Internalization & Zone of Proximal Development

According to Vygotsky (1981), "Higher mental process are created, then, when mediation becomes more internal and symbolic." He proposed internalization and zone of proximal development to explain this.

When the children were small, they used to learn lot from us. They learn the meaning of our actions by imitating us. Once they learn those actions they internalize it.

They were knowing very few words. But they used to talk lot some times alone;using their limited vocabulary. According to Vygotsky (1962), “When children have made the transition of isolating their own consciousness from the social world around them, their egocentric speech will be entirely subvocal and inner-directed.” This is a way of internalization.

However, whenever I heard my children talking alone, I used to start talking with them. I really enjoyed that. For myself, I thought my childeren need somebody to talk with. But now I know, I was doing something more. I was helping them to belive that their talks can be used effectively to communicate.

I can talk in six languages. How did I learned these languages? For me, my mother tounge was the most comfortable language to use. I can learned some other languages by metatalk. When ever sombody talks in other language, I always try to understand the words meaning in my mothertoungue. Until the new language entirely internalized, I relyed on my mother tounge or another language I am proficient.

The gap separating the actual development from potential development is the Zone of Proximal Development. This concept has really revolutionary implications in the assessment of children’s intellectual abilities.

This concept takes me back to the old method of stayng and learning from a noted scholar. The learner will get appropriate instruction in the Zone of Proximal Development and the boundaries of the zone shifts.


Reference: Driscoll, M (2005). Psychology of Learning For Instruction. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.