Socialculture Theory and Second Language Learning I see that this article has a lot to say about how a child develops. First of all, child development depends on the groups they are social with and their language is formed by the people they are around. Children learn from imitating. I see that a great way to help your students form having a delay is from doing plays and project based learning. I know that I need to work on that some more and keep in mind it not just about completing the activity by to help with the development of the child. For me I do not like giving up control of knowing what they are doing. When I let my students go off into groups I have a harder time knowing who is on track or not. I need to keep in mind when planning those activities that when they work collaboratively with others it will help shape their development. Another keep point that I need to keep in mind is that students must rely on their first language to help with their second language, and that their r ability to speak with others in their first language. I have to admit I was a teacher in the past that would not allow Spanish in my classroom, but as the years have gone on I have allowed it to help with their educational needs. I do question if “learners appear to have their own agendas for which aspects of the language they decide to focus on at any given time” (page 209). I wonder if it’s that or what the teacher teachers that a child focuses more on.
I have to agree with you Meghan. I think it is so important to let students use their L1 to help them with L2. I do it myself when I'm trying to learn a new langauge. It is even more powerful when you can show them linguistically and with the history of language how it really helps them. It can be very empowering for students.
Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning The Sociocultural Theory believes that human mental functioning is fundamentally a mediated process that is organized by cultural artifacts, activities, and concepts (page 201). So language is developed through participating in different types of activities from family life and peer groups, to school, sports, and work. The central construct of SCT is mediation. We use tools, such as language, literacy and logic, to buffer between the environment and us. This buffer acts as the mediation between the individual and the social-material world. Private speech is the way we use our language to regulate our mental functioning. It is believed that second language learners will do the same. Internalization and imitation are psychological functions that are important concepts to SCT. Forming higher mental functions is internalization, and imitation is a goal directed cognitive activity that results in transformations. Imitation is important for SLA. It’s not just copying what someone says, but instead an intentions and self-selective behavior on the child’s part (page 208). Zone of proximal developments is a familiar term to me, and involves the distance between the actual developmental level to the level of potential development. After reading this section on SCT, I do agree that language develops through participating in different types of activities. I feel that this theory is based on how social activities help a child’s cognitive development (language). A parent will teach a child much of what they know through life experiences, for example visiting the zoo, or reading a bedtime story. With a second language, I feel it is also important for that child to see the new language’s culture, and to be exposed to things that are important. In our Dual Language classrooms, the students do many activities with the culture, for example having a Mariachi Band play, and take field trips to different places such as a trip to a museum to see a Day of the Dead display. What I kept thinking as I read this article is how a child’s brain is a sponge, and absorbs all that is around them. I see the importance of those who are learning a second language to have the social activities to help them learn.
While it has long been known that children mirror/imitate one another during play I found it interesting to see children do this in language development. “Child language researchers have recently found that imitation plays an important role in language acquisition” (page 208). As a child’s language develops imitating other children is a large part of their development. I can remember my own daughter imitating older children in the neighborhood, picking up small expressions and phrases. Saville-Troike’s research found similar evidence to be true. Their research showed that students used similar speech of peers/classmates after eavesdropping on conversations. I’m sure this research can be applied to children eavesdropping on their parents as well. While imitating and learning from others inside and outside the classroom in important, it is equally important when learning a second language. One strong positive for our students within the district is the duel language program. The program provides students with an opportunity to imitate one another in a sense. Students with a stronger Spanish background offer native English speakers with an opportunity to imitate their Spanish. While the same applies for students with a stronger English background for those who don’t speak English well.
It is so important for a child to be able to interact with their family and peers. I kept thinking about the Dual language program at our school and how important for the children to interact with each other and with their teacher. The Socicultural Theory states that languages develop through interaction. As teachers we interact with our students all the time and for the L2 learners this is very important for them to be able to interact with adults, but also with their peers in their own language and with students in their second language. Students begin to imitate each other and the adults they have in the school. I kept thinking what activities I can do to help my students interact more to help develop their second language. A student develops more when they are introduce in their cultural surrounding and exposed to other cultures. They begin to internalize this information and begin to share it with their peers and family members. I always get a kick when my students go home and share what they learn with their parent and bring back what they talked about. Sometimes the parents e-mail and thank them for a lively dinner conversation where their child wouldn’t stop talking. I think that is good because the child is interacting with their family and processing what they have learned and shared the information. All this information a student gets has to be meaningful for in order to make sense to the learner. Students do develop higher level thinking as they practice this new found language, but it needs to develop over time.
Reading Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning reconfirmed with me the importance of our roles as parents and teachers and the impact that we have on children and their language development. It is necessary to have conversations with our children. I see the impact with our own daughter. We have always had normal conversations with Jacquelyn ever sense when. Being an only child, Jacquelyn has spent a lot of time listening to and interacting with adults. When researchers found that imitation plays an important role in language development, I was not surprised for I have also seen evidence of this with Jacquelyn. I have seen her imitate sayings that sound like her mother and my self. As a classroom room teacher I see the importance of students having opportunities to engage themselves in reader’s theater and to collaborate with one another. Students need to have more opportunity to have discussions with their peers about their learning. Having time for students to share with one another will be beneficial to English language learners too. Nevertheless, focusing on allowing students more collaboration time fits into the new common core. In the past I would not encourage my Spanish speaking students to use their native language in the classroom because I thought it to be impolite to others who were around them that could not understand. At times I would have English speaking students tell me that some of the students who were speaking Spanish were talking about them. At times this would create issues between students and would disrupt the classroom environment. I would commend my Spanish speaking students for the ability that they had for being bilingual, but would ask them to please refrain from using their native language in the classroom. A few years ago I realized that it was important for students to be able to use their native language to help assist them in their learning in English. At times English speaking students felt uncomfortable. I would explain to my students that it is great to have the ability to be bilingual. Sometimes people who have Spanish as a native language need to speak Spanish to help them make sense of what is being learned in English. When I explained it that way, it was no longer a problem for my English speaking students and the classroom environment wasn’t being disrupted when a student heard their classmate speaking in Spanish.
Marty, to reference your comment of Spanish in the English classroom, I too found myself preventing Spanish in the classroom until I realized that when Spanish is used as a tool for learning, it serves the classroom community well. Thank goodness my current class feels very confident to shut down the student who uses Spanish inappropriately!
Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning: I am currently teaching a 4th/5th grade combination classroom. As I am sure you can imagine (or maybe are aware), it is very difficult to teach two math curriculums. Having taken a workshop with Deb Devine, I feel comfortable teaching math now in centers. It was the best choice that I ever made. Although I lose a little bit of control when the students leave my station and go on to do independent work and I am uncertain as to whether they will be able to do the work on their own, I am confident that my students will interact with one another to complete their work. Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning is all about communicating with peers and teachers as well as talking with family members. I agree wholeheartedly with Tom about the importance of students talking with other students as well as with teachers. Sometimes I struggle with students feeling comfortable talking with me, but they don’t seem to have a problem talking and working with each other. Not only are my students working together in Everyday Math when they are in their centers, they also have opportunities to share ideas during Making Meaning and Being a Writer. Science is one of my student’s favorite subjects because they are again working in groups and sharing ideas. Lantolf and Thorne believe that the most important form of human cognitive activity develops through interaction, and I see that happening when my students are working collaboratively. I myself enjoy learning and comprehend more when working in a group.
Sociocultural Theory is the belief that human mental function is a process that is organized by cultural artifacts, activities, and concepts. Language development is through participation in different activities related to family life and peer groups, as well as school, work, and other social activities. Teacher to student interaction, parent to child interaction, even grandparent to grandchild to share past family history and culture is a path to education and self-awareness.
Mediation by symbolic artifacts involves the use of symbolic tools to “mediate psychological activity.” I relate this to PBIS in our classrooms, and, just social norms. There is a consequence, good or bad, for every action, think before you speak or react. This control is voluntary. Control your mind, and you control your emotions. Control your emotions and your can control your body.
Knowing that L2 need continuing support for five to seven years, I plan student partnerships purposefully while remaining acutely aware of L2 needs of support in language acquisition as well as academics. Collaborative groups are a mainstay in my classroom, which supports learning as a team, good or bad, because this group situation is a life lesson for the work world. Small group work invites oral language practice at a higher frequency than whole group venues. Besides hearing English, L2 students are welcome to tap into their first language to scaffold understanding and clarity on the topic being discussed. This classroom practice has evolved over the years. When I first came to teaching, the belief was if you don’t practice English here, how are you going to learn to speak it and use it. However, I have learned since, and firmly believe, that using both languages in tandem is a useful tool for SLA.
I too, like Meghan, like to have full control of my class at all times. Therefore, many times I will have preslected partners before I let the students go off an work in a group. I feel that if I pair them up with someone who is slightly above their level, they bring their lower partner up to their standards. The article refrenced to students needing time to work and learn from each other and to learn using thier first language. I do see that when they are trying to explain a concept, the student will begin speaking in Spainsh. Then they go back to the English right away. Working collabortivly is something tht they will be doing in real life situations in their work force so why not give them the ability to work with a peer and practice the skill now. I have noticed that the students who need this support the most are my students who recently exited the bilingual program or their parents refused the bilingual services. In our last class we did learn that one needs up to seven years to learn a language academically. So, when they are pulled out earlier, they do struggle. I do believe in two minds are bettr than one so I see the best work from my students when they had time to collaborate on an assignment.
Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning In the chapter, it said that Sociocultural Theory is the human mental functioning which is a mediated process that is organized by cultural artifacts, activities and concepts. (p. 201) The article described that when kids learn language words function as specific objects and reshape biological perception. This is when the child is trying to regulate the language. I also found it interesting that children learn a lot of their language from social play or imitation. I know when I used to watch my own children play and they would do “parallel play”, I never once thought they were learning language at the same time. I believed they were imitating the actions of others, but if I think about it, they were actually imitating the language and actions of their peers. It completely makes sense. When I began to read about the zone of proximal development, I had a hard time understanding it. I think it is when a student learns about their language by themselves versus when a student learns or their potential to learn with adult instruction. I found it interesting that on p. 211 it says that learning collaboratively with others, precedes and shapes development. I take that to mean that group projects and peer work help students make a good amount of gain. If what the article says is true, then I need to incorporate more group work into my classroom. We do some already, but I usually let them pick their group and this creates some students doing more work than others. I can see how groups could be beneficial. I like to allow the students to work in groups, but do not want one student doing all the work. I guess I will have to pick the groups. I do see how this could help the students learn language because they are working together and bouncing ideas off of each other. Thus, maybe thinking more critically than if they were working alone.
Sociocultural Theory and SLA SCT argues that the most important forms of human cognitive activity develop through interaction within these social and material environments(p.202) This supports children's need for interactions with others in order to develop to their fullest. I feel strongly that today's children spend way too much time playing video games which require way too little social interaction. All they do is sit side-by-side pushing buttons. Where is the creativity?? Where is the conversation?? I try to impress upon parents the need to converse with their child. Zone of Proximal Development is one construct of SCT. It differs from scaffolding and Krashen's i + 1 in that it gives an indication of what an individual can do tomorrow independently by reflecting on what the individual can do today with assistance.(p.210) That is definitely something we can use in our teaching having a goal being that what students can do now with assistance they should soon be able to accomplish independently. Private Speech was also mentioned as the primary way we use language to mediate our mental functioning(p.209)Private speech is utterances not intended to be interpreted by others. Through our 'think-alouds' we kind of teach students how to use private speech to help them problem solve. I have definitely observed this private speech in my students as they are trying to master new skills. It is also often heard during independent reading as students make mistakes or simply recall different treading strategies they could be using when stuck on a passage in their book.
Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning Sociocultural Theory (SCT) focuses on language development from a shared or communal perspective, with participants interacting with one another. One of the points in the article that I have experienced was that on private speech and the overall idea of internalization to process information and test hypotheses. Humans use speech in many ways: mainly to communicate with one another (overtly), but sometimes to communicate with themselves in private speech (covertly). I can relate to the example given with short phrases between friends about going out to eat, as well as the example about the child talking to himself to solve the puzzle, and better yet, the example of children talking to themselves to solve problems. I hear students talking to themselves often, and it brings a smile to my heart when I hear them thinking through the process out loud, and then say, “OOhhhhh, now I get it!” intended for no one to hear but themselves. Children learn and process so much in their brains when developing language and imitation is another method they use to do this. “Imitation plays an important role in language acquisition…and can occur with a delay of a day or more, even in children as young as nine months of age. …deferred imitation serves as essential building blocks for spontaneous speech” (Lantolf, Thorne, 208). “It (learning language) is intentional, goal-directed, meaningful activity” (Lantolf, Thorne, 218) and children work hard to learn it and develop it. “Learners clearly rely on L2 imitative production (albeit in their private speech) as a means of acquiring the new language” (Lantolf, Thorne, 220). I have learned about Vygotsky and Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) previously, and use this knowledge as the basis for promoting student collaboration in my class. My ELL students are intentionally grouped with native English speakers for language and collaboration purposes. Most of the students respond very well to this and enjoy working and helping each other. Some cannot handle the responsibility and independence yet, but for the most part the children do well, and most importantly, they learn from each other. The principle after all is, “development in the ZPD is understood as the difference between what an individual can to independently and what he or she is able to do with mediation” (Lantolf, Thorne, 212). SCT is interactive, therefore relies on the community and environment for SLA.
Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning Sociocultural Theory has its beginnings in the writing of Vygotsky who believes that human mental functioning is fundamentally a mediated process that is organized by cultural artifacts, activities, and concepts. (page 201) Language use, organization and structure are the main means of mediation. The developmental process happens through participation in cultural, linguistic and historically formed settings such as family, friends, peers, school, organized sports, and in the work place. I think about the development of my own children when they were small, and the stages they went through in acquiring language. We spent a lot time just talking with our kids, reading to them, spending time with their grandparents, attending cultural events, etc. Unfortunately, a lot of the students I teach don’t receive these same opportunities. Like several other of my colleagues whose blogs I read, I used to believe that the L2 students in my classroom should be practicing their English skills, and not speak Spanish to one another. Again, changing your mindset can be difficult. With the goal of the bilingual program being to exit students into English classrooms, I think many of us believed that they we “English ready”, and therefore did not need any further Spanish support. Of course, I changed my mind several years ago when my bilingual partner and I began to share students for certain subjects. Private speech is the way we use language to regulate our mental functioning. (page 206) A student may know the topic addressed, but is having trouble figuring out what to do. One place I see this is when we are working on math. For example, if we are working on adding fractions with unlike denominators, I may hear the kids talking themselves through the problem. I believe my L2 learners do this often as they work through the day. In conversations with kids, they will sometimes know what they want to say, but struggle to find the word in English, and they will go through a series of uttering softly to themselves until they find the right word. I imagine that when they write, or read, they are doing this often.
Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning The Sociocultural Theory entails mediation-how humans have higher-level cultural tools that animals do not have like language, literacy, numeracy, categorization, rationality, and logic. We use these tools to mediate between us and the world, making our lives easier and more efficient. When we internalize things, it helps us form higher mental functions that help us make sense of the world. Imitation is the key to internalization but it is not mindless repetition, imitation has a goal, conscious or unconscious, that changes us in some way, perhaps by learning a new skill or language. It continues to amaze me that so much thought, effort, and research has gone into figuring out how we speak languages. I personally have never given it any thought in my life and here are so many people who have devoted their whole lives to the subject. It just boggles my mind. While reading I can’t help but wonder if the theorists are trying to use the full force of language to make their points sound more legitimate. For example when Vygotsky gives the definition of Zone of Proximal Development as "the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers" I just want to shake my head. In order to internalize this concept, I need to imitate a definition that uses some simpler words. Why not just say that the task that you are doing with help now, you will be able to do on your own later? And now that I can grasp the meaning of this concept, I can see implications in my classroom for change; perhaps I will intentionally group students for collaborative learning more often.
I can relate to your thinking about the detail with which people have thought about second language acquisition. It is much more complex than I thought before reading these textbooks.
SCT explains that "developmental processes take place through participation in cultural, linguistic, and historically formed settings such as family life and peer group interaction, and in institutional contexts like schooling, organized sports activities, and work places." As I try to apply this to my teaching or my students I believe that it is very important for students to interact with their peers, their family, and that it is also very important for them to be involved in extra-curricular activities. I am always thinking about my students who go home to parents that don't speak English, are they getting enough support? Is the process of learning English taking them longer? I can also relate this to my own son, he did have a speech delay, he didn't talk much at a young age. He was tested and he didn't have a significant enough delay (by 3 days) to receive services. I decided then to enroll him in preschool, hoping that him interacting with other children, would help his language development. My husband and I started noticing a significant improvement in his speech after a few months. So I do see how participating in cultural, school, activities can make a huge difference in language learning. The ZPD reminds me a lot of the gradual release theory. Maybe this is where it came from? This is something I base most of my teaching around. If I give my students enough support, they will eventually become independent, and use the new knowledge on their own.
Socialcultural Theory and Second Language Learning Nicole Tucker
In this chapter there is a part that really sticks out for me. Just like many of my colleagues I think that ZPD or Zone of Proximal Development goes hand in hand with our instructive practices in the classroom. Students flourish when they can work collaboratively with other students. I especially think that when they are paired with students that work at a different level it allows them to reach their further potential. Students love to work together in the classroom and I love making them think that it was their idea to work with peers, when I actually have designed lessons intentionally. I originally thought that evidence of growth would be in the data and performance, but what I learned from this article is that what we might observe is that students overtime need much less help and can begin to work more independently. I see this with my own children. They love to play and work with older kids all the time. Even my oldest (4) and middle son (3), when they are playing together I will see my older son take the younger ones under his wing so to speak. He will teach them how to say or do something. This will go on for several weeks and then finally my three year old will begin to do the activity on his own. I think that this has great potential for reflecting on our teaching practices.
Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning: I share what many of my colleagues have stated about SCT in that students’ social, academic, and language skills will grow immensely when they can work collaboratively with other students. As some of my colleagues have mentioned, I too, have a tough time letting go and giving up control of the academic environment. I believe it takes a re-thinking of what “control of the academic environment” means. I don’t know why this has been difficult for me. I never had trouble in the business world, empowering my staff to develop successful marketing strategies, so why not allow children the same opportunity? I’ve paired up students with varying abilities in reading and in math. Those with higher abilities took ownership of being the mentor, while their peers accepted the instruction. I probable have never taken the time to analyze the success that this type of collaboration. Reading this chapter has helped me to see that letting students, especially when thinking of L2 learners, imitate their peers will lead to, hopefully, a more uninhibited development of language.
Sociocultural theory (SCT) is associated with Vygotsky. He believed there was a relationship between thought and language, which is necessary for intellectual development. One’s environment helps shape this thought process in relation to language acquisition. This reminds me how important it is to create an atmosphere where students learn not only from me but from their peers. I have taught 6th grade for two years. I got some good advice from another 6th grade teacher about creating partnerships. I have desks in groups of four. The students work with their “shoulder” partner during reading. They may read together or dialogue after reading quietly. During math, the students turn their desks facing the front of the room. This is their “math” partner. Each month, I carefully pick the groups so students have two partners to work with. Zone of proximal development is another one of Vygotsky’s theories. It is defined on page 210 as the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development . . . As teachers it is important to give students the right amount of support and guidance so they can learn and grow independently.
