Review Article
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
James P. Lantolf
Abstract
I am pleased to have been afforded the opportunity to offer my reflections on the articles included in the special issue of JALDA on what I will call “pre-paradigm” research. I borrow the concept from Kuhn (2012), which I believe appropriately describes the current state of affairs in SLA. ...
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I am pleased to have been afforded the opportunity to offer my reflections on the articles included in the special issue of JALDA on what I will call “pre-paradigm” research. I borrow the concept from Kuhn (2012), which I believe appropriately describes the current state of affairs in SLA. Each article compares different aspects of SCT with other frameworks and methodologies in the field. An appealing aspect of the overall project is that contributions have adopted different perspectival lenses. In what follows, I will address each article individually. In some cases, I will expand upon what the authors argue and in others I will critique their arguments to encourage the authors to think more deeply about their proposal(s) and perhaps to bring to bear additional theoretical insights. For convenience, I have organized the seven articles into what I see as a coherent grouping. The criterion used was whether an article reflected more of a theoretical, empirical, or practical orientation.
Research Article
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Michael Amory; Mariana Lima Becker
Abstract
Research on motivation in second language (L2) learning has progressed tremendously over the last several decades. Within the recent trend to investigate the socially situated context of motivation and the role of social processes in shaping individual L2 motivation, Sociocultural Theory (SCT) and Complexity ...
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Research on motivation in second language (L2) learning has progressed tremendously over the last several decades. Within the recent trend to investigate the socially situated context of motivation and the role of social processes in shaping individual L2 motivation, Sociocultural Theory (SCT) and Complexity / Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST) stand out in their contributions. Although researchers have attempted to combine SCT and CDST, there is an ongoing debate in the field of Applied Linguistics regarding the general compatibility of these two traditions. This article consists of a critical literature and theoretical review concerning how SCT, focusing on Activity Theory (AT), and CDST, focusing on the L2 Motivational Self System, address L2 motivation. We argue that SCT and CDST appear to be compatible superficially, since both portray L2 motivation as dynamic, complex, and arising through interactions between individuals and their environments. However, through a more in-depth examination, fundamental differences emerge not only in the context of L2 motivation, but also in the guiding theoretical principles of each research tradition. Ultimately, and arguing from an SCT perspective, we offer a critique of CDST and posit that these theories are not commensurable in their view of L2 motivation or in general.
Research Article
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Elizabeth Maria Kissling
Abstract
Concept-Based Language Instruction (C-BLI) is rooted in Vygotskian sociocultural theories (SCT) of learning and modeled after Systemic Theoretical Instruction. Investigations of C-BLI have reported positive instructional outcomes such as increased conceptual awareness and control for a variety of targeted ...
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Concept-Based Language Instruction (C-BLI) is rooted in Vygotskian sociocultural theories (SCT) of learning and modeled after Systemic Theoretical Instruction. Investigations of C-BLI have reported positive instructional outcomes such as increased conceptual awareness and control for a variety of targeted concepts in a variety of languages, including aspect in Spanish. This study followed suit, by exposing novice Spanish learners (n = 26) to the concept of viewpoint aspect as a matter of boundedness. It also directly tested the learners’ ability to form nonprototypical associations between preterite-imperfect morphology and lexical aspectual categories, which is the kind of learner development most of interest to scholars working in semantic theoretical perspectives outside of SCT such as the Aspect Hypothesis (AH). Comparisons with corpus data (n = 75) suggested that the C-BLI learners were able to use the Spanish preterite and imperfect non-prototypically, more like advanced learners than novices. The results suggest that C-BLI can facilitate aspectual development applied to disassociating viewpoint aspect from lexical aspect. It is argued that C-BLI and other approaches rooted in SCT principles could be enriched by engaging with new ways of examining learner development, and thereby perhaps garner the interest of scholars working outside of SCT. It is further argued that research on the AH could be enriched by considering data that elucidates effects of specific instructional approaches.
Research Article
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Benjamin White; Kyoko Masuda
Abstract
In recent years, there has been a growing interest in bringing together Vygotskian sociocultural theory and cognitive linguistics for research on second language (L2) instruction. This paper explores the compatibility of the two theoretical orientations and finds that certain key assumptions within cognitive ...
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In recent years, there has been a growing interest in bringing together Vygotskian sociocultural theory and cognitive linguistics for research on second language (L2) instruction. This paper explores the compatibility of the two theoretical orientations and finds that certain key assumptions within cognitive linguistics align well with sociocultural theory. Importantly, both theories hold similar positions on the relationship between language and cognition and on the influence of culture and the external physical world on language. Possible tension between the theories lies namely in their application to L2 pedagogy and research methodology for the classroom. In order to examine how sociocultural theory and cognitive linguistics are being integrated in L2 pedagogy, we review six recent empirical studies that are informed by both theories and that target the instruction of lexicogrammar in four different languages. We identify common themes and note challenges for future research. Finally, we make recommendations for the continued integration of sociocultural theory and cognitive linguistics for L2 instruction.
