To solve the psychological and pedagogical problems of interaction of participants in the educational process, the technology of contextual learning is recognized as the main one. Many researchers consider this technology of teaching to be a priority, especially in the context of the transition to the competence-based paradigm of education (Keogh, 2019). Context is a system of internal and external factors of human activity in a particular situation (Ament et al., 2020). The internal context is a set of individual characteristics, relationships, knowledge, and experience of the student, and the external context is the socio-cultural, subject, spatial-temporal, and other characteristics of the situation of action and deed. Nonetheless, the educational context may differ since a child is susceptible to various forms of learning since their birth (Schweder et al., 2019). Therefore, the multiplicity of the settings provides a ground for knowledge acquisition, and each one helps develop communicative skills.
My first learning experience took place within the context of my family. The primary functions of a family are to ensure the sound physical and mental development of a child and provide an educational basis (Hull & Schultz, 2001; Whitters, 2021). During my first years of life, my parents taught me how to speak and produce simple phrases so that I was able to communicate my needs. The main details of this vital context are social interaction, cooperation, sharing, and recognizing one another’s successes (Riojas-Cortez & Berger, 2019). My parents encouraged me to speak more, introducing new words and collocations. It is indispensable to provide a child with feedback and answer their questions since it is the driver of their development.
At such a young age, I learned how to express my basic needs. According to Maslow’s pyramid, if a person can meet them, they can express the desire to have more. If a kid is not taught how to ask parents to satisfy their needs, they cannot be safe (Roostin, 2018),. By learning this skill, one can become a good communicator and freely speak about his or her wants and needs (Halbach, 2012). In the family context, parents and relatives educate a child on how to ask, share thoughts and feelings, and even give directions (Noels et al., 2020). Thus, in order to become an efficient communicator, it is crucial to acquire these primary conversational techniques to receive profit.
The next most common learning context is kindergarten, where I obtained my pivotal experience of communicating with peers and adults. The educators taught me and my groupmates different concepts related to different topics. I recollect learning figures and alphabet letters as a part of a preschool program. The knowledge acquired during kindergarten was useful as I could later use it at primary school. Therefore, one of the main details in this context is preparation for further educational steps.
What is more, I remember the dialogical activities between my peers and the educator. We would often practice discussing some easy topics as “my dream profession,” “my family,” and others. These speaking exercises helped me find simple ways to communicate with children of my age, ask them questions, and answer my educator’s ones (Bertau & Tures, 2017). This impacted my cognitive skills and allowed me to make friends with different individuals. The other significant detail of this context is play, which enables young learners to establish communication with others and develop creativity (Fleer, 2018). One of the most exciting games I played was drawing a card with a letter and naming ten objects starting with this letter. This experience activated the right hemisphere responsible for generating creative ideas. Notably, this learning context is one of the most meaningful because it teaches how to interact and establish long-term contact.
The importance of children’s studies is understood by many parents, so their involvement in the educational affairs and problems of the child becomes quite natural and real. I reminisce my parents’ interest in my activities – they would ask me about daily affairs in kindergarten. Their interest influenced the development of engaging in dialogues. It has also boosted my curiosity towards different phenomena so that I could many “why” questions a day. Hence, family’s participation in the learning process of a child creates additional educational environment. It helps one improve a variety of cognitive and creative skills.
Nevertheless, the school remains the most outstanding learning context among others as it promotes the responsibility of learning on one’s own. The major components of a school setting are the environment, activity, and learners. These elements are interdependent and allow for better integration into the educational process. For example, the environment incorporates the physical surroundings, psychological comfort, and participants; these details impact learners and their perception of activity (Alghasab et al., 2019). In turn, the learners themselves contribute to the development of the environment – their behavior affects the inner climate.
Since school is the most powerful learning context, it helps one grow as an individual. I believe my school experience has highly affected my perception of different phenomena, including friendship, relationships, professions, and others. I vividly remember the social sciences class where the educator introduced the topic of stereotypes and prejudice. Back in the class, I realized how biased I was towards some people from my social circle because the metal phenomenon took over my mind. I learned that stereotypes are made to reduce the real volume of knowledge about a specific group or individual. They limit our perception of everything that surrounds us and makes people vulnerable.
