‘With a little help from my friends’? Theory of learning in applied linguistics and SLA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/japl.v4i3.333Keywords:
theory of learning, applied linguistics, SLA, Vygotsky, sociocultural theoryAbstract
Theory of learning is still a contested area in applied linguistics, particularly so in the field of Second Language Acquisition. As a sociocultural framework is gradually gaining momentum, it is time to move towards a deeper understanding. More specifi- cally, it may be time to discuss our conceptions of Vygotsky in this context. Did his emphasis on social context exclude the role of individual learners, or can his multiplane approach be useful for understanding even cognitive or neurological aspects of learning? This article argues that a more considerate, and less confrontational understanding of Vygotsky may reopen several controversial issues for investigation and discussion, and simultaneously shed new light on issues that have been marginalized as new theoretical perspectives have replaced older ones. One of the controversial issues concerns the relation between social and individual aspects of learning. One of the marginalized issues is Krashen’s notion of i+1, where Vygotsky’s approach makes new specification possible. This article discusses a range of controversial and marginalized issues, arguing that Vygotsky may play a more extensive and profound role for our understanding of language learning than has so far been widely assumed.
References
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Artigal, J. P. (1993) The L2 kindergarten teacher as territory marker. Georgetown University Roundtable on Languages and Linguistics 1993: 452–468.
Bakhtin, M. M. (1984) Problems of Dostoevsky’s Poetics. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Bernstein, L. E. (1981) Language as a product of dialogue. Discourse Processes 4 (2): 117– 147. doi:10.1080/01638538109544511
Block, D. (2003) The Social Turn in Second Language Acquisition. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Britton, J., Burgess, T., Martin, N., McLeod, A. and Rosen, H. (1975) The Development of Writing Abilities (11–18). London: Macmillan.
Cazden, C. (1994) Language, cognition and ESL literacy: Vygotsky and ESL literacy teaching. TESOL Quarterly 28 (1): 172–176. doi:10.2307/3587207
Corder, S. P. (1967) The significance of learners’ errors. IRAL 5 (4): 161–170. doi:10.1515/ iral.1967.5.1-4.161
Coupland, N., Sarangi, S. and Candlin, C. (eds.) (2001) Sociolinguistics and Social Theory. Harlow: Pearson.
Donaldson, M. (1978) Children’s Minds. London: Fontana.
Douglas, D. and Selinker, L. (1987) NS vs. NNS TA’s: Markedness in discourse domains. Paper presented at the 8th AILA World Congress, Sydney.
Dunn, W. E. and Lantolf, J. P. (1998) Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development and Krashen’s i + 1: Incommensurable constructs; incommensurable theories. Language Learning 48 (3): 411–442. doi:10.1111/0023-8333.00048
Ellis, R. (1989) Sources of intra-learner variability in language use and their relationship to second language acquisition. In S. M. Gass, C. Madden, D. Preston, and L. Selinker (eds) Variation in Second Language Acquisition. (Vol. 2, Psycholinguistic Issues) 22–45.
Clevedon, PA: Multilingual Matters. Ellis, R. (1997) Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Engeström, Y. (1987) Learning by Expanding: An Activity-theoretical Approach to Developmental Research. Helsinki: Orienta-Konsultit.
Evensen, L. S. (1992) Emerging peaks, turbulent surfaces: Advanced development in student argumentative writing. In A.-M. L. Olsen and A. M. Simensen (eds) Essays in Honour of Eva Sivertsen 111–130. Oslo: Scandinavian University Press.
Evensen, L. S. (1995) The envelopment of social identity in early writing. In Reports from the DEVEL Project No. 16 16–33. Trondheim: Allforsk.
Evensen, L. S. (2002) Convention from below: Negotiating interaction and culture in argumentative writing. Written Communication 19 (3): 382–413. doi:10.1177/074108802237750
Evensen, L. S. (forthcoming) Applied Linguistics: Towards New Integration? London: Equinox.