Research Article
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Sabine Siekmann; Joan Parker Webster
Abstract
This article examines the onto-epistemological-methodological grounding of a conceptualization of praxis in the context of Indigenous language teaching for maintenance and revitalization. We conduct a diffractive reading (Barad, 2007) of cultural historical activity theory (Vygotsky, 1978; Engeström, ...
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This article examines the onto-epistemological-methodological grounding of a conceptualization of praxis in the context of Indigenous language teaching for maintenance and revitalization. We conduct a diffractive reading (Barad, 2007) of cultural historical activity theory (Vygotsky, 1978; Engeström, 2001) and PTAR (Kemmis & McTaggert 2005; Siekmann et al., 2019) and pedagogy of multiliteracies (Cazden et al., 1996; Cope & Kalantzis, 2009) to gain new insights into the commensurability of their ontological assumptions and epistemological underpinnings. First we contextualize of our work with-in Indigenous educational communities. Next, we explain Barad’s diffractive methodology and discuss our three insights: 1) the entanglement of being-knowing-doing grounds theory-practice or praxis; 2) cyclic and iterative design cycles in PTAR foster teacher agency; 3) recognizing tensions and contradictions are necessary to facilitate the transformative action of praxis. Our conclusion explains the entanglement of theory-practice in terms of praxis that is based in intra-action. In our conclusion, we propose using a diffractive methodology to read theories through rather than against one another makes visible the intra-theorical conceptualizations as an alternative to discussing these as inter-actions among theoretical concepts.
Research Article
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Nuria Ballesteros Soria; Rémi Adam van Compernolle
Abstract
Pre-task planning has been extensively studied in task-based language teaching research, but a limited number of studies to date has explored the phenomenon through a sociocultural theory lens. In this article, we report on pre-task planning from a Vygotskian group-as-collective perspective by examining ...
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Pre-task planning has been extensively studied in task-based language teaching research, but a limited number of studies to date has explored the phenomenon through a sociocultural theory lens. In this article, we report on pre-task planning from a Vygotskian group-as-collective perspective by examining its mediational role during dynamic strategic interaction scenario tasks (DSISs) implemented in a first semester elementary-level US university Spanish classroom. DSISs involve pre-task planning, small group performances in front of the class, and post-task debriefings in which peer and instructor comments are immediately provided. Drawing on Vygotsky’s (1978) genetic method of analysis, we first show how turn-allocation emerged as an object of learning during the first debriefing, which was the result of pre-task planning and students’ observations following the first group performance. Second, we provide an account of the microgenesis of the debriefing observations through an analysis of planning tasks and the instructor’s framing and modeling of appropriate feedback, which we contend mediated students’ orientation to turn-allocation as a relevant learnable. In concluding, we discuss our findings, their research and pedagogical implications, and future directions for instructed research on L2 speaking development.
Research Article
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Enrico Grazzi
Abstract
The main focus of this article is on the controversial issue of integrating English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) into English Language Teaching (ELT). Particularly, the plurilithic nature of English as an international language in the age of Globalization challenges the long sedimented native-speakerism ...
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The main focus of this article is on the controversial issue of integrating English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) into English Language Teaching (ELT). Particularly, the plurilithic nature of English as an international language in the age of Globalization challenges the long sedimented native-speakerism in the English classroom. Nevertheless, in spite of the extensive academic literature in the area of ELF research, it seems that a balanced pedagogical approach has not yet been developed by applied ELF scholars. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to show how Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory (SCT) and Gal’perin’s Systemic Theoretical Instruction (STI) (which informed the L2 teaching approach called Concept-based Language Instruction, C-BLI) may provide the appropriate scientific framework to bridge the gap between the mainstream English as a Foreign Language (EFL) syllabus, that is based on the native-speaker Standard English model, and the emergent use of non-native-speaker ELF, which results from the contact of learners’ L1 and English. In conclusion, this research intends to propose an integrated approach to teaching English that combines ELF, SCT, and C-BLI. This is expected to give language teachers a conceptual framework and theoretical orientation to carry out the paradigm shift in ELT that most ELF scholars advocate.
Research Article
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Alessandro Rosborough; Jennifer Wimmer
Abstract
This paper addresses the in/commensurability of Vygotskian sociocultural theory (SCT) with popular K-12 educational curricula positioned and claiming to use his theory in practice (McLeod, 2019). We discuss well-known educational curricula, models, and social theories in relation to second language learning. ...
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This paper addresses the in/commensurability of Vygotskian sociocultural theory (SCT) with popular K-12 educational curricula positioned and claiming to use his theory in practice (McLeod, 2019). We discuss well-known educational curricula, models, and social theories in relation to second language learning. Representational examples for in/commensurable comparisons are taken from well-published Pre-K, Elementary, Secondary curricula, and educational psychology texts, all primarily used as instructional preparation for pre-service teachers. In operationalizing these comparisons for in/commensurability, we argue that Vygotsky’s explanations concerning the unity of thought and language, the zone of proximal development, mediational means for learning and development, and his overarching framework concerning perezhivanie and consciousness are not well considered by these popular texts and curricula, particularly for marginalized second language learners in the field of education. Conclusions and implications include arguments to more fully implement Vygotsky’s SCT theory in place of simplistic social turn strategies, and a call for supporting language minority students.
