LEARNING MEANS ACQUIRING KNOWLEDGE OF DEVELOPING THE ABILIT...

EXERCISE 7

Learning means acquiring knowledge of developing the ability to perform new behaviors. It is

common to think of learning as something that takes place in school, but much of human

learning occurs outside the classroom, and people continue to learn throughout their lives.

Even before they enter school, young children learn to walk, to talk, and to use their hands to

manipulate toys, food, and other objects. They use all of their senses to learn about the sights,

sounds, tastes, and smells in their environments. They learn how to interact with their parents,

siblings, friends, and other people important to their world. When they enter school, children

learn basic academic subjects such as reading, writing, and mathematics. They also continue to

learn a great deal outside the classroom. They learn which behaviors are likely to be rewarded

and which are likely to be punished. They learn social skills for interacting with other children.

After they finish school, people must learn to adapt to the many major changes that affect their

lives, such as getting married, raising children, and finding and keeping a job.

Because learning continues throughout our lives and affects almost everything we do, the study

of learning is important in many different fields. Teachers need to understand the best ways to

educate children. Psychologists, social workers, criminologists, and other human-service

workers need to understand how certain experiences change people’s behaviors. Employers,

politicians, and advertisers make use of the principles of learning to influence the behavior of

workers, voters, and consumers.

Learning is closely related to memory, which is the storage of information in the brain.

Psychologists who study memory are interested in how the brain stores knowledge, where this

storage takes place, and how the brain later retrieves knowledge when we need it. In contrast,

psychologists who study learning are more interested in behavior and how behavior

changes as a result of a person’s experiences.

There are many forms of learning, ranging from simple to complex. Simple forms of learning

involve a single stimulus. A stimulus is anything perceptible to the senses, such as a sight,

sound, smell, touch, or taste. In a form of learning known as classical conditioning, people learn

to associate two stimuli that occur in sequence, such as lightning followed by thunder. In

operant conditioning, people learn by forming an association between a behavior and its

consequences (reward or punishment). People and animals can also learn by observation –

that is, by watching others perform behaviors. More complex forms of learning in clued learning

languages, concepts, and motor skills.

Questions

Question 1: According to the passage, which of the following is learning in broad view

comprised of?

A. Knowledge acquisition and ability development

B. Acquisition of academic knowledge

C. Acquisition of social and behavioural skills

D. Knowledge acquisition outside the classroom

Question 2: According to the passage, what are children NOT usually taught outside the

classroom?

A. Interpersonal communication B. Life skills

C. Literacy and calculation D. Right from wrong

Question 3: Getting married, raising children, and finding and keeping a job are mentioned in

paragraph 2 as examples of ...

A. The changes to which people have to orient themselves

B. The situations in which people cannot teach themselves

C. The areas of learning which affect people’s lives

D. The ways people’s lives are influenced by education

Question 4: Which of the following can be inferred about the learning process from the

passage?

A. It becomes less challenging and complicated when people grow older.

B. It plays a crucial part in improving the learner’s motivation in school.

C. It takes place more frequently in real life than in academic institutions.

D. It is more interesting and effective in school than that in life.

Question 5: According to the passage, the study of learning is important in many fields due

to ...

A. The influence of various behaviours in the learning process

B. The great influence of the on-going learning process

C. The exploration of the best teaching methods

D. The need for certain experiences in various areas

Question 6: It can be inferred from the passage that social workers, employers, and politicians

concern themselves with the study of learning because they need to .