Sociocultural Theory and Mediated Learning

Dr Gabriela Meier

Today’s objectives

Review of IIO through the article: Pica 2005

Presentations I – critically engage with diverse language learning contexts

Gain an elementary understanding of socio-cultural theory and its application to the field of second language learning.

Introduction to concept maps: Task for next week

Views of learning

Stimulus-response model (behaviourism)

Cognitive models (innatism, constructivism, information processing) Input – interaction – output - Computational

metaphor (based on cognitive psychology and linguistics)

Socio-cultural model (based on social psychology)

Discussion

In your language learning experience…

1. do you ever think in the L2?

if so, in what type of situations?

2.Do you ever talk in the L2 with a fellow L2

learner?

3.Do you feel it helps you in mastering the L2?

4.Why? Why not?

Overview of the session

1. Vygotskian socio-cultural theory – key principles.

Language in SCT Mediation Zone of proximal development (ZPD) Regulation Scaffolding Learning metaphors

2. Reflecting on your own learning.

SCT Draws on:

Lev Vygotsky (1987) Alexei Nikolaevich Leont’ev (1978) James V. Wertsch (1985) Etc.

Lev Vygotsky (1896 – 1934)

Social psychologist

He was a contemporary of Jean Piaget. His work, which was not translated into English until 1962, is mainly concerned with general ideas about learning (not with language specifically).

Literary Works

Thought and Language Thinking and SpeechCrisis in PsychologyMind and SocietyCollected Works 6 volumes

Language in SCT

Vygotsky was concerned with the relationship between thought and language.He saw language as the means for mediating higher level thinking skills.Emphasis on semantic properties of language rather than its formal properties. Emphasis on meaning rather than form.

Jean Piaget (1896 – 1980)Developmental psychologist

Stages of development0-2 years : sensorimotor2-7 years: preoperational7-11 years: concrete operational11-16 years: formal operational

Vygotsky and Piaget

Who stands for which model?

Learning leads development

versus

Development leads learning

Vygotsky

Best known for his work on

Learning as a social interaction

An infant establishes meaning in the interaction with care givers (intermental)

and then internalises it (intramental).

The social origin of mental functioning:

”Any function in the child`s cultural development appears twice, or on two planes. First it appears

on the social plane, and then on the psychological plane. First it appears between people as an interpsychological category, and then within the child as an intrapsycholgical category.” (Vygotsky, 1978:57)

Important SCT concepts

MediationZPDRegulationScaffolding

Mediation

The role of artifacts (tools and activities) and other people in learning.

The mediated mind

The importance of toolsHumans use tools to understand and

mediate their social and physical environments

Tools are socially generated and transmitted within cultures through joint activity

Mediated action

MArtefact

OObject

SSubject

Subject and object are seen not only as ”directly” connected but simultaneously as ”indirectly” connected through a medium constituted of artefacts. (Cole 2003:119)

Fishing rod

FISH (Supper!)Fisherman

Mediated action

What is an artefact (artifact)?

How does this relate to language learning?

M (artefact)Concrete: dictionarySymbolic: languageSocial: significant other

O: Understanding a textS:L2 Learner

Mediated action and SLA

Zone of Proximal Development

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

(the zone of potential/ next development)

‘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: 86).

ZPDZone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

Regulation

The importance of other people REGULATION AND ASSISTED PERFORMANCE.

Object-regulation (have no control over objects) Other-regulation (gain control with assistance of socioculturally-organized

concepts, artefacts and activities) Self-regulation (gain control through inner

speech)

From other to self regulation in ZPDtransition from

other-regulation activity (inter-mental)

self-regulation activity (intra-mental)

= learner gains increasing control over

learning behaviours and the environment

(Lantolf & Appel, 1994).

                                   

Scaffolding

Scaffolding

Vygotsky believed that when a student is at the zone of proximal development for a particular task, providing the appropriate assistance (scaffolding) will give the learner the extra help to achieve the task. Once the student, with the benefit of scaffolding, masters the task, the scaffolding can then be removed and the student will then be able to complete the task again on his own. (from other to self regulation)

Theory developed by Jerôme Bruner in 1950s

Jerôme Bruner *1915 Poland Cognitive psychologist / Professor at Harvard Instruction must be concerned with the experiences and contexts that make the student willing and able to learn (readiness). Instruction should be designed to facilitate extrapolation and or fill in the gaps (going beyond the information given).

Scaffolding is a form of adult assistance that enables a child or novice to solve a problem, carry out a task or achieve a goal which would be beyond his unassisted efforts.

It is a process whereby the adult controls those elements of the task that are initially beyond the learner’s capacity, thus allowing the learner to complete those that are within existing capabilities.

(Lantolf & Thorne, 2006: 107).

