Variables abióticas: microclima y suelo

The RtL pedagogy has been drawn from three theoretical backgrounds: the code theory by Bernstein, the zone of proximal development by Vygotsky and systemic functional linguistics by Halliday. This section gives a brief discussion of the three theories and shows how the pedagogy has been structured to respond to the concerns raised by the three theorists.

3.4.1 Bernstein’s Code Theory

In his code theory, Bernstein described the regulative discourse, the day to day jargon that gives identity and relations in society and the instructional discourse, the special jargon used to instruct and to impart knowledge in formal education. The regulative discourse is the one used at home and in the community; every child is socialised into the regulative discourse, so when he/she goes to school for formal education he/she already knows the regulative

discourse. At school the teachers use the instructional discourse to teach skills and to impart knowledge. Bernstein argued that the code of schooling is better grasped by children from middle class homes than those from the working class. This is because the children from middle class homes are exposed to this code first at home. The children from the working class, on the other hand, only meet this code at school. Bernstein went on to state that the difference makes children from middle class homes perform better and enjoy school better than those from working class homes and thus, the poor remain poor and the middle class maintain their position (Rose, 2005; Jones, 2013).

Furthermore, Bernstein proposed that formal education categorises people into social classes; it is a primary classifier in society. He argued that education classifies people through three message systems called, curriculum, pedagogy and assessment. The curriculum covered in the schools is chosen by the dominant group, the pedagogic approaches used in the classrooms are meant to uplift the curriculum which represents the dominant group. Assessment groups learners into achievers and non-achievers. Those who achieve are naturally those who grasp the instructional discourse used at school, their achievement becomes a source of motivation and they learn more in order to achieve more. Those who do not grasp the instructional discourse easily tend to struggle and they do not achieve, their failure to achieve demotivates them and they remain non-achievers. So, according to Bernstein, the learners are placed into social classes’ right from school (Cause, 2010).

3.4.2 Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development

Vygotsky developed the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) which is the distance between what the child knows, what he can do on his own and what he does not know, what he can only do with the guidance of a more knowledgeable other. An important factor in Vygotsky’s theory is that there is a relationship between learning and development. He said children learn from birth and when they go to school they already know certain things. The difference is in the curriculum they learn at home and at school as well as the pedagogic approaches used in the two entities. When the children are assessed, the results of the assessment indicate the actual developmental level of the children; the assessment results show exactly what they know and what they can do. The learners’ ZPD are not the same, so the teacher needs to cushion the learners by giving them opportunities to learn from one another in

groups and gradually remove support until all learners master the concept (Vygotsky, 1978 in Gauvain and Cole, 1997).

While assessing the development level of the children is good, Vygotsky says it is not enough; it should not be concluded that the children’s development ends there. The children have a potential to learn more; it is therefore necessary to take into account what the children can do with help from the teacher and from their peers. This is what he considers to be the zone of the children’s proximal development. This zone is not concepts that are complex and too difficult for the children to achieve, but it is made up of concepts that increase the level of difficulty gradually. The ultimate goal is that the zone of proximal development become the actual level of development as the children continue to learn and to develop (Vygotsky, 1978 in Gauvain and Cole, 1997).

3.4.3 Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistics

Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) is a theory of language that deals with the functions of language. Focus is on meaning; the role of words in a text. After sighting a number of psychologists who listed a number of functions for language, Halliday and Hasan (1989) give the main purpose or the main function of language. They describe the four components in the semantics in every language; the experiential, the interpersonal, the logical and the textual components. The experiential component helps language users to understand the meaning of the sentence in line with real life experiences. The interpersonal component helps language users to understand the meaning of the sentence according to interactions between people, social interaction. The logical component helps language users to understand the meaning of the sentence in terms of logical relations. The textual component helps language users to understand the sentence in terms of the grammar, the rhythm and the theme. The four components are interwoven in the sentences and texts that are written. They cannot be separated, but they all contribute towards overall meaning of language.

Furthermore, Halliday says reading involves recognising patterns of language at three levels: the level of text, the level of the sentence and the level of the word. At the level of the text, the reader must be able to understand what the text is all about and to be able to follow the sequence of events. At the level of the sentence, the reader must be able to understand the

structure of the sentence, how words are arranged in phrases and the meaning of each phrase. At the level of the word, the reader must be able to know the meaning of each word and how to spell it. All these levels have to be learnt concurrently and this will help the reader to be a fluent reader and to read with understanding (Rose, 2005).

3.4.4 Summary of Theories that inform the RtL pedagogy

In response to the concerns raised by the three theories, the RtL pedagogy has been structured to democratize the classroom. The learner who comes to class with the regulative discourse only, is given the same opportunity as the learner who comes to school with the regulative discourse and the instructional discourse. They are all given the opportunity to perform at their highest. Secondly, the teacher teaches all the learners to read. During the reading exercises meanings of words and their grammatical functions are dealt with. In that way the learners grasp the full meaning of the text and the function of language at the level of the text, at the level of the sentence and at the level of the word. Thirdly, the repetitive style of the 6 steps offer the support needed by all the learners in the class. Through the scaffolding interaction cycle steps of the pedagogy the teacher meets every learner at his or her zone of proximal development and is able to transform the learners’ ZPD to the zone of their actual development.