The other quote from Vygotsky wrote was “. . . children grow into the intellectual life of those around them.” (page 211) When my own children were young, my husband and I sought out opportunities for our children to interact with people by ethnicity, language, age, and gender to name a few. For example, we took our children to African American churches, lived in Germany, visited friends living in foreign countries, chose to live in district U-46 so they would befriend people of different races.
The article mentions how the Sociocultural Theory (SCT) views language as cultural and there are different levels of development as a student is learning an L2. The evidence used to determine development would need to be viewed as what the student can do on their own or with peer collaboration versus adult guided thinking. As a teacher, my ultimate goal for each of my students is to be able to release them to be independent thinkers and problem solvers in all content areas. In order to be successful in all of those subjects, they have to become proficient at learning language. The article mentions the significance of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) which I think is an important aspect of my teaching practice. I believe it is important for the students to learn from each other and develop language by communicating with and collaborating with classmates of varying skill levels. When a group of students have different strengths and weaknesses, they are able to help each other grow and problem solve. They also may become exposed to more culture and language.
As I read this article I was able to see that the primary focus was on child development. More importantly it discussed that social environments has a great impact on how language is formed. I have witnessed this to be true. One of my aunts had a son that she sent to private preschool where most of the students came from middle and upper class educated families. This child language just sky rocketed after a month at the school. He came home uses words that weren’t frequently used at home. It was quite interesting to witness. About 3 years later she sent her youngest son to preschool however due to financial hardships could not send him to the same preschool as her oldest. This child attended a free public school preschool for two years. Most of the students at this school came from low income or lower middle class homes. We did not see the same type of language development in this child. Furthermore child one was always 2 reading levels above grade level while child 2 struggled in reading and is barely at level. Though child 2 did pick up some language from his older brother, we still are able to notice the discrepancy. This may revolve around the fact that children learn language from imitating. It is important that as an educator of ELL students that I allow opportunities for growth in L1. Though I teach students who have exited and qualify to be in Gen Ed classes, I still have a handful of bilingual refusals each year. Allowing the L2 in my class will help the struggling L2 student enhance their language.
I thought the part of the article that talked about self-regulation was really important. I think that as teachers it is important for us to remember that native language speakers may “blank” on a word, so we need to take this into account when we are working with L2 learners. I think that by giving our students extra think time, or showing them the resources to help them solve their problem would be a great help. In my classroom we often have students, who speak Spanish as a first language that will forget how to say a word in English. At first I have them think about it for a minute or try to describe what they are thinking about to me. If this does not work I will encourage them to speak to a classmate in Spanish to see if they can figure it out. In most cases the students figure it out pretty quickly and I believe that by having them work for it they are more likely to retain that word for future use. The part about imitation really opened my eyes. I had always thought as imitation as having no real thought behind it, but as I read this part of the article I was reminded of my niece who heard me swear one day. I thought nothing of this until the next day when my sister in law called and told us how Aulbrey had used the same swear word I had the day before, and in the correct context. I think that this may have been an example of an intentional imitation that did not happen immediately after she heard it. I also really liked the part of this article that explained that students need time to work together and learn from each other, especially if there are students that are learning a second language. I have always been I firm believer in collaboration in the classroom. I feel that by working together the students are more relaxed and feel more comfortable voicing their opinions.
Before reading this chapter, I looked at the bios of James P. Lantolf and Steven L. Thorne. I prefer to know who the writers are before I read their work. I found an interesting plenary session, given by Thorne, at a conference in Glasgow last year. I linked up to it in a prior post.
The purpose of this reading was to know and understand “sociocultural theory”, herein referred to as SCT. SCT originated with Lev Vygotsky, one of my personal heroes in the field of educational psychology. SCT argues that human developmental processes occur through participation in cultural, linguistic, and historically formed settings such as family life and interaction with peers, and in institutional contexts like school, sports, and work. While the brain is necessary for higher order functioning, SCT purports that the most important factor in development is interaction within these environments. I completely agree!
Mediation is the central construct of this theory. Vygotsky acknowledged that the human mind was made of a lower-level base, but the most valuable part of the brain is its capacity for voluntary control over biology through the use of higher-level cultural tools. These higher level tools, like language, literacy, logic, problem solving, and numeracy act to mediate the relationship between a person and the social-material world. Tools allow us to change the world in ways that our bodies simply couldn’t. The ability to use these tools is transformative.
There are several forms of mediation – regulation (the idea that a child with subordinate language would learn from an adult’s more mature language) is one of them. There are three stages to this. The first is object-regulation, where something concrete is relied on for mental regulation. Next comes other-regulation, where ZPD comes in to play. The third is self-regulation, where an individual is able to accomplish something with little to know support. As a reading expert, I look at these stages as the frustration, instructional, and independent stages. Self-regulation, or independence, is the ultimate goal.
Another form of mediation is symbol artifact. Language is the most powerful artifact of a culture. This article/chapter specifically focuses on the power of mediation through a second language (L2). Things like private speech help focus a person on what needs to be accomplished. Private speech provides evidence of internalization. Internalization and imitation provide individuals with opportunities to organize and reorganize input and then practice it through collaboration.
A common misconception of SCT is that learning follows a continuum of external interaction to internalization. If this was true and absolute, how could we explain students who make errors in speaking L2 that aren’t imitated by peers who are modeling that language? I believe our minds are always working, analyzing the input we receive from others, and using that information to play with language and try new things. You see this in child language learning as well.
Another misconception of SCT is related to ZPD, and reading it was an ah-ha moment for me! I knew that scaffolding was not EXACTLY the same as ZPD, but that didn’t ever stop me from using the terms interchangeably. I now understand that in doing so, I’m implying that ZPD is about the adult-child controlled relationship, when it really is about peers interacting. Another thing I learned is that “i+1″ can be predetermined, only analyzed after evidence is collected. Conversely, ZPD can be predicated.
This chapter reaffirmed my feelings about communication facilitating learning. I will continue to integrate more and more communication-based activities into my teaching, in order to enhance the cognitive processes of my students.
Socialculture Theory and Second Language Learning
ReplyDeleteI see that this article has a lot to say about how a child develops.
First of all, child development depends on the groups they are social
with and their language is formed by the people they are around.