Foster, P. and Ohta, A. S. (2005) Negotiation for meaning and peer assistance in second language classrooms. Applied Linguistics 26 (3): 402–430. doi:10.1093/applin/ami014
Gass, S. (1998) Apples and oranges: Or, why apples are not oranges and don’t need to be. A response to Firth and Wagner. Modern Language Journal 82 (1): 82–90. doi:10.2307/ 328685
Gass, S.M. (2002) An interactionist perspective on second language acquisition. In R. B. Kaplan (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Applied Linguistics 170–181. Oxford: OUP.
Gass, S. (2009). Second language acquisition. In S. Foster-Cohen (ed.), Language Acquisition (Palgrave Advances in Linguistics) 109–139. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
Gass, S. M. and Madden, C. S. (eds) (1985) Input in Second Language Acquisition. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Gass, S. M., Madden, C., Preston, D. and Selinker, L. (eds) (1989) Variation in Second Language Acquisition. (Vol. 1, Discourse and Pragmatics; Vol 2, Psycholinguistic Issues). Clevedon, PA: Multilingual Matters.
Gass, S. M. and Selinker, L. (1994) Second Language Acquisition. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Gregg, K. (1984) Krashen’s monitor and Occam’s razor. Applied Linguistics 5 (2): 79–100. doi:10.1093/applin/5.2.79
Han, Z. (2004) Fossilization: Five central issues. International Journal of Applied Linguistics 14 (2): 212–242. doi:10.1111/j.1473-4192.2004.00060.x
Heath, C. and Luff, P. (2000) Technology in Action. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511489839
Johnson, M. (2004) A Philosophy of Second Language Acquisition. New Haven, CT and London: Yale University Press.
Kasper, G. (1997) ‘A’ stands for acquisition: A response to Firth and Wagner. Modern Language Journal 81 (3): 307–312. doi:10.2307/329304
Kramsch, C. (ed.) (1995) Redefining the Boundaries of Language Study. Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle.
Krashen, S. D. (1982) Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Labov, W. (1972) Language in the Inner City: Studies in the Black English Vernacular. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Lado, R. (1948) Pattern practice completely oral. Language Teaching 1: 24–27.
Lantolf, J. P. and S. L. Thorne (2006) Sociocultural Theory and the Genesis of Second Language Development. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Larsen-Freeman, D. (1985) State of the art on input in second language acquisition. In S. M. Gass and C. S. Madden (eds) Input in Second Language Acquisition 433–444. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Larsen-Freeman, D. (2000) Second-language acquisition and applied linguistics. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 20: 165–181. doi:10.1017/S026719050020010X
Larsen-Freeman, D. (2004) Language acquisition and language use from a chaos/ complexity theory perspective. In C. Kramsch (ed.) Language Acquisition and Language Socialization: Ecological perspectives 33–46. London: Continuum.
Leont’ev, A. N. (1978) Activity, Consciousness and Personality. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Linell, P. (1998) Approaching Dialogue: Talk, Interaction and Contexts in Dialogical Perspectives. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Linell, P. (2009) Rethinking Language, Mind and World Dialogically. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Long, M. (1980) Inside the ‘black box’: Methodological issues in classroom research on language learning. Language Learning 30 (1): 1–42. doi:10.1111/j.1467-1770.1980. tb00149.x
Long, M. (1997) Construct validity in SLA: A response to Firth and Wagner. Modern Language Journal 81 (iii): 318–323. doi:10.2307/329306
McCafferty, S. G. (1994) Adult second language learners’ use of private speech: A review of studies. Modern Language Journal 78 (iv): 421–436. doi:10.2307/328581
McLaughlin, B. (1987) Theories of Second-language Learning. London: Edward Arnold.
Mead. G. H. (1934) Mind, Self and Society. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
Miller, G. (1967) The Psychology of Communication: Seven Essays. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
Mitchell, R. and Myles, F. (1998) Second Language Learning Theories. London: Arnold.
Nystrand, M. (1997) Opening Dialogue: Understanding the Dynamics of Language and Learning in the English Classroom. New York: Teachers’ College Press.