Scaffolding (Bruner)

Instructional scaffolding Instructional scaffolding is the provision of

sufficient support to promote learning when concepts and skills are being first introduced to students.

Scaffolding

What scaffolding do you provide for your learners?

And how do they move from other regulation to self regulation?

Learning metaphors

Acquisition metaphor

Participation metaphor

Contribution metaphor

Learning metaphors

Acquisition metaphor ‘knowledge as a commodity that is accumulated by

the learner’ (Pavlenko and Lantolf 2000:155–6)

Participation metaphor ‘obliges us to think of learning “as aprocess of

becoming members of a certain community”’ (Sfard 1998:6)

Contribution metaphor understands the language learner as a potential

contributor to common goals. (Grabois 2008:285)

Sociocultural theory and classroom practice

Sociocultural theory highlights the importance of people, activities and tools in supporting learning and development. It suggests that classroom activities and practices need to be designed to enable learners to work within their ZPD.

The problem with operationalizing the concept of the ZPD in our classrooms.

How do we establish a child’s current level of development?

How do we know when to increase/ reduce our level of assistance or support?

How can we teach in ways that can accommodate the very different development needs of our learners?

If the ZPD is ultimately best understood as an activity between learner and mediating artefact/ significant other then is it possible to make any pedagogical generalizations at all?

Some pedagogical insights developed from socio-cultural theory

Sociocultural theory stresses the important role that people and artefacts play in learning. According to SCT, learning is not an individual ‘autonomous’ process and so the quality of the learning experience provided by teachers is significant to the learning journey of the learner.

Based on SCT•Qualities of good mediation/scaffolding.•Dynamic assessment (within ZPD)•Differentiated instruction (activities and tasks)

Recap

What’s difference between socio-cultural perspectives on learning and other perspectives (Behaviourism, Cognitive psychology?

What are them main concepts related to socio-cultural theory?

Vygotskian SCT compared

Vygotsky and PiagetLearning leads development versus development leads learning)

Vygotsky and ChomskyFrom inside to outside versus from outside to inside

Vygotsky’s ZPD versus Krashen’s i+ 1Quality of input versus quality of dynamic interaction between learner and significant other

Vygotsky and Behaviourism Learning from the world versus learning in the world.

Some SC theorists OR ‘Neo-Vygotskians’ In Russia by Leont’ev, especially interaction of

consciousness and activity – elaborated as version of activity theory promoted by Engeström.

In USA developed in work of Bruner, Cole and Wertsch in developmental psychology, cultural anthropology and sociolinguistics. This strand is most commonly called sociocultural or cultural-historical.

In N. America developed in relation to second language learning by Lantolf (1994; Lantolf and Appel; Lantolf, 2000; Pavlenko, **2004; Swain et al, 2002.

In UK delivered in relation to general classroom studies by Mercer (1995; 2000) & Wells (1999).

SCT and its followers in SLA

Professor James P. Lantolf Penn State University, USA

SLA authors on SCT

Lantolf & Poehner 2011 Ellis 2008 Lantolf and Thorne 2006 Kinginger 2002 Nassaji and Cumming 2000 Dunn and Lantolf 1998 Lantolf and Aljaafreh 1995

Question:

What comes first in the learning process

cognition or social interaction?

Teacher-student or student-student?

“Dialogue among learners can be as effective as instructional conversations between teachers and learners. Working collaboratively, people are able to co-construct distributed expertise as a feature of the group [social], and individual members are then able to exploit this expertise as an occasion for learning to happen [cognition]. (…) Learners are capable of scaffolding each other through the use of strategies that parallel those relied upon by experts.”

Lantolf, 2002:106

Social interaction is central…

…cognition originates in social interaction and is shaped by cultural and sociopolitical processes. That is, cultural and sociopolitical processes are central, rather than incidental, to cognitive development. “

Watson-Gegeo 2004: 332

How does this relate to Pica’s (2005) article?

Our teaching is based on combination IIOStudent reading Interactive lecturesOutput – presentation, essays Feedback

SCTDynamic assessment (formative & summative)Social participation in class, learning as a social activityEssay based on specific context known to you (ZPD)

Task: concept mapTask: produce a concept mapPlease construct a concept map – that reflects the following:Main strands of theoretical thinking with regard to how people learn Main theories relating to first language learning / second language learningMain theorists Can you position your own language learning context in this?

See hand out

Today’s objectives

Review of IIO through the article: Pica 2005

Presentations I – critically engage with diverse language learning contexts

Gain an elementary understanding of socio-cultural theory and its application to the field of second language learning.

Introduction to concept maps: Task for next week

Next Next

week: week:

Learner Learner

strategies

strategies

and styles

and styles