Children learn from imitating. I see that a great way to help your
students form having a delay is from doing plays and project based
learning. I know that I need to work on that some more and keep in
mind it not just about completing the activity by to help with the
development of the child. For me I do not like giving up control of
knowing what they are doing. When I let my students go off into groups
I have a harder time knowing who is on track or not. I need to keep
in mind when planning those activities that when they work
collaboratively with others it will help shape their development.
Another keep point that I need to keep in mind is that students must
rely on their first language to help with their second language, and
that their r ability to speak with others in their first language. I
have to admit I was a teacher in the past that would not allow Spanish
in my classroom, but as the years have gone on I have allowed it to
help with their educational needs. I do question if “learners appear
to have their own agendas for which aspects of the language they
decide to focus on at any given time” (page 209). I wonder if it’s
that or what the teacher teachers that a child focuses more on.
I have to agree with you Meghan. I think it is so important to let students use their L1 to help them with L2. I do it myself when I'm trying to learn a new langauge. It is even more powerful when you can show them linguistically and with the history of language how it really helps them. It can be very empowering for students.
DeleteSociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning
ReplyDeleteThe Sociocultural Theory believes that human mental functioning is fundamentally a mediated process that is organized by cultural artifacts, activities, and concepts (page 201). So language is developed through participating in different types of activities from family life and peer groups, to school, sports, and work. The central construct of SCT is mediation. We use tools, such as language, literacy and logic, to buffer between the environment and us. This buffer acts as the mediation between the individual and the social-material world. Private speech is the way we use our language to regulate our mental functioning. It is believed that second language learners will do the same. Internalization and imitation are psychological functions that are important concepts to SCT. Forming higher mental functions is internalization, and imitation is a goal directed cognitive activity that results in transformations. Imitation is important for SLA. It’s not just copying what someone says, but instead an intentions and self-selective behavior on the child’s part (page 208). Zone of proximal developments is a familiar term to me, and involves the distance between the actual developmental level to the level of potential development. After reading this section on SCT, I do agree that language develops through participating in different types of activities. I feel that this theory is based on how social activities help a child’s cognitive development (language). A parent will teach a child much of what they know through life experiences, for example visiting the zoo, or reading a bedtime story. With a second language, I feel it is also important for that child to see the new language’s culture, and to be exposed to things that are important. In our Dual Language classrooms, the students do many activities with the culture, for example having a Mariachi Band play, and take field trips to different places such as a trip to a museum to see a Day of the Dead display. What I kept thinking as I read this article is how a child’s brain is a sponge, and absorbs all that is around them. I see the importance of those who are learning a second language to have the social activities to help them learn.
While it has long been known that children mirror/imitate one another during play I found it interesting to see children do this in language development. “Child language researchers have recently found that imitation plays an important role in language acquisition” (page 208). As a child’s language develops imitating other children is a large part of their development. I can remember my own daughter imitating older children in the neighborhood, picking up small expressions and phrases. Saville-Troike’s research found similar evidence to be true. Their research showed that students used similar speech of peers/classmates after eavesdropping on conversations. I’m sure this research can be applied to children eavesdropping on their parents as well. While imitating and learning from others inside and outside the classroom in important, it is equally important when learning a second language. One strong positive for our students within the district is the duel language program. The program provides students with an opportunity to imitate one another in a sense. Students with a stronger Spanish background offer native English speakers with an opportunity to imitate their Spanish. While the same applies for students with a stronger English background for those who don’t speak English well.
ReplyDeleteIt is so important for a child to be able to interact with their family and peers. I kept thinking about the Dual language program at our school and how important for the children to interact with each other and with their teacher. The Socicultural Theory states that languages develop through interaction. As teachers we interact with our students all the time and for the L2 learners this is very important for them to be able to interact with adults, but also with their peers in their own language and with students in their second language. Students begin to imitate each other and the adults they have in the school. I kept thinking what activities I can do to help my students interact more to help develop their second language. A student develops more when they are introduce in their cultural surrounding and exposed to other cultures. They begin to internalize this information and begin to share it with their peers and family members. I always get a kick when my students go home and share what they learn with their parent and bring back what they talked about. Sometimes the parents e-mail and thank them for a lively dinner conversation where their child wouldn’t stop talking. I think that is good because the child is interacting with their family and processing what they have learned and shared the information. All this information a student gets has to be meaningful for in order to make sense to the learner. Students do develop higher level thinking as they practice this new found language, but it needs to develop over time.
ReplyDeleteReading Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning reconfirmed with me the importance of our roles as parents and teachers and the impact that we have on children and their language development. It is necessary to have conversations with our children. I see the impact with our own daughter. We have always had normal conversations with Jacquelyn ever sense when. Being an only child, Jacquelyn has spent a lot of time listening to and interacting with adults. When researchers found that imitation plays an important role in language development, I was not surprised for I have also seen evidence of this with Jacquelyn. I have seen her imitate sayings that sound like her mother and my self.
ReplyDeleteAs a classroom room teacher I see the importance of students having opportunities to engage themselves in reader’s theater and to collaborate with one another. Students need to have more opportunity to have discussions with their peers about their learning. Having time for students to share with one another will be beneficial to English language learners too. Nevertheless, focusing on allowing students more collaboration time fits into the new common core.
In the past I would not encourage my Spanish speaking students to use their native language in the classroom because I thought it to be impolite to others who were around them that could not understand. At times I would have English speaking students tell me that some of the students who were speaking Spanish were talking about them. At times this would create issues between students and would disrupt the classroom environment. I would commend my Spanish speaking students for the ability that they had for being bilingual, but would ask them to please refrain from using their native language in the classroom. A few years ago I realized that it was important for students to be able to use their native language to help assist them in their learning in English. At times English speaking students felt uncomfortable. I would explain to my students that it is great to have the ability to be bilingual. Sometimes people who have Spanish as a native language need to speak Spanish to help them make sense of what is being learned in English. When I explained it that way, it was no longer a problem for my English speaking students and the classroom environment wasn’t being disrupted when a student heard their classmate speaking in Spanish.
Marty, to reference your comment of Spanish in the English classroom, I too found myself preventing Spanish in the classroom until I realized that when Spanish is used as a tool for learning, it serves the classroom community well. Thank goodness my current class feels very confident to shut down the student who uses Spanish inappropriately!
DeleteSociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning:
ReplyDeleteI am currently teaching a 4th/5th grade combination classroom. As I am sure you can imagine (or maybe are aware), it is very difficult to teach two math curriculums. Having taken a workshop with Deb Devine, I feel comfortable teaching math now in centers. It was the best choice that I ever made. Although I lose a little bit of control when the students leave my station and go on to do independent work and I am uncertain as to whether they will be able to do the work on their own, I am confident that my students will interact with one another to complete their work. Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning is all about communicating with peers and teachers as well as talking with family members. I agree wholeheartedly with Tom about the importance of students talking with other students as well as with teachers. Sometimes I struggle with students feeling comfortable talking with me, but they don’t seem to have a problem talking and working with each other. Not only are my students working together in Everyday Math when they are in their centers, they also have opportunities to share ideas during Making Meaning and Being a Writer. Science is one of my student’s favorite subjects because they are again working in groups and sharing ideas. Lantolf and Thorne believe that the most important form of human cognitive activity develops through interaction, and I see that happening when my students are working collaboratively. I myself enjoy learning and comprehend more when working in a group.
Sociocultural Theory is the belief that human mental function is a process that is organized by cultural artifacts, activities, and concepts. Language development is through participation in different activities related to family life and peer groups, as well as school, work, and other social activities. Teacher to student interaction, parent to child interaction, even grandparent to grandchild to share past family history and culture is a path to education and self-awareness.
ReplyDeleteMediation by symbolic artifacts involves the use of symbolic tools to “mediate psychological activity.” I relate this to PBIS in our classrooms, and, just social norms. There is a consequence, good or bad, for every action, think before you speak or react. This control is voluntary. Control your mind, and you control your emotions. Control your emotions and your can control your body.
Knowing that L2 need continuing support for five to seven years, I plan student partnerships purposefully while remaining acutely aware of L2 needs of support in language acquisition as well as academics. Collaborative groups are a mainstay in my classroom, which supports learning as a team, good or bad, because this group situation is a life lesson for the work world. Small group work invites oral language practice at a higher frequency than whole group venues. Besides hearing English, L2 students are welcome to tap into their first language to scaffold understanding and clarity on the topic being discussed. This classroom practice has evolved over the years. When I first came to teaching, the belief was if you don’t practice English here, how are you going to learn to speak it and use it. However, I have learned since, and firmly believe, that using both languages in tandem is a useful tool for SLA.
I too, like Meghan, like to have full control of my class at all times. Therefore, many times I will have preslected partners before I let the students go off an work in a group. I feel that if I pair them up with someone who is slightly above their level, they bring their lower partner up to their standards. The article refrenced to students needing time to work and learn from each other and to learn using thier first language. I do see that when they are trying to explain a concept, the student will begin speaking in Spainsh. Then they go back to the English right away. Working collabortivly is something tht they will be doing in real life situations in their work force so why not give them the ability to work with a peer and practice the skill now. I have noticed that the students who need this support the most are my students who recently exited the bilingual program or their parents refused the bilingual services. In our last class we did learn that one needs up to seven years to learn a language academically. So, when they are pulled out earlier, they do struggle. I do believe in two minds are bettr than one so I see the best work from my students when they had time to collaborate on an assignment.
ReplyDeleteSociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning
ReplyDeleteIn the chapter, it said that Sociocultural Theory is the human mental functioning which is a mediated process that is organized by cultural artifacts, activities and concepts. (p. 201) The article described that when kids learn language words function as specific objects and reshape biological perception. This is when the child is trying to regulate the language. I also found it interesting that children learn a lot of their language from social play or imitation. I know when I used to watch my own children play and they would do “parallel play”, I never once thought they were learning language at the same time. I believed they were imitating the actions of others, but if I think about it, they were actually imitating the language and actions of their peers. It completely makes sense.
When I began to read about the zone of proximal development, I had a hard time understanding it. I think it is when a student learns about their language by themselves versus when a student learns or their potential to learn with adult instruction. I found it interesting that on p. 211 it says that learning collaboratively with others, precedes and shapes development. I take that to mean that group projects and peer work help students make a good amount of gain. If what the article says is true, then I need to incorporate more group work into my classroom. We do some already, but I usually let them pick their group and this creates some students doing more work than others. I can see how groups could be beneficial. I like to allow the students to work in groups, but do not want one student doing all the work. I guess I will have to pick the groups. I do see how this could help the students learn language because they are working together and bouncing ideas off of each other. Thus, maybe thinking more critically than if they were working alone.
Sociocultural Theory and SLA
ReplyDeleteSCT argues that the most important forms of human cognitive activity develop through interaction within these social and material environments(p.202) This supports children's need for interactions with others in order to develop to their fullest. I feel strongly that today's children spend way too much time playing video games which require way too little social interaction. All they do is sit side-by-side pushing buttons. Where is the creativity?? Where is the conversation?? I try to impress upon parents the need to converse with their child.
Zone of Proximal Development is one construct of SCT. It differs from scaffolding and Krashen's i + 1 in that it gives an indication of what an individual can do tomorrow independently by reflecting on what the individual can do today with assistance.(p.210) That is definitely something we can use in our teaching having a goal being that what students can do now with assistance they should soon be able to accomplish independently.
Private Speech was also mentioned as the primary way we use language to mediate our mental functioning(p.209)Private speech is utterances not intended to be interpreted by others. Through our 'think-alouds' we kind of teach students how to use private speech to help them problem solve. I have definitely observed this private speech in my students as they are trying to master new skills. It is also often heard during independent reading as students make mistakes or simply recall different treading strategies they could be using when stuck on a passage in their book.
Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning
ReplyDeleteSociocultural Theory (SCT) focuses on language development from a shared or communal perspective, with participants interacting with one another.
One of the points in the article that I have experienced was that on private speech and the overall idea of internalization to process information and test hypotheses. Humans use speech in many ways: mainly to communicate with one another (overtly), but sometimes to communicate with themselves in private speech (covertly). I can relate to the example given with short phrases between friends about going out to eat, as well as the example about the child talking to himself to solve the puzzle, and better yet, the example of children talking to themselves to solve problems. I hear students talking to themselves often, and it brings a smile to my heart when I hear them thinking through the process out loud, and then say, “OOhhhhh, now I get it!” intended for no one to hear but themselves. Children learn and process so much in their brains when developing language and imitation is another method they use to do this. “Imitation plays an important role in language acquisition…and can occur with a delay of a day or more, even in children as young as nine months of age. …deferred imitation serves as essential building blocks for spontaneous speech” (Lantolf, Thorne, 208). “It (learning language) is intentional, goal-directed, meaningful activity” (Lantolf, Thorne, 218) and children work hard to learn it and develop it. “Learners clearly rely on L2 imitative production (albeit in their private speech) as a means of acquiring the new language” (Lantolf, Thorne, 220).
