Vygotsky's sociocultural theory and second language acquisition in school-age children

Second Language Acquisition

The objective of this work is to examine how children acquire a second language through social interaction and environment through supporting Vygotsky's theory in second language acquisition with a focus on school age children seven years of age and older.

Vygotsky viewed language as a "critical bridge between the sociocultural world and individual mental functioning" (Berk & Winsler, 1995; paraphrased; as cited in Clark, nd) and held that the acquisition of language is the most important achievement in the cognitive development of children. If language is what forms a "critical bridge" between the individual's mental functioning and the sociocultural world then this must be true in the initiative of second language acquisition as well.

SLA & the INFLUENCE of the SOCIOCULTURAL ENVIRONMENT

The work of James P. Lantolf entitled: "Sociocultural Source of Thinking and Its Relevance for Second Language Acquisition" states that: "Second language acquisition research is coming to recognize the influence of the sociocultural environment in the L2 learning." (2007) Lantolf relates that "beginning with the early work of Frawley and Lantolf (1985), a