Nevertheless, the school learning context presumes that the problem discussed should be solved by any means to come to a reflexive conclusion. I remember that my classmates and I dwelled on particular prejudices and examined the ways of their elimination. Even though it was a difficult task, it helped improve communication and problem-solving skills. In groups, we role-played the situation of resolving the stereotypical case. Such practice led to one simple conclusion: communication clarification is essential for success (Pyle et al., 2018). Being able to ask for details and make sure one understands or is understood provides effectiveness in interaction.
As a result, being a good communicator in the context of school implies asking direct questions to clarify the right perception of the obtained information. Typically, students or teachers ignore the issue, which leads to misunderstandings (Casanave, 2011). Although such situations are left unsolved, they demand much attention as their importance is underrated. For example, if a pupil fails the exam without revising the mistaken parts, they are likely to fail once again because of the negligence.
The school learning context is beneficial in a sense that students come from different cultural backgrounds, which allows for intercultural exchange. It means that in the process of education, one learns the cultural artifacts that develop their worldview. In this context, the international communication enables young learners eliminate any race or nationality related biases. I recollect having a classmate with Indian background. In this sense, school provides an opportunity to become an efficient communicator with different individuals.
By establishing contacts with people from different cultures, one learns to respect their heritage. Deference is the crucial part of any relationship, and this concept should be taught in every learning context. The school teaches acceptance regardless of one’s background and experience (Farini, 2011). What is more, it provokes curiosity, meaning that one desires to explore more about their foreign classmates. These factors affect one’s future perception of one’s surroundings and help develop a more broadened worldview.
The pandemic has increasingly influenced the educational system by introducing new learning contexts. The internet platforms have become new learning contexts in which millions of students have acquired knowledge for almost two years. The Coronavirus’ impact was so strong that multiple educational organizations rebased their programs to online mode without returning to offline lectures. Even though all college tests were held online before, it was high time to adjust to online lessons, which have affected the perception of new information.
Initially, it was difficult for me to concentrate since the online learning context presumes staying at one’s lodgings and staring at the computer screen. My attention was constantly dissipated due to the distractions, including my family, outdoor noises, and the home environment in general. Therefore, it was complicated to acquire new knowledge even though the level of classes’ intensity remained the same.
For several reasons, in an online learning context, it is a struggle to become a productive communicator. First, the audience is muted – it is impossible to figure out if they are listening to you or not (Alvarez, 2020). Second, the stability of internet connections is another predicament on the path of becoming a successful speaker (Blayone et al., 2017). Third, online does not allow us to address and discuss numerous aspects due to confidentiality issues (Educational innovations in pandemic, 2021). Finally, this form of education reduces creativity in students since they can easily google the ideas instead of contemplating them in class.
Nonetheless, it is possible to communicate efficiently in the given context by encouraging students to participate in online speaking activities. For instance, a lecturer may give a presentation, present topic-related questions, and divide participants into groups where they discuss their thoughts and then publicly share them. Additionally, different programs can be used for making presentations, video slides, and infographics (Ang et al., 2018). They will enable students to express creative abilities and get involved in the idea-communicating process.
Such a shift has also affected students’ understanding of career prospects. Many people from my social circle decided to look up for a job online and started contemplating the idea of obtaining data and IT-related degrees because online world offers gigantic prospects. (Fullan, 2020).
In conclusion, the learning context significantly defines individuals’ ability to perceive new information and use it efficiently in future. Additionally, some contexts including family, school, kindergarten, and other provide an opportunity to become a successful communicator. For example, the family teaches children how to express basic needs, whereas educational institutions boost one’s personal and social growth expanding the worldview and instruction on how to give an opinion. The pandemic has forced many schools and colleges to switch to online mode, providing an additional opportunity to become a communicator to strive for. In general, the educational context is a foundation for one’s development as it incorporates personality growth and social interaction.
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