Page 29 - Teaching English at Primary Level: From Theory into the Classroom

The Constructivist Perspective

Table 1.4 Scaffolding Techniques for Young Learners
Verbal Instructional Procedural
Paraphrasing Visuals Working in pairs
Asking questions Graphic organisers Working in groups
Using synonyms and Dictionaries Personalising information
antonyms Pictographs Role play
Teaching familiar chunks Word wall Use of routines
Eliciting answers Non-verbal communication Simulations
Songs and jazz chants (gestures, facial expressions, Project work
voice) Task based activities
Notes Adapted fromEchevarriaetal. (2004).

iar with the excitement of the new’ and are intended for scaffolding pur-
poses (2001 p. 10). Bruner’s most famous example of ‘formats and routines’
was based on parents routinely reading to their children bedtime stories. The
types of books change as the child gets older but the basic format remains
always the same. What changes in time is also the interaction between the
child and the parent as well as the scaffolding strategies of the parent whose
verbal and non-verbal input is greater when the child is very young, but is
gradually reduced as the child develops linguistically and becomes more in-
dependent. For example, at a later stage the child may ask for explanations of
words or give comments about the stories read. In an FL classroom context,
similarformatsandroutinesmayprovidevaluableopportunitiesfordevelop-
ing language competence. In addition, the routine practices and procedures
need not be limited to the standard classroom routines but can be extended
to include other activities and tasks which can be adjusted to fit a routine
format.

Reflection Point
1. Which insights into language acquisition did each of the perspectives pre-
sented above (behaviourist, innatist, cognitivist, and constructivist) give?
2. Discuss the efficiency of using different scaffolding strategies with YLLs.
3. WatchavideoinwhichanEnglishteacherpresentsagrammarlessonusing
‘the rainforest’ as the guiding theme and identify the scaffolding strategies
used by the teacher.

However, Read (2006) argues that it is helpful to identify what counts as
scaffolding since not all kind of help provided by the teacher can be defined
as such. For example, it is important to establish what skills, concepts or level
of understanding are meant to be developed. This does not mean that scaf-

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