Ohta, A. S. (2000) Rethinking recasts: A learner-centred examination of corrective feedback in the Japanese language classroom. In J. K. Hall and L. S. Verplaetse (eds) Second and Foreign Language Learning through Classroom Interaction 47–71. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Piaget, J (1955) The Language and Thought of the Child. New York: Meridian Books.
Rommetveit, R. (1974) On Message Structure. London: Wiley.
Sato, C.J. (1985) Task variation in interlanguage phonology. In S. M. Gass and C. S. Madden (eds) Input in Second Language Acquisition 181–196. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Schachter, J. (1998) Recent research in language learning studies: Promises and problems. Language Learning 48 (4): 557–583. doi:10.1111/0023-8333.00059
Schinke-Llano, L. (1993) On the value of a Vygotskyan framework for SLA theory and research. Language Learning 43 (1): 121–129. doi:10.1111/j.1467-1770.1993.tb00175.x
Selinker, L. (1972) Interlanguage. IRAL 10 (3): 209–231.
Selinker, L. and Douglas, D. (1985). Wrestling with context in second language theory. Applied Linguistics 6 (2): 190–204. doi:10.1093/applin/6.2.190
Swain, M. (1985) Communicative competence: some roles of comprehensible input and comprehensible output in its development. In S. M. Gass and C. S. Madden (eds) Input in Second Language Acquisition 235–256. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Takahashi, T. (1989) The influence of the listener on L2 speech. In S. M. Gass, C. Madden, D. Preston and L. Selinker (eds) Variation in Second Language Acquisition (Vol 2, Psycholinguistic Issues) 245–279. Clevedon, PA: Multilingual Matters.
Tarone, E. (2000) Still wrestling with ‘context’ in interlanguage theory. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 20: 182–198. doi:10.1017/S0267190500200111
Vygotsky, L. (1978) Mind in Society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Vygotsky, L. (1986) Thought and Language (Revised edition translated and edited by Alex Kozulin). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. Twelfth printing 2000.
Wagner-Gough, J. and Hatch, E. (1975) The importance of input data in second language acquisition studies. Language Learning 25 (2), 297–307. doi:10.1111/j.1467-1770.1975. tb00248.x
Weinrich, H. (1966) Erzählte und Besprochene Welt. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer.
Wertsch, J. V. (1991) Voices of the Mind: A Sociocultural Approach to Mediated Action. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Wood, D., Bruner, J. S and Ross, G. (1976) The role of tutoring in problem-solving. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 17 (2), 89–100. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.1976.tb00381.x
Artigal, J. P. (1993) The L2 kindergarten teacher as territory marker. Georgetown University Roundtable on Languages and Linguistics 1993: 452–468.
Bakhtin, M. M. (1984) Problems of Dostoevsky’s Poetics. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Bernstein, L. E. (1981) Language as a product of dialogue. Discourse Processes 4 (2): 117– 147. doi:10.1080/01638538109544511
Block, D. (2003) The Social Turn in Second Language Acquisition. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Britton, J., Burgess, T., Martin, N., McLeod, A. and Rosen, H. (1975) The Development of Writing Abilities (11–18). London: Macmillan.
Cazden, C. (1994) Language, cognition and ESL literacy: Vygotsky and ESL literacy teaching. TESOL Quarterly 28 (1): 172–176. doi:10.2307/3587207
Corder, S. P. (1967) The significance of learners’ errors. IRAL 5 (4): 161–170. doi:10.1515/ iral.1967.5.1-4.161
Coupland, N., Sarangi, S. and Candlin, C. (eds.) (2001) Sociolinguistics and Social Theory. Harlow: Pearson.
Donaldson, M. (1978) Children’s Minds. London: Fontana.
Douglas, D. and Selinker, L. (1987) NS vs. NNS TA’s: Markedness in discourse domains. Paper presented at the 8th AILA World Congress, Sydney.
