Language Teaching and

Learning from a Sociocultural

Perspective
Maria Dantas-Whitney
Western Oregon University
dantasm@wou.edu

ED 684

A paradigm shift
In the last decade the field second language acquisition
has undergone a major shift of perspective from viewing
language learning as an isolated individual phenomenon
to viewing it as shaped by social interactions.
Sociocultural approaches have turned the process of
language acquisition on its head. Instead of looking at
language acquisition as mostly a psychological process
which starts in the minds of individuals and moves
toward socialization into the community, sociocultural
theorists argue that the process begins in our social
practices before it is internalized by our individual minds.

Sociocultural Perspective
and Language Pedagogy
Language acquisition begins in our social
practices before it is internalized by our
individual minds
Language is not a collection of forms or an
object of analysis that exists apart from its
context and its speakers. Rather, language is a
resource used to realize and enact social life
Language teaching:
situated activities
specific identities
collaboration to negotiate new language and concepts
within specific contexts

Sociocultural Perspective
and Language Pedagogy
Key principles
Linking learning to learners worlds
Creating collaborative learning environments
Engaging learners identities
Promoting critical inquiry

Linking Learning to Learners Worlds

Learners are creators of their own knowledge;
they learn by creating new meanings based on
prior experiences, skills and beliefs
Language does not carry meaning by itself.
Meaning occurs through the interaction between
the readers or the listeners prior knowledge
about the world and the text or speech
The curriculum grows out of their prior
experiences, present needs and hopes for the
future
Classroom activities help learners reshape their
existing knowledge in light of new course content

Creating Collaborative
Learning Environments

Emphasis on language socialization, rather than

language acquisition
Learners provide for each other the support needed to
outperform their competence
Collaborative learning activities can take various forms,
but they share some basic characteristics:

they ask groups of students to complete specific tasks within a

given amount of time
they allow the members of groups to negotiate individual roles
they encourage group consensus but teach respect for individual
diversity and minority views

Engaging Learners Identities

Our identities are multiple and dynamic, and are shaped
by the contexts and situations in which we operate
It is through language that a person negotiates a sense
of self within and across different sites at different points
in time
Language teaching and learning is always about
acquiring new identities in a context where learners
previous identities are respected
Optimal learning occurs when there is maximum
cognitive engagement and maximum identity
investment on the part of students
(Cummins, 2006; Norton Peirce, 1995)

Promoting Critical Inquiry

Knowledge is not something that has been
previously formulated by someone else, but
something that is continuously regenerated and
co-constructed among teachers and learners and
their peers
Students have opportunities to:

consider multiple perspectives and points-of-view

clarify their own attitudes and values
question and challenge conventional beliefs
take a stance on issues
take social action

Conclusions
From a sociocultural perspective, language
teaching and learning are dynamic concepts that
are constantly defined and re-defined through
interactions among learners, teachers,
community members, and our larger societal
contexts (Dantas-Whitney & Rilling, 2010)
The goal of second language education is to
enable learners to broaden their communicative
experiences, their worldviews, and their
understandings of the active, creative roles they
as individuals play in constructing [their] worlds
(Hall, 2002)

Group Task
After reading the article by Swain and Deeters
(2007), choose one of the main themes of
sociocultural theory explored by the authors:

Sociocultural theory of the mind

Situated Learning
Poststructuralism
Dialogism

Summarize the main ideas related to this theme

and discuss how these theoretical principles can
inform you as a (language) teacher.