a link between new and old knowledge and ensure that students are actively involved and have adequate training opportunities.

（4） Organization and collaboration. Constructivism emphasizes on collaborative learning， although understanding is constructed by the individual. But understanding and studying should be generated between the teachers and students， between students， between students and the teaching content and teaching media interaction. Namely the interactive cooperation activate the old scheme and construction more accurate and comprehensive language sense to improve and deepen the meaning of the subject construction. Business English focuses on interpersonal communication and communication， so it is important to cultivate students group consciousness and communication methods in business English teaching. In classroom teaching， the relationship between teachers and students is the equal cooperative relationship of the conversation. Teachers have to abandon the traditional English teaching mode with the higher identity and position. Actually teachers become participants in the simulated business situation in the activities and eliminate the students anxious mood. Teachers become equal status with students in the activities of collaborators such as a student helper and promoter for actively constructing. For example， in the study of business negotiation skills， the teacher divides the students into several groups to complete a business negotiation together. The group will consult internally and negotiate with each other. Through such collaboration， the thinking of group members can be shared with the whole group. Thus the meaning construction can be completed together.endprint

（5） Display results. It is also important for students to learn the feedback and knowledge of business English. By showing， students combine their knowledge of business and knowledge of English organically. Teachers can also learn about the students knowledge of the situation， so as to make specific plans for the next teaching. There are many ways to show results， either in writing or in words.

（6） Reflection process. The process of reflection is to improve the learning effect through reflection on the learning process， which is an indispensable part of the learning process. The students systematically review and summarize the learning contents under the guidance of teachers， and finally complete the construction of the meaning of the knowledge of business and language.

Anyway， constructivism learning theory is the breakthrough and innovation of traditional education theory. Using it to guide and build business English classroom teaching will help business English to achieve the goals of talents cultivation.

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