Dunn, W. E. and Lantolf, J. P. (1998) Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development and Krashen’s i + 1: Incommensurable constructs; incommensurable theories. Language Learning 48 (3): 411–442. doi:10.1111/0023-8333.00048
Ellis, R. (1989) Sources of intra-learner variability in language use and their relationship to second language acquisition. In S. M. Gass, C. Madden, D. Preston, and L. Selinker (eds) Variation in Second Language Acquisition. (Vol. 2, Psycholinguistic Issues) 22–45.
Clevedon, PA: Multilingual Matters. Ellis, R. (1997) Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Engeström, Y. (1987) Learning by Expanding: An Activity-theoretical Approach to Developmental Research. Helsinki: Orienta-Konsultit.
Evensen, L. S. (1992) Emerging peaks, turbulent surfaces: Advanced development in student argumentative writing. In A.-M. L. Olsen and A. M. Simensen (eds) Essays in Honour of Eva Sivertsen 111–130. Oslo: Scandinavian University Press.
Evensen, L. S. (1995) The envelopment of social identity in early writing. In Reports from the DEVEL Project No. 16 16–33. Trondheim: Allforsk.
Evensen, L. S. (2002) Convention from below: Negotiating interaction and culture in argumentative writing. Written Communication 19 (3): 382–413. doi:10.1177/074108802237750
Evensen, L. S. (forthcoming) Applied Linguistics: Towards New Integration? London: Equinox.
Foster, P. and Ohta, A. S. (2005) Negotiation for meaning and peer assistance in second language classrooms. Applied Linguistics 26 (3): 402–430. doi:10.1093/applin/ami014
Gass, S. (1998) Apples and oranges: Or, why apples are not oranges and don’t need to be. A response to Firth and Wagner. Modern Language Journal 82 (1): 82–90. doi:10.2307/ 328685
Gass, S.M. (2002) An interactionist perspective on second language acquisition. In R. B. Kaplan (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Applied Linguistics 170–181. Oxford: OUP.
Gass, S. (2009). Second language acquisition. In S. Foster-Cohen (ed.), Language Acquisition (Palgrave Advances in Linguistics) 109–139. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
Gass, S. M. and Madden, C. S. (eds) (1985) Input in Second Language Acquisition. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Gass, S. M., Madden, C., Preston, D. and Selinker, L. (eds) (1989) Variation in Second Language Acquisition. (Vol. 1, Discourse and Pragmatics; Vol 2, Psycholinguistic Issues). Clevedon, PA: Multilingual Matters.
Gass, S. M. and Selinker, L. (1994) Second Language Acquisition. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Gregg, K. (1984) Krashen’s monitor and Occam’s razor. Applied Linguistics 5 (2): 79–100. doi:10.1093/applin/5.2.79
Han, Z. (2004) Fossilization: Five central issues. International Journal of Applied Linguistics 14 (2): 212–242. doi:10.1111/j.1473-4192.2004.00060.x
Heath, C. and Luff, P. (2000) Technology in Action. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511489839
Johnson, M. (2004) A Philosophy of Second Language Acquisition. New Haven, CT and London: Yale University Press.
Kasper, G. (1997) ‘A’ stands for acquisition: A response to Firth and Wagner. Modern Language Journal 81 (3): 307–312. doi:10.2307/329304
Kramsch, C. (ed.) (1995) Redefining the Boundaries of Language Study. Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle.
Krashen, S. D. (1982) Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Labov, W. (1972) Language in the Inner City: Studies in the Black English Vernacular. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Lado, R. (1948) Pattern practice completely oral. Language Teaching 1: 24–27.
Lantolf, J. P. and S. L. Thorne (2006) Sociocultural Theory and the Genesis of Second Language Development. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Larsen-Freeman, D. (1985) State of the art on input in second language acquisition. In S. M. Gass and C. S. Madden (eds) Input in Second Language Acquisition 433–444. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Larsen-Freeman, D. (2000) Second-language acquisition and applied linguistics. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 20: 165–181. doi:10.1017/S026719050020010X
Larsen-Freeman, D. (2004) Language acquisition and language use from a chaos/ complexity theory perspective. In C. Kramsch (ed.) Language Acquisition and Language Socialization: Ecological perspectives 33–46. London: Continuum.
