the brain vs. the setting

In the first chapter of Teacher’s Handbook: Contextualized Language Instruction many different theories, hypotheses, and approaches to language learning are discussed. I can find merit in many of these different methodologies. For me, it may be a little difficult to just choose one. The first step is to decide which camp to join; the brain camp or the social-cultural camp.

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I completely agree that humans are designed with language in mind. There is something innate about us that allows for us to communicate and at a higher level than other animals do. But I also understand that language acquisition does not take place in a vacuum, but rather in social and cultural space. This is where it gets tricky. Which direction do we choose to put the emphasis on? 

For now, what I think I may have settled on is the idea that Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory holds weight. One of the reasons I have arrived in this camp is due to the individual variability that occurs with language learning. The entire Spanish III class receives the exact same instruction (or input) from the teacher. They all read the same text and listen to the same recording of native speakers and yet their results or performance are wide-ranging. If the answer to the question of how do we learn language was simply “the brain” wouldn’t that lend itself to more uniform results.

Even with all this in mind I am not quite comfortable enough to go “all in” with Vygotsky. I feel as if there is more to know and understand about both camps before I can make a confident claim. But for now, this is my leaning.