Research Methods and Sociocultural Approaches in Second Language Acquisition

Abstract

This entry analyzes and synthesizes various studies in the field of second language acquisition (SLA) that appeared after the publication of Frawley and Lantolf's 1985 study and expanded on sociocultural approaches based on Vygotsky's theoretical framework and methodological approach. Researchers interested in diverse facets of SLA both in and out of educational contexts have utilized sociocultural theory in a variety of ways. Some have focused more on the internal aspects of language, the mental processes involved in making and communicating meaning through language activities, while others have focused more on the social, cultural, physical, and historical contexts of second language learning and acquisition. These approaches seek to understand language development in its manifold richness and draw on the experiences and introspections of second language learners, who learn language in very different contexts and situations of development. The entry does not attempt to give a comprehensive account of all of the work that has been done using Vygotsky's core concepts to investigate second language learning, teaching, and acquisition from a sociocultural perspective, but instead focuses on such primary concepts as zone of proximal development; dynamic assessment; inner speech; private speech; the regulatory function of speech; gesture; social situation of development; and the historical and theoretical work that has been central to sociocultural approaches to SLA research and that can contribute to this effort through a reconceptualization of Vygotsky's work.