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TEXT F
First read the question.
32. What is the main topic of the following passage?
A. Differences between modes of learning.
B. Deficiencies of formal learning.
C. Advantages of informal learning.
D. Social context and learning systems.
Now go through TEXT F quickly to answer question 32.
The term "formal learning" is used in this paper to refer to all learning that takes place in the classroom, irrespective of whether such learning is informed by conservative or progressive ideologies. "Informal learning", on the other hand, is used to refer to learning which takes place outside the classroom.
These definitions provide the essential, though by no means sole, difference between formal and informal learning. Formal learning is decontextualised from daily life and, indeed, as Scribner and Cole (1973:553) have observed, may actually "promote ways of learning and thinking which often run counter to those nurtured in practical daily life". A characteristic feature of formal learning is the centrality of activities that are not closely paralleled by activities outside the classroom. The classroom can prepare for, draw on, and imitate the challenges of adult life outside the classroom, but it cannot, by its nature, consist of these challenges.
In doing this, language plays a critical role as the major channel for information exchange. "Success" in the classroom requires a student to master this abstract code. As Bernstein (1969:152) noted, the language of the classroom is more similar to the language used by middle class families than that used by workin--class families. Middle-class children thus find it easier to acquire the language of the classroom than their working-class peers
Informal learning, in contrast, occurs in the setting to which it relates, making learning immediately relevant. In this context, language does not occupy such an important role: the child's experience of learning is more holistic, involving sight, touch, taste, and smell-senses that are under utilised in the classroom. While formal learning is transmitted by teachers selected to perform this role, informal learning is acquired as a natural part of a child's development. Adults or older children who are proficient in the skill or activity provide sometimes unintentionally target models of behaviour in the course of everyday activity. Informal learning, therefore, can take place at any time and is not subject to the limitations imposed by institutional timetabling.
The motivation of the learner provides another critical difference between the two modes of learning. The formal learner is generally motivated by some kind of external goal such as parental approval, social status, and potential financial reward. The informal learner, however, tends to be motivated by successful completion of the task itself and the partial acquisition of adult status.
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