On Socio－cultural Theory in Language Teaching

金 灵

I.Introduction

Sociocultural theory，a theory of mind，rather than that of a society of the culture as it is named，provides‘a framework through which cognition can be systematically investigated without isolating it from social contexts’(Lantolf and Thorne，2006:1).SCT roots in the thoughts of the influential psychologist Lev Vygotsky who specialized in the study of child development，which includes some key points which are instrumental in the study of SLA，such as mediation，private speech，activity theory and the zone of proximal development(ZPD)(Mitchell＆ Myes，2006:194).

Meanwhile，Saville－Troike(2006:111)holds another perspective by interpreting SCT as producing interaction，including interpersonal and intrapersonal interaction.According to her interpretation(2006:113)，intrapersonal interaction includes the communication within the mind of an individual.As to interpersonal interaction，the communication between people，the most well－ known concept ZPD is raised by Vygotsky(1978:86)advocating‘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’.The use of scaffolding as a useful way to help the learners reach the ZPD is coined by Wood et al.(1976).To be more specific，both interpersonal and intrapersonal interactions are applied in the process of scaffolding to help the learners reach the ZPD，and these interactions include collaboration or cooperation among peers(Jennings＆ Di，1996:78).

II.Framework of SCT Theory

Activity theory

First developed by Leont’ev，one of Vygotsky’ s followers，activity theory has been studied massively in many fields such as education，psychology and so on(Lantolf＆ Thorne，2006:209).Leont’ ev(1981:38)contends that human’ s knowledge of the world is mediated by interaction with it.As Kuutti(1996:25)defined，it is‘a philosophical and cross－disciplinary framework for studying different kinds of human practices as development processes，with both individual and social levels interlinked at the same time’.

Activity theory experienced several generations in its development(Daniels，2001:85－94):

i.In the first generation presented by Vygotsky，an activity contains a subject and an object，mediated by a tool(Daniels，2001:85－85).In the demonstration of Forman＆McCormick(1995)with the example of learning a language in the classroom，a learner is a subject，and an object would be any specific goal such as passing an exam，which would motivate the learner’s activity.Actions，or known as tools of mediation，are taken by the learner to fulfil the goals.The theory was then extended by A.N.Leont’ev through the analysis of the difference between activity，action and operation to differentiate an individual’s behavior from the collective activity system(Daniels，2001:85－88).

ii.With the purpose of showing the social factors in an activity system，Engestrom expanded Vygotsky’s basic theory by adding the factors of community，rules and division of labour(Daniels，2001:88－90)，which is regarded as the second generation.

iii.Engestrom developed the theory into the third generation by taking joint activity as the unit to analyze，instead of individual activity.It aims to‘develop conceptual tools to understand dialogues and networks of interacting activity systems’(Daniels，2001:90－94).

Mediation

Being an important component of the activity theory，it takes a crucial part in the construct of activity and generation of higher mental processes(Forman ＆ McCormick，1995).For Vygotsky(1978)，humans depend on symbolic tools，or signs，to mediate and regulate our relationships with others and with ourselves，which include music，art and language.Lantolf(2000b)suggests that mediation in SLA involves:social mediation such as peer mediation，self－mediation(private talk)and artifact mediation by task.Mediation can also happen either externally or internally(Vygotsky，1978:55).External mediation happens when an individual is provided aid by a more competent individual or some artifacts(e.g.a machine).Internal mediation occurs when an individual uses his/her own knowledge to fulfill a task.

ZPD and scaffolding

Lantolf(2000a:16)holds that the site where social forms of mediation develop is ZPD，which is probably the most popular and widely applied component of SCT.Based on Vygotsky’s definition，Tharp and Gilmore(1988:35)introduced the Four－Stage model of ZPD as shown in Figure 1:

Figure 1:Four－stage Model of ZPD

In Stage I，the teacher offers instructions or modeling，while the learner imitates，with a limited understanding.When some idea of the overall task has been obtained，further assistance can be given by questions，feedback，and further cognitive structuring.

The teacher’s task is to provide suitable assistance to the learner by being responsive to the learner’s effort and understanding of the task goal(Wells，1999:300).Stage I finishes when the responsibility for tailoring the assistance，tailoring the transfer and performing the task itself has been effectively handed over to the learner(Tharp and Gilmore，1988:33－36).

