Socio cultural theory

AYAZ LATIF SIYAL

Abstract

Socio cultural theory has made a great impact on the pedagogy. The theory
explains learning, L2 Acquisition (Learning acquisition hypothesis) also given by
Krashen. Socio cultural theory further adds that this acquisition process is acquired
by master in discourse identity. The L2 acquisition is a similar process where
socially mediated activities are important. It advocates instruction of L2
development through the zone of proximal development that is beyond the actual
level of the learners development. It understands that learning the second
language ought to be collaborative achievement rather than separate individual
effort where the learners work is unassisted and unmediated. This will discuss the
relevance and implications of the theory of pedagogy.

Keywords: Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), Affording, mediation

pedagogy, Socio cultural theory.

Introduction of Socio cultural theory

One has to socialize to learn to read the texts of the different people having
different social back ground. One has to refer to social institutes social groups that
have such practices of the meaning of the texts rather than writing and reading
merely themselves. It is also possible to judge the complex and distinct ways in
which people are socialized in those institutes and groups. When such things are
done, something stronger occurs, because these practices are not literacy. They are
involved in talking, interacting, thinking, valuing and believing. When, one
concentrate on such practices, it is possible to distinguish anything from the given
text. Literary practices are almost fully involved with the texture of wider practices
that have a talk, interaction, values and beliefs (Bruner 1990, Willinstay 1990,
Guerra 1991).

The practices which involve the ways of talking, interacting, thinking, valuing, and
believing and usually, of reading and writing, Discourse (Foucault 1985, Myors
1990). A discourse is a dialogue which involves a different and integrated way of
thinking, acting, interacting, talking and valuing with a specific social identity and
role with its own separate history. Socio cultural approaches to pedagogy almost
always emerged from discourse (Social practices, culture, subcultures or a
particular group of people of the society).

A discourse is a kind of identity marker which often emerges from appropriate

costume and instruction how to behave, talk and often write so to talk a role which
is required by almost everyone.

Moreover, it is the hypothesis that claims regarding second language acquisition

(Krashen 1985) infect, more accurately of the acquisition of the discourses. These
discourses are merely not learned by the instruction but enculturation into the
social practices with the help of supported facilitation through scaffolding and
supported interaction who are already well versed in the discourse. (Lave 1988,
Roqoff 1990). These discourses are actually acquired by the native speakers of the
language. But, these are acquired later by the second/foreign language learners
through public oriented discourses.

The basic concept of socio cultural theory/ background

According to the lantolf (2002), the basic concept of socio cultural theory is that
human mind is mediated. He advocated about the theory is Vygotsky find an
important role whom he calls a human tool comprehending the world and a
material object world without the tools. Symbolic and signs are creating by the
human under specific cultural and historical conditions. These tools are used as a
vehicle to solve the problems. They influence those people who use them in that
they give rise to unknown activities. Therefore; they ought to be modified from
one generation to another. It is also the fact that each generation reworks them to
meets the needs and aspirants of an individual. It is also expressed that psychology
should comprehend that how human social and mental activity is arranged, through
constructed culture. According to Vygotsky (1978) that socio culture environment
provides children different tasks and demands through the look. He further
explains children are mostly dependant on parents or their care takers. It almost
happens that the actions of their parents are imitated by the child. The parents are
teachers of their culture which pass to them by their parents. Vygotsky explains
that children mostly get knowledge through the interaction of to their parents. This
knowledge later assimilated by the children. This assimilation goes to
interpretation and then they try to fix such information to their prior knowledge.
This also applied to the schools that children merely do not imitate the knowledge
of a teacher but rather transform it during the appropriation process. Vygotsky
(1978 cited lantolf 1994, 2002) psychology itself lacks behind that under the
significant information to understanding the complex aspect of human behavior to
study consciousness. This restriction has limited the psychology to the explanation
of the most elementary link between the world and living being. It is the
consciousness of human which distinguish human from other living creatures. It
develops the interaction of the people on the basis of socio historical perspective.
He emphasizes the socially constructed meaning as the explanatory rules for
understanding the consciousness. Lantolf (1994) the latter consciousness in the
field of teaching is fixed with the concept of metacognition which explains
functions like; planning, voluntary action, logical memory, problem-solving and
evaluation. According to William and Burden (1997) claims that socio cultural
theory is not just only concerned to the instruction but with learning to learn,
improving skills and struggles and strategies to continuously learn, with making
these experiences relevant to the individual, with developing and growing as the
whole person. The bith further adds that this theory does not constitute the
isolation of meaning to the individual but with the society. Rather present skill and
knowledge in isolation. The theory insists to the significance of the learner brings
any learning condition as the active meaning maker and problem solver. It also
acknowledges that the teacher, learner, and task all are significant in the learning
process if they are interactively done learners first learn the task with the help of
other than try to internalize the task by his own.