Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Socio-cultural theories (SCT) stress social interaction for learning. Social interac-
tion, 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, leads to development of language -
as language is a fundamental aspect of interaction (Lantolf and Thorne
2006
).
Key aspects of SCT involve mediation, regulation, and abstraction (Lantolf and
Thorne
2006
), based on the principles of SCT set out by Vygotsky.
Another important aspect of SCT within the context of SLA is the zone of
proximal development (ZPD) (Donato
2000
; Ohta
2001
). The ZPD is defined as the
zone of potential in which an individual can achieve more with assistance from
others with better proficiency than they can do alone. The significance of this notion
is that learning is linked to development only within the ZPD. Facilitating contact
between language users of different abilities to help create this ZPD is a principal
goal of educators using CMC technologies (Cheon
2008
).
The nature of CMC has invoked further rationalization of the processes involved
in SCT: multimodalities and multiliteracies. Lamy and Hampel (
2007
), quoting
Wertsch (
2002
) and Kress (
2003
), point out that the functionality of CMC ensure
that modes of communication transform previous modes to such an extent that they
may be totally different with respect to the affordances they represent to users
(Smith
2003
,
2005
). This raises the issue of whether or not users are able to adjust
accordingly. The plethora of modes is only matched by the need for skills, or
literacies, to use them appropriately. In other words language requires not only
certain levels of competency, but also various other skills - such as technological or
communicative competence. Deficiencies in one or more of these additional
skillsets can negatively impact on the likelihood for successful language learning
within a CMC environment.
A modern derivation of Vygotsky's work (M¨ ller-Hartmann and Schocker-v.
Ditfurth
2010
) that incorporates these further rationalizations has become
popularized as Activity Theory (AT). AT encompasses multimodalities and
multiliteracies within a number of facets and levels. Importantly, it facilitates a
comprehensive research framework for the pedagogical implications of Task-Based
Language Learning (TBLL) in the CMC classroom.
As SCT has dominated the approaches of recent research frameworks, cultural
interaction as a trigger for developing intercultural competence (IC) seems to have
become an end in itself, rather than a means, for a lot of SLA researchers.
Researchers have drawn on the behaviorist psychology concepts of incidental and
intentional learning, popularized during the 1970s, to develop tools that could
describe the language learning processes within CMC environments (Kabata and
Edasawa
2011
; Hulstijn
2003
). Kabata and Edasawa (
2011
) quotes Huckin and
Coady (
1999
) in arguing that “incidental acquisition is the primary means by which
second language learners develop their vocabulary beyond the first few thousand
most-common words”. In fact, incidental learning is believed to have certain
advantages over direct instruction (Kabata and Edasawa
2011
) as it is contextual-
ized, learner centered, and is pedagogically efficient (vocabulary acquisition and
reading occur at the same time).
