Sociocultural theory as the lens through which SLA views learners and learning¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · 4 claims (4 for) · 1 study (1 theoretical), q1 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 4 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The article treats sociocultural theory — Vygotskian sociocultural theory and ZPD, Lave and Wenger's Community of Practice, and contemporary identity-oriented theorizing — as the dominant lens through which SLA examines learners. In Vygotskian accounts, individuals first participate in social activities and then internalize them, so "learning is a socially constructed, highly situated process that learners engage in by means of culturally specific semiotic tools." Mental functions are mediated by language and other symbolic tools, and learners may interact socially in the intermental domain using idiosyncratic methods of appropriation. The author uses this framework to critique how non-social learners are portrayed.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Analysis of learners must attend to the social setting, interlocutors, and mediation tools in play

Constraints¶

• The author distinguishes specifically Vygotskian cultural-historical orientations from other contemporary identity-oriented social theorizing published under the same 'sociocultural' banner, following Duff (2007)

Target Learners¶

• second language learners in formal school settings, workplaces, communities, and places of worship

Target Learning Objectives¶

• second language acquisition and learner identity formation

Claims¶

• Sociocultural Sla Demonizes Socially Resistant Learners [+W]
• The Good Language Learner metanarrative persists in sociocultural accounts by equating success with access to community conversations [+W]
• Within the CoP model, learners who do not progress toward the centre through nonparticipation are relegated to the fringes with invalidated identities [+W]
• Review reports that reticent non-local students who resisted local classroom norms were academically superior on other performance kinds (Duff, 2002) [+W]

Related Theories¶

• Language socialization perspective on combined language and occupational skills training
• Sociocultural Theory
• Communities-of-Practice theory as a framework for understanding community membership and learning
• Zone of Proximal Development as an assessment and instruction tool
• Situated Learning
• Situated cognition: context, authenticity, and activity as key dimensions
• Real world versus pretend world activities as two distinct ZPD contexts

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Chen, J. (2016). Demonized Learners in Sociocultural Theory. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 7(3), 168-177. https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.7n.3p.168