Learning the lingo

Lev Vygotsky believed that language was one of the most important tools to learning. We use it for thinking, for having internal dialogues, for interpreting the world, to help us make sense of things. The more words we have, the more we can express ourselves and the more concepts and ideas we can grasp, which then lead us to even more complex ideas. If we have a small stock of words with which to express ourselves, we’re likely to suffer with poor learning skills.

Other tools to aid our learning might also include symbols, art, diagrams, maps, etc.

Vygotsky made another point around language which might also be useful for us to consider:

Consciousness is being aware of what’s going on inside us and outside of us. It pops up in our own internal dialogue. It’s formed by words and language. The unconscious is the gaps in between these words. We get consciousness through having experiences, interactions and internally talking to ourselves. The more consciousness we have, the more we are aware. The more aware, the more this can feed back into our learning.