I have learned about Vygotsky and Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) previously, and use this knowledge as the basis for promoting student collaboration in my class. My ELL students are intentionally grouped with native English speakers for language and collaboration purposes. Most of the students respond very well to this and enjoy working and helping each other. Some cannot handle the responsibility and independence yet, but for the most part the children do well, and most importantly, they learn from each other. The principle after all is, “development in the ZPD is understood as the difference between what an individual can to independently and what he or she is able to do with mediation” (Lantolf, Thorne, 212). SCT is interactive, therefore relies on the community and environment for SLA.
Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning
ReplyDeleteSociocultural Theory has its beginnings in the writing of Vygotsky who believes that human mental functioning is fundamentally a mediated process that is organized by cultural artifacts, activities, and concepts. (page 201) Language use, organization and structure are the main means of mediation. The developmental process happens through participation in cultural, linguistic and historically formed settings such as family, friends, peers, school, organized sports, and in the work place. I think about the development of my own children when they were small, and the stages they went through in acquiring language. We spent a lot time just talking with our kids, reading to them, spending time with their grandparents, attending cultural events, etc. Unfortunately, a lot of the students I teach don’t receive these same opportunities. Like several other of my colleagues whose blogs I read, I used to believe that the L2 students in my classroom should be practicing their English skills, and not speak Spanish to one another. Again, changing your mindset can be difficult. With the goal of the bilingual program being to exit students into English classrooms, I think many of us believed that they we “English ready”, and therefore did not need any further Spanish support. Of course, I changed my mind several years ago when my bilingual partner and I began to share students for certain subjects.
Private speech is the way we use language to regulate our mental functioning. (page 206) A student may know the topic addressed, but is having trouble figuring out what to do. One place I see this is when we are working on math. For example, if we are working on adding fractions with unlike denominators, I may hear the kids talking themselves through the problem. I believe my L2 learners do this often as they work through the day. In conversations with kids, they will sometimes know what they want to say, but struggle to find the word in English, and they will go through a series of uttering softly to themselves until they find the right word. I imagine that when they write, or read, they are doing this often.
Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning
ReplyDeleteThe Sociocultural Theory entails mediation-how humans have higher-level cultural tools that animals do not have like language, literacy, numeracy, categorization, rationality, and logic. We use these tools to mediate between us and the world, making our lives easier and more efficient. When we internalize things, it helps us form higher mental functions that help us make sense of the world. Imitation is the key to internalization but it is not mindless repetition, imitation has a goal, conscious or unconscious, that changes us in some way, perhaps by learning a new skill or language.
It continues to amaze me that so much thought, effort, and research has gone into figuring out how we speak languages. I personally have never given it any thought in my life and here are so many people who have devoted their whole lives to the subject. It just boggles my mind.
While reading I can’t help but wonder if the theorists are trying to use the full force of language to make their points sound more legitimate. For example when Vygotsky gives the definition of Zone of Proximal Development as "the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers" I just want to shake my head. In order to internalize this concept, I need to imitate a definition that uses some simpler words. Why not just say that the task that you are doing with help now, you will be able to do on your own later? And now that I can grasp the meaning of this concept, I can see implications in my classroom for change; perhaps I will intentionally group students for collaborative learning more often.
I can relate to your thinking about the detail with which people have thought about second language acquisition. It is much more complex than I thought before reading these textbooks.
DeleteSCT explains that "developmental processes take place through participation in cultural, linguistic, and historically formed settings such as family life and peer group interaction, and in institutional contexts like schooling, organized sports activities, and work places." As I try to apply this to my teaching or my students I believe that it is very important for students to interact with their peers, their family, and that it is also very important for them to be involved in extra-curricular activities. I am always thinking about my students who go home to parents that don't speak English, are they getting enough support? Is the process of learning English taking them longer? I can also relate this to my own son, he did have a speech delay, he didn't talk much at a young age. He was tested and he didn't have a significant enough delay (by 3 days) to receive services. I decided then to enroll him in preschool, hoping that him interacting with other children, would help his language development. My husband and I started noticing a significant improvement in his speech after a few months. So I do see how participating in cultural, school, activities can make a huge difference in language learning.
ReplyDeleteThe ZPD reminds me a lot of the gradual release theory. Maybe this is where it came from? This is something I base most of my teaching around. If I give my students enough support, they will eventually become independent, and use the new knowledge on their own.
I have to agree with you Sam on ZPD. I wonder if gradual realease theory came from it too!?!?
DeleteSocialcultural Theory and Second Language Learning
ReplyDeleteNicole Tucker
In this chapter there is a part that really sticks out for me. Just like many of my colleagues I think that ZPD or Zone of Proximal Development goes hand in hand with our instructive practices in the classroom. Students flourish when they can work collaboratively with other students. I especially think that when they are paired with students that work at a different level it allows them to reach their further potential. Students love to work together in the classroom and I love making them think that it was their idea to work with peers, when I actually have designed lessons intentionally. I originally thought that evidence of growth would be in the data and performance, but what I learned from this article is that what we might observe is that students overtime need much less help and can begin to work more independently. I see this with my own children. They love to play and work with older kids all the time. Even my oldest (4) and middle son (3), when they are playing together I will see my older son take the younger ones under his wing so to speak. He will teach them how to say or do something. This will go on for several weeks and then finally my three year old will begin to do the activity on his own. I think that this has great potential for reflecting on our teaching practices.
Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning:
ReplyDeleteI share what many of my colleagues have stated about SCT in that students’ social, academic, and language skills will grow immensely when they can work collaboratively with other students. As some of my colleagues have mentioned, I too, have a tough time letting go and giving up control of the academic environment. I believe it takes a re-thinking of what “control of the academic environment” means. I don’t know why this has been difficult for me. I never had trouble in the business world, empowering my staff to develop successful marketing strategies, so why not allow children the same opportunity? I’ve paired up students with varying abilities in reading and in math. Those with higher abilities took ownership of being the mentor, while their peers accepted the instruction. I probable have never taken the time to analyze the success that this type of collaboration. Reading this chapter has helped me to see that letting students, especially when thinking of L2 learners, imitate their peers will lead to, hopefully, a more uninhibited development of language.
Sociocultural theory (SCT) is associated with Vygotsky. He believed there was a relationship between thought and language, which is necessary for intellectual development. One’s environment helps shape this thought process in relation to language acquisition. This reminds me how important it is to create an atmosphere where students learn not only from me but from their peers. I have taught 6th grade for two years. I got some good advice from another 6th grade teacher about creating partnerships. I have desks in groups of four. The students work with their “shoulder” partner during reading. They may read together or dialogue after reading quietly. During math, the students turn their desks facing the front of the room. This is their “math” partner. Each month, I carefully pick the groups so students have two partners to work with.