In Stage II，the learner achieves a performance all by himself/herself.However，this does not mean s/he fully mastered it.With the purpose of fulfilling the task，adults consistently talk to themselves，and assist themselves in all ways possible(Tharp and Gilmore，1988:36－38).

During this Stage III，performance is developed and automitized，and there is no need of assistance，either from others，or the self.This is a stage without‘self－ control and social control’(Tharp and Gilmore，1988:38).

Stage IV sees the de－automatization of performance heading for recursion back through the ZPD.They appear so regularly that they make a stage four of the normal developmental process(Tharp and Gilmore，1988:38－39).

III.Some limitations of SCT implication

SCT holds that，due to the amount of mediation they receive from the more knowledgeable people，some learners may be more successful than others(Saville－Troike，2006:116).But it is not always the case in second language learning.Some learners learn L2 well without any interpersonal communication with others，while some others who take part in frequent interaction with native speakers of the target language fail to reach a decent level in L2 proficiency.Saville－Troike(2006:116－117)provides the explanation for the first case as follows:instead of interpersonal interaction with other people，they might interact with the‘text and electronic media’，and they might adopt the private speech and writing as a way of intrapersonal interaction，which also falls into the field of SCT.As for the latter case，the learners might use other ways of communication such as nonverbal language and schemata to communicate，instead of using the language itself.

Moreover，Ashton(1996:121)holds that，in the modeling part of ZPD，the teacher assumes a regulative role that the learner gradually internizes.This may take the risk of causing overuse of guided learning，with parents，teachers，and peers always assuming the responsibility for initiating the student’s learning.

IV.Conclusion

After discussing the main parts such as ZPD，scaffolding，activity theory of SCT as well as their implication in second language classrooms，it can be seen that the theory plays a crucial part in the field.Language is taught and learned most effectively through different forms of interaction such as mediation，collaborative learning as well as communication with advanced peers or the teacher.

［1］Ashton，“the concept of activity”，in Dixon －Krauss，ed.，Vygotsky in the Classroom:Mediated Literacy Instruction and Assessment，New York:Longman，1996，pp.111 －124.

［2］ Daniels，“Vygotsky and Pedagogy”，London and New York:Routledge Falmer，2001.

［3］Dixon － Krauss，“Classroom assessment”，in Vygotsky in the Classroom:Mediated Literacy Instruction and Assessment，New York:Longman，1996，pp125－131.

［4］Forman，＆ McCormick，“Discourse analysis:a sociocultural perspective”，Remedial and Special Education，vol.16，no.3，1995，pp.150－158.

［5］Jennings，“ Collaborative learning and thinking:the Vygotskian approach”，in Dixon － Krauss，ed，Vygotsky in the Classroom:Mediated Literacy Instruction and Assessment，New York:Longman，1996，pp.77 －91.

［6］ Lantolf，“Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Acquisition”，Hong Kong:Oxford university press，2000.

［7］Lantolf，“Second language learning as a mediated process”，Language Teaching，vo.l33，2000，pp.79 －96.

［8］Lantolf，＆ Thorne，“Sociocultural Theory and the Genesis of Second Language Development”，Oxford:Oxford University Press，2006.

［9］，A.N.，“the problem of activity in psychology”，in Wertsch，ed.，The Concept of Activity in Soviet Psychology，New York:M.E.Sharpe，1981，pp.37 －71.

［10］Mitchell，＆ Myes，“Second Language Learning Theories”，New York:Hodder Arnold，2006.

［11］Tharp，＆ Gallimore，“Rousing Minds to Life，Teaching，Learning，and Schooling in Social Context”，New York: Cambridge University Press，1988

［12］ Vygotsky，“Learning interaction between learning and development”，Mind in Society:the Development of Higher Psychological Processes，Cambridge，MA:Harvard University Press，1978.

［13］ Wells，“The zone of proximal development and its implication for learning and teaching”，in Dialogic Inquiry:Towards a Sociocultural Practice and Theory of Education New York:Cambridge university press，1999，pp.313 －334.

［14］ Wood，;Bruner，＆ Ross，“The role of tutoring in problem solving”，Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry，vol.17，1976 pp.89 －100.