The Application Of Constructivism In Oral English Class

Constructivism is a learning theory describing the process of knowledge construction. The application of what are often referred to as "constructivist practices" shed new light on approaches in English teaching. The constructive learning theory, which derives from cognitive theory, puts emphasis on the learner or the student rather than the teacher or the instructor. It believes that it is the learner who interacts with objects and events and thereby gains an understanding of the features held by such objects or events. The learner, therefore, constructs his/her own conceptualizations and solutions to problems. The constructive learning theory is just in line with the newly established College English Curriculum Requirements (For Trial Implementation), which points out that colleges and universities should remold the existing unitary teacher-centered pattern of language teaching by introducing new teaching models with the help of multimedia and network technology. This research has been conducted in two classes (around 35 students each) three academic terms. And the teaching methods have been revised and improved according to students' responses. This paper presents some examples to explain how to arrange the college spoken English lessons based on constructivism. Emphasis has not only been put on "Learner-activated" teaching method, but also on the creation of various kinds of situations for students to learn to use English on different occasions appropriately. And there are also many activities, which involve every student in class. Modern technology has been applied both in and outside of class. From students' performances in class and their final test's results, the teaching methods based on constructivism prove to be very effective.