Learning is probably the most important process which affects the entire human life since it is through learning humans acquire basic knowledge, develop their skills and abilities, socialize and learn rules and norms of social life. In fact, it is due to learning the experience of past generations is conveyed to younger generation through parents and educators. At the same time, learning is not the absolutely unique, isolated process. In stark contrast, learning is closely intertwined with the social life of an individual as well as his or her environment. In other words, environment plays an important role in the process of learning and, what is more, environment can affect substantially learning and shape an individual’s identity.
On analyzing the role of environment in the process of learning, it is necessary to distinguish social and natural environment which both influence learning since they influence the perception of the surrounding world by an individual. In this respect, it is important to stress the fact that social and natural environment of an individual co-exist, but an individual cannot ignore either. Although, in the contemporary world, the impact of social environment grows stronger compared to the natural environment, which tends to be replaced by the environment constructed by humans (Hooks, 1994). The latter means that due to the high development of modern technologies and social progress, humans have proved to be able to adapt their environment to their own needs.
In such a situation, it is possible to speak about the decrease of the role of natural environment on learning. Nevertheless, its impact is still quite significant and an individual cannot ignore it. For instance, people growing in remote areas are quite different from those who grew up in large, metropolitan areas. In this respect, the natural environment is apparently very important since people living in remote areas are consistently closer to nature.

Therefore, they are more inclined to live in balance with the natural environment that they learn in the course of their development. In fact, such people can learn a lot from nature. In this respect, it is possible to refer to the example of the native population of the USA or aboriginal population of Australia (Stewart, 2003). These people are able to learn from nature since they live in the natural environment and they get used to respect it. In contrast, an average dweller of a large city pays a little attention to the natural environment and he or she can hardly learn a lot from it. As a result, many people living in large cities are unaware of the significance environment simply because they failed to learn lessons from nature, which people living in remote areas learn easily.
As a result, the difference in natural environment of individual leads to a consistently different learning models that results in the formation of absolutely different identities. On the one hand, people learn from their natural environment and they grow up being concerned with the natural environment and its protection. On the other hand, there are people whose learning has little impact of their natural environment and they pay little attention to nature (Anyon, 1992). No wonder, the modern society, being predominantly urban, is mainly concerned with its own needs because, from the early childhood, people learn mainly from their social environment and social standards, values and ideals become milestones of personal philosophy of an individual, which he or she learns in the course of his or her life.
In this respect, it should be said that the impact of social environment is extremely important, especially in the contemporary world. It proves beyond a doubt that cannot live and learn in isolation from the rest of the society. From the beginning of the life, an individual starts learning and he or she learns from his or her social environment. At first, it is the family that comprises the social environment of an individual and it is from parents an individual learns basic knowledge which learns the foundation to his or her further life. In other words, an individual learns from the family essential knowledge. Gradually, in the process of socialization of an individual, his or her social environment expands. Therefore, an individual learns from peers, friends, meaningful adults, etc. In this respect, it is worth mentioning the fact that the impact of different people on the learning of an individual differs. For instance, at the beginning of the life it is mainly parents and adults that shape views and beliefs as well as develop basic skills and abilities and provide an individual with basic knowledge (Yagelsh, 2005). In adolescence, peers become more significant for an individual and it is in the process of communication and interaction with peers an individual learns and develops his or her personality. Even in the adult life an individual is able to learn but the social environment still influences the learning process because, as a rule, an individual learning is influenced by his or her social environment through culture, media, traditions, etc.
Thus, environment plays a very important role in learning. In fact, it is important to distinguish social and natural environment of an individual which affect the learning process. Nevertheless both of them are equally important and can shape an individual’s identity.

References:
Anyon, J. (1992). “From the social class and hidden curriculum of work.” Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Reading and Writing. Ed. G. Colombo et al. Boston: St. Martin’s, p.521-540.
Hooks, B. (1994). “Confronting class in the classroom.” In Teaching to Transgress. Routledge.
Stewart, W.L. (2003). Conflicts in the Classroom. LA: Touchstone.
Yagelsh, R.P. (2005). Abby’s Lament: Does Literacy Matter? New York: Routledge.



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