Preview of week 13

Lantolf, J., & Thorn,S. (2006). Sociocultural theory and second language learning.

Sociocultural Theory: “an approach to SLA derived from Vygotsky’s work which emphasized the causal relationship between social interaction and cognitive development, including SLA.”

The authors introduce the theoretical principles and constructs of Sociocultural Theory (SCT),madiation and regulation, internalization, and the zone of proximal development and consider how they inform the study of second language acquisition (SLA) in the article.

Key concepts

Mediation: Human mental functioning is fundamentally a mediated process that is organized by cultural artifacts, activities, and concepts. Language is the most powerful cultural artifact the humans possess to mediate their connection to the world, to each other, and to themselves.

Regulation: One form of mediation is regulation. Regulation can be divided into three stages.


Object-regulation: using objects to regulate mental activity.
Other-regulation: implicit and explicit mediation by others, such as parents, siblings, peers, coaches, teachers and so on, for example, assistance and direction from others.

Self-regulation: the ability to accomplish activities with minimal or no external support

Internalization: Internalization is a negotiated process that reorganizes the relationship of the individual to her or his social environment and generally carries it into future performance (Winegar, 1997, p.31) (p.203)

the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD): “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” (Vygotsky, 1978, p.86) (p.206)