ReplyDeleteZone of proximal development is another one of Vygotsky’s theories. It is defined on page 210 as the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development . . . As teachers it is important to give students the right amount of support and guidance so they can learn and grow independently.
The other quote from Vygotsky wrote was “. . . children grow into the intellectual life of those around them.” (page 211) When my own children were young, my husband and I sought out opportunities for our children to interact with people by ethnicity, language, age, and gender to name a few. For example, we took our children to African American churches, lived in Germany, visited friends living in foreign countries, chose to live in district U-46 so they would befriend people of different races.
The article mentions how the Sociocultural Theory (SCT) views language as cultural and there are different levels of development as a student is learning an L2. The evidence used to determine development would need to be viewed as what the student can do on their own or with peer collaboration versus adult guided thinking. As a teacher, my ultimate goal for each of my students is to be able to release them to be independent thinkers and problem solvers in all content areas. In order to be successful in all of those subjects, they have to become proficient at learning language. The article mentions the significance of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) which I think is an important aspect of my teaching practice. I believe it is important for the students to learn from each other and develop language by communicating with and collaborating with classmates of varying skill levels. When a group of students have different strengths and weaknesses, they are able to help each other grow and problem solve. They also may become exposed to more culture and language.
ReplyDeleteAs I read this article I was able to see that the primary focus was on child development. More importantly it discussed that social environments has a great impact on how language is formed. I have witnessed this to be true. One of my aunts had a son that she sent to private preschool where most of the students came from middle and upper class educated families. This child language just sky rocketed after a month at the school. He came home uses words that weren’t frequently used at home. It was quite interesting to witness. About 3 years later she sent her youngest son to preschool however due to financial hardships could not send him to the same preschool as her oldest. This child attended a free public school preschool for two years. Most of the students at this school came from low income or lower middle class homes. We did not see the same type of language development in this child. Furthermore child one was always 2 reading levels above grade level while child 2 struggled in reading and is barely at level. Though child 2 did pick up some language from his older brother, we still are able to notice the discrepancy. This may revolve around the fact that children learn language from imitating. It is important that as an educator of ELL students that I allow opportunities for growth in L1. Though I teach students who have exited and qualify to be in Gen Ed classes, I still have a handful of bilingual refusals each year. Allowing the L2 in my class will help the struggling L2 student enhance their language.
ReplyDeleteI thought the part of the article that talked about self-regulation was really important. I think that as teachers it is important for us to remember that native language speakers may “blank” on a word, so we need to take this into account when we are working with L2 learners. I think that by giving our students extra think time, or showing them the resources to help them solve their problem would be a great help. In my classroom we often have students, who speak Spanish as a first language that will forget how to say a word in English. At first I have them think about it for a minute or try to describe what they are thinking about to me. If this does not work I will encourage them to speak to a classmate in Spanish to see if they can figure it out. In most cases the students figure it out pretty quickly and I believe that by having them work for it they are more likely to retain that word for future use. The part about imitation really opened my eyes. I had always thought as imitation as having no real thought behind it, but as I read this part of the article I was reminded of my niece who heard me swear one day. I thought nothing of this until the next day when my sister in law called and told us how Aulbrey had used the same swear word I had the day before, and in the correct context. I think that this may have been an example of an intentional imitation that did not happen immediately after she heard it. I also really liked the part of this article that explained that students need time to work together and learn from each other, especially if there are students that are learning a second language. I have always been I firm believer in collaboration in the classroom. I feel that by working together the students are more relaxed and feel more comfortable voicing their opinions.
ReplyDeleteBefore reading this chapter, I looked at the bios of James P. Lantolf and Steven L. Thorne. I prefer to know who the writers are before I read their work. I found an interesting plenary session, given by Thorne, at a conference in Glasgow last year. I linked up to it in a prior post.
ReplyDeleteThe purpose of this reading was to know and understand “sociocultural theory”, herein referred to as SCT. SCT originated with Lev Vygotsky, one of my personal heroes in the field of educational psychology. SCT argues that human developmental processes occur through participation in cultural, linguistic, and historically formed settings such as family life and interaction with peers, and in institutional contexts like school, sports, and work. While the brain is necessary for higher order functioning, SCT purports that the most important factor in development is interaction within these environments. I completely agree!
Mediation is the central construct of this theory. Vygotsky acknowledged that the human mind was made of a lower-level base, but the most valuable part of the brain is its capacity for voluntary control over biology through the use of higher-level cultural tools. These higher level tools, like language, literacy, logic, problem solving, and numeracy act to mediate the relationship between a person and the social-material world. Tools allow us to change the world in ways that our bodies simply couldn’t. The ability to use these tools is transformative.
There are several forms of mediation – regulation (the idea that a child with subordinate language would learn from an adult’s more mature language) is one of them. There are three stages to this. The first is object-regulation, where something concrete is relied on for mental regulation. Next comes other-regulation, where ZPD comes in to play. The third is self-regulation, where an individual is able to accomplish something with little to know support. As a reading expert, I look at these stages as the frustration, instructional, and independent stages. Self-regulation, or independence, is the ultimate goal.
Another form of mediation is symbol artifact. Language is the most powerful artifact of a culture. This article/chapter specifically focuses on the power of mediation through a second language (L2). Things like private speech help focus a person on what needs to be accomplished. Private speech provides evidence of internalization. Internalization and imitation provide individuals with opportunities to organize and reorganize input and then practice it through collaboration.
A common misconception of SCT is that learning follows a continuum of external interaction to internalization. If this was true and absolute, how could we explain students who make errors in speaking L2 that aren’t imitated by peers who are modeling that language? I believe our minds are always working, analyzing the input we receive from others, and using that information to play with language and try new things. You see this in child language learning as well.
Another misconception of SCT is related to ZPD, and reading it was an ah-ha moment for me! I knew that scaffolding was not EXACTLY the same as ZPD, but that didn’t ever stop me from using the terms interchangeably. I now understand that in doing so, I’m implying that ZPD is about the adult-child controlled relationship, when it really is about peers interacting. Another thing I learned is that “i+1″ can be predetermined, only analyzed after evidence is collected. Conversely, ZPD can be predicated.
This chapter reaffirmed my feelings about communication facilitating learning. I will continue to integrate more and more communication-based activities into my teaching, in order to enhance the cognitive processes of my students.
http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2012/sessions/2012-03-22/plenary-session-steven-l-thorne
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