Leont’ev, A. N. (1978) Activity, Consciousness and Personality. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Linell, P. (1998) Approaching Dialogue: Talk, Interaction and Contexts in Dialogical Perspectives. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Linell, P. (2009) Rethinking Language, Mind and World Dialogically. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Long, M. (1980) Inside the ‘black box’: Methodological issues in classroom research on language learning. Language Learning 30 (1): 1–42. doi:10.1111/j.1467-1770.1980. tb00149.x
Long, M. (1997) Construct validity in SLA: A response to Firth and Wagner. Modern Language Journal 81 (iii): 318–323. doi:10.2307/329306
McCafferty, S. G. (1994) Adult second language learners’ use of private speech: A review of studies. Modern Language Journal 78 (iv): 421–436. doi:10.2307/328581
McLaughlin, B. (1987) Theories of Second-language Learning. London: Edward Arnold.
Mead. G. H. (1934) Mind, Self and Society. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
Miller, G. (1967) The Psychology of Communication: Seven Essays. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
Mitchell, R. and Myles, F. (1998) Second Language Learning Theories. London: Arnold.
Nystrand, M. (1997) Opening Dialogue: Understanding the Dynamics of Language and Learning in the English Classroom. New York: Teachers’ College Press.
Ohta, A. S. (2000) Rethinking recasts: A learner-centred examination of corrective feedback in the Japanese language classroom. In J. K. Hall and L. S. Verplaetse (eds) Second and Foreign Language Learning through Classroom Interaction 47–71. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Piaget, J (1955) The Language and Thought of the Child. New York: Meridian Books.
Rommetveit, R. (1974) On Message Structure. London: Wiley.
Sato, C.J. (1985) Task variation in interlanguage phonology. In S. M. Gass and C. S. Madden (eds) Input in Second Language Acquisition 181–196. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Schachter, J. (1998) Recent research in language learning studies: Promises and problems. Language Learning 48 (4): 557–583. doi:10.1111/0023-8333.00059
Schinke-Llano, L. (1993) On the value of a Vygotskyan framework for SLA theory and research. Language Learning 43 (1): 121–129. doi:10.1111/j.1467-1770.1993.tb00175.x
Selinker, L. (1972) Interlanguage. IRAL 10 (3): 209–231.
Selinker, L. and Douglas, D. (1985). Wrestling with context in second language theory. Applied Linguistics 6 (2): 190–204. doi:10.1093/applin/6.2.190
Swain, M. (1985) Communicative competence: some roles of comprehensible input and comprehensible output in its development. In S. M. Gass and C. S. Madden (eds) Input in Second Language Acquisition 235–256. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Takahashi, T. (1989) The influence of the listener on L2 speech. In S. M. Gass, C. Madden, D. Preston and L. Selinker (eds) Variation in Second Language Acquisition (Vol 2, Psycholinguistic Issues) 245–279. Clevedon, PA: Multilingual Matters.
Tarone, E. (2000) Still wrestling with ‘context’ in interlanguage theory. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 20: 182–198. doi:10.1017/S0267190500200111
Vygotsky, L. (1978) Mind in Society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Vygotsky, L. (1986) Thought and Language (Revised edition translated and edited by Alex Kozulin). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. Twelfth printing 2000.
Wagner-Gough, J. and Hatch, E. (1975) The importance of input data in second language acquisition studies. Language Learning 25 (2), 297–307. doi:10.1111/j.1467-1770.1975. tb00248.x
Weinrich, H. (1966) Erzählte und Besprochene Welt. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer.
Wertsch, J. V. (1991) Voices of the Mind: A Sociocultural Approach to Mediated Action. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Wood, D., Bruner, J. S and Ross, G. (1976) The role of tutoring in problem-solving. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 17 (2), 89–100. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.1976.tb00381.x
Published
2015-09-14
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Equinox Publishing Ltd.
How to Cite
Evensen, L. S. (2015). ‘With a little help from my friends’? Theory of learning in applied linguistics and SLA. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice, 4(3), 333-353. https://doi.org/10.1558/japl.v4i3.333
