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This unit on teaching and learning looked at general theories of language learning and development. The four main schools of thought that were covered were maturation, environmentalism, constructivism and cognitive developmentalism. Maturation theory focuses on natural biological processes, believing that there is a natural sequence of events that happen regardless of external stimuli. Environmental theory on the other hand puts significance on the environment, stating that we behave and develop according to the influence of our surroundings. Constructivism, considered to be a mix of both maturation and environmental theories, suggests that we interact with our environment and at the same time, construct our own framework too. Lastly, cognitive developmentalists proposes that our intellectual development follows particular stages. This unit also highlighted the difference between L1 and L2 language acquisition and stressed the importance of total immersion as an effective learning style and minimising the use of L1 in teaching and learning. There are a number of teaching methodologies and it is important to distinguish activities that are age-appropriate as those that work best for a younger age group (i.e. 5-9 year olds), vary to those that work best for an older age group (i.e. 9-13 year olds). Notably, the learning environment and the type of skills being taught need to be mindfully considered when programming.
