| Bureau
of Educational and Cultural Affairs
OFFICE OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROGRAMS
Home > English
Language Programs > English
Teaching Forum > Volume
41 > Issue
3
The Mediational Role of Language Teachers in Sociocultural Theory
Le Pham Hoai Huong (New Zealand)
In recent years, language educators have become interested in sociocultural
theory and its application to language teaching and learning. Sociocultural
theory was first developed and systematized by Vygotsky (1896–1934)
and his collaborators in Russia in the 1920s and 1930s, and has
been embraced by theorists across the disciplines of psychology,
education, and language acquisition. Vygotsky conceptualized cognitive
development as the transformation of socially shared activities
into internalized processes. In this sense, knowledge only has significance
and value in the context of joint action and interaction. Donato
and McCormick (1994:453) point out that “Sociocultural theory
maintains that social interaction and cultural institutions, such
as schools and classrooms, have important roles to play in an individual’s
cognitive growth and development.”
Sociocultural theory is based on the concept that human activities
take place in cultural contexts and are mediated by language and
other symbol systems. It emphasizes the interdependence of social
and individual processes in the co-construction of knowledge. According
to Lantolf (2000a:79), “Sociocultural theory holds that specifically
human forms of mental activity arise in the interactions we enter
into with other members of our culture and with the specific experiences
we have with the artifacts produced by our ancestors and by our
contemporaries.”
One of the factors that has drawn language educators to sociocultural
theory is its emphasis on mediation in the process of learning.
In this article, I explain the mediational role of teachers in sociocultural
theory.
Mediation
According to the Vygotskian view, it is through social mediation
that knowledge becomes refined and viable and gains coherence. Mediation
is the mechanism through which external, sociocultural activities
are transformed into internal, mental functioning. Mediation is
the instrument of cognitive change (Kozulin 1990). The source of
mediation can be either a material tool (for example, a string around
one’s finger as a reminder or a computer); a system of symbols
(most notably language), or the behaviour of another human being
in social interaction. Mediators, in the form of objects, symbols,
and persons transform natural, spontaneous impulses into higher
mental processes, including strategic orientations to problem solving.
In the case of language learning, this mediation can take the form
of a textbook, visual material, classroom discourse, opportunities
for second language interaction, instruction, or other kinds of
teacher assistance. Social mediation in the form of interaction
can occur as expert-novice mediation (the teacher or more capable
peers as “experts”) or as peer mediation.
Ashton (1996) points out that in Vygotsky’s view of mediation,
human thought emerges in the context of activities that are embedded
in specific social and cultural settings. Written and oral communication
will be shaped by the styles of discourse that are preferred in
the particular setting where the communication occurs. Applying
this idea to the classroom, mediation includes teaching and learning
aids; it can be spoken and written language, both of which are important
for constructing knowledge and cognitive development. Learners’
thinking will be shaped to the preferred discourse that dominates
classroom interaction.
The mediational role of the language teacher does not simply mean
that there is additional work required of the teacher, but that
the teacher takes on a qualitatively different role. Rather than
just follow curriculum guidelines or focus solely on the sequential
acquisition of skills by learners, the teacher in the mediational
role engages in a joint effort with learners, mainly through interaction,
to advance the learners’ development.
The ZPD and the mediational role of teachers
The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is a central concept in
sociocultural theory that embraces the mediational roles of teachers.
Vygotsky defines the ZPD 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” (1978:86).
The concept is so crucial to pedagogy that there have been a variety
of interpretations of learning and teaching derived from it. The
original meaning of “adult guidance” was interpreted as
the teacher’s guidance in the classroom. Wood, Bruner, and
Ross (1976) use the metaphor of scaffolding to describe the
graduated assistance provided to the novice by the teacher so that
the novice can internalise external knowledge and convert it into
tools of conscious control in order to accomplish learning tasks.
