Abstract
The aim of the paper is to introduce the basic theoretical starting points of instruction based on constructivism, and to show that constructivism as one of the main streams of the current modern didactics is applicable not only in mathematics and science, where it is mainly applied, but also in language teaching with a special emphasis on first language teaching. First, constructivism is classified from the general point of view and the theory of knowledge construction is described.
Second, principles of constructivist teaching are specified, third, special attention is given to the questions of the pupil preconception (in first language teaching we call it pupil's natural language competence) and the importance of its utilization in education. The paper attempts to clarify the basis of didactic implications of constructivism in language teaching, and shows that constructivist didactics has its justification here.