Revista de Letras - Utad

110 László Magocsa
both the learners and the educator sometimes hear what they intend to hear is a
dominant phenomenon in the kindergarten and in the case of the very young
learners in general. According to my experience in the Asian setting the group
dynamics play a significant role in this respect. Particularly the individual
differences of the young learners can be considered as an important factor
contributing a good deal to the more effective acquisition of the language. In
their small but very dynamic classroom ‘community’ there are always some
learners whose attention is concentrated well enough on particular aspects of the
activity going on in the classroom and of course initiated by the educator. When
these learners see that their peers’ attention is concentrated on other, not
significant or relevant phenomenon, they themselves create the situation in
which it is becoming inconvenient for the others not to share the ‘common’
attention towards the activity initiated by the educator. The role of the educator
him/herself has a very specific character in the Chinese classroom ‘community’
(Vigotszky, L.S. 1966). Having a closer look at this specific role, probably the
European colleagues can get a different understanding of the group dynamics
and the processes going on in the classrooms in general. The hierarchy in an
Asian classroom is mainly built on the capacity of the children to concentrate on
the processes going on around them. Those of higher capability to concentrate
longer will generate the atmosphere in the classroom, according to which those
whose attention is not so concentrated will simply feel inconvenience and
consequently, after the peers’ warnings they will try to do their best in order to
pay attention to the activities which are paid by the more capable ones. In this
way they will again feel that they are also parts of the ‘community’ in which
they spend most of their time not only on weekdays but usually at the weekends
too. It is necessary to mention that in the Chinese children’s lives the
kindergarten and the school occupy a very dominant place, we can say, the most
dominant one. There is no alternative grouping or ‘community’ where they
could spend their out of school time because school or kindergarten and
education are in the focus of their time and lives as well. The educator has a
certain and very significant role in this very organized structure. He/she is
accepted as the main facilitator of their ‘community’, the person whose will and
decisions will affect the dynamics of the group and the feelings and emotions of
the individuals participating in the group. It is necessary to mention, that their
emotions are very sensitive and sophisticated. Particularly this characteristic
feature distinguishes them from the children of other countries. According to all
these, at the hierarchy of this structure stands the educator, and below him/her
are the mentioned ‘more capable’ to concentrate children. Of course this layer is
not a ‘given for ever’ one because even during one lesson there are learners who
can pay special attention to certain phenomenon, and others, who will probably