In language education, teaching in the zone of proximal development
has been interpreted as providing guided assistance (scaffolding)
and meaningful interaction. According to Tharp and Gallimore (1988),
teaching in the ZPD is assisted performance, that is, teachers
provide the assistance necessary to bring the learner to a higher
level through the zone and to a greater independent capacity. Lantolf
(2000b:50) states, “Vygotsky’s definition states that
the ZPD is the difference between what a person can accomplish when
acting alone and what the same person can accomplish when acting
with support from someone else and/or cultural artifacts.”
The excerpt below from Takahashi
(1998, cited in Lantolf 2000b:50) illustrates how scaffolding, teacher-student
interaction, and student-student interaction operate as assisted
performance. The lesson is about using the verb want. The
teacher is assisting Mary to describe a picture using the verb want
by using instructional language, interaction with other students,
and the song as mediating tools to help Mary figure out how to use
the verb correctly. At first Mary cannot complete the sentence (line
04). The prompting from the teacher and other classmates (lines
05 to 12), including the song, help Mary to make a correct sentence
at last (line 13). The teacher understands that Mary cannot produce
the sentence by herself, so the teacher uses the classroom interaction
to mediate the thinking process in Mary. Mary “co-constructs”
her understanding of the grammar point with the interaction of the
teacher and her classmates.
To summarize, sociocultural theory emphasizes CO-construction and
collaboration; both are characteristics of goal-oriented interaction.
The concept of working in the zone of proximal development, or “scaffolding,”
provides a good orientation to understanding teacher-learner interaction
during which the mediational role of the teachers contributes to
the learning and cognitive development of the learner(s).
Sociocultural theory and its contribution to language teaching
approaches
Sociocultural theory holds a strongly interactionist view of language
learning. There is a difference, however, between the sociocultural
perspective and other perspectives that also view interaction as
important in second language acquisition. The sociocultural theorists
assume that language acquisition takes place in the interactions
between learner and interlocutor. Other interactionist models assume
input modification provides learners with the linguistic raw material
that they will then process internally and invisibly (Lightbown
and Spada 1999:44). In the other interactionist view, language input
must be modified and comprehensible, and during the process of interaction,
there is negotiation of meaning. The role of the teacher in sociocultural
perspectives goes beyond providing a rich language environment to
learners. The teacher uses the language as a cognitive tool to enable
learners to develop thoughts and ideas in language. The thinking
process indicates development in learners, who become independent
and capable of completing tasks as they reach their potential level
of development.
The ZPD is similar to Krashen’s (1981) input hypothesis in
terms of language input. However, for teaching language in the ZPD,
teachers must pay attention not only to language input but also
to language learners (Lantolf 2000a:80), because they have to provide
the learners with a supportive and guiding environment in addition
to knowledge that is beyond the learners’ current level. Meaning
is constructed through joint activity rather than transmitted from
teacher to learner. The teachers do not transfer knowledge to learners,
but instead help learners to transform the knowledge they receive
through the construction of meaning and with resources such as knowledge
from interlocutors, textbooks, and other means available in the
classroom context. Talk between the teacher and learners has a mediational
role, which leads to further learning, so language becomes the primary
mediational tool for constructing meaning.
According to Zou (1998), in teaching a second or foreign language,
the use of the ZPD requires not only an awareness of the relationship
between language, thought, and culture, but also knowledge of appropriate
pedagogical principles. English learners have to explore a new system
of language and culture. In this sense, teachers must provide competent
support, guidance, and scaffolding, so students are empowered to
study the target language effectively. Individual students are viewed
as capable learners but in need of directed forms of assistance
in order to succeed.
Sociocultural theory has been criticized for its strong emphasis
on social interaction. Due to the focus on teacher-student interaction,
other factors in the process of learning may be overlooked. Placing
too much emphasis on the more capable learners or the teacher might
deny the individual roles of all learners. Fox (2001:30) criticizes
the concept of shared learning
“To focus on teaching as the shared construction of knowledge…
risks ignoring the extent to which learning depends on independent
practice and problem-solving. It tends to highlight learning as
conceptualisation and to ignore learning as the formation, or
revision, of skills…. As well as sharing knowledge, we have
to make knowledge our own.”
Furthermore, sociocultural theory has also been criticized for
its failure to pinpoint learner motivation and its de-emphasis on
practice and experiential learning.
Conclusion
To summarize the Vygotskian pedagogy, teachers co-construct knowledge
with learners. Teachers use the mediating tool of language to assist
learners and that learners use to understand and internalise new
knowledge. This internalisation leads to the individual’s cognitive
and linguistic development.
The contribution of sociocultural theory to language teaching is
primarily its emphasis on language and other symbol systems as mediating
tools for cognitive development in learning a new language. Teaching
in the sociocultural perspective means assisting and guiding learners
to do what they are not able to do alone, recognizing the interdependence
of teacher and learner in the CO-construction of knowledge, and
seeing teachers as mediators in the learning process. To teach language
through the mediating process means to instruct with guidance and
through dialogic communication (Vygotsky 1962, 1978). Learning is
appropriating knowledge through interaction. The learners are active
constructors of their own learning environment, and the outcomes
of the learning process are new zones of proximal development.
References
Ashton, P. 1996. The concept of activity. In Vygotsky in the
classroom: Mediated literacy instruction and assessment, ed.
Dixon-Krauss. New York: Longman, pp. 111–124.
Donato, R. and McCormick, D. 1994. A sociocultural perspective
on language learning strategies: The role of mediation. The Modern
Language Journal, 78, 4, pp. 453–464.
Fox, R. 2001. Constructivism examined. Oxford Review of Education,
27, 1, pp. 23–35.
Kozulin, A. 1990. Vygotsky’s psychology: A biography of
ideas. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Krashen, S. 1981. Second language acquisition and second language
learning. Oxford: Pergamon.
Lantolf, J. 2000a. Second language learning as a mediated process.
Language Teaching, 33, 2, pp. 79–96.
Lantolf, J. ed. 2000b. Sociocultural theory and second language
learning. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Lightbown, P. and Spada, N. 1999. How languages are learned.
(Revised ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Tharp, R. G. and Gallimore, R. 1988. Rousing minds to life:
Teaching, learning and schooling in social context. New York:
Cambridge University Press.
Vygotsky, L. 1962. Thought and language. Cambridge, MA:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press.
———. 1978. Mind in society: The development of
higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press.
Wood, D., Bruner, J. and Ross, G. 1976. The role of tutoring in
problem solving. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry,
17, 2, pp. 89–100.
Zou, Y. 1998. Rethinking empowerment: The acquisition of cultural,
linguistic, and academic knowledge. TESOL Journal, 7, 4,
pp. 4–9.
Le Pham Hoai Huong, a Lecturer of English at Hue College
of Social Sciences and Humanities in Vietnam, is currently working
on a PhD at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand.
Excerpt (from Takahashi 1998, cited in Lantolf
2000b:50)
The teacher shows a picture of a boy eating an apple.
Teacher: Yes…
Student 1: Dennis is eating an apple.
Teacher: Dennis is eating an apple. Very good. Mary? (Mary
is Student 2)
The teacher shows a picture of a boy who is thinking about eating
an apple.
Student 2: Dennis eat apple.
Teacher: Eat? (with rising intonation)
Student 2: Is eating.
Student 3 (to S2): Wants to eat. Is eating. Does not eat.
Teacher: Remember this song? Want, want, want.
The teacher begins singing the “I want” song, and
the students begin singing along with the teacher.
Everyone (singing): Wants, wants, wants.
The children and teacher continue to sing the song with forms
of want.
Teacher: Yes, wants to eat! Right? Wants to eat.
Students: Wants to eat.
Teacher: Wants to eat, yes, Mary?
Student 2: Dennis wants to eat an apple.
Teacher: Yes, very good!
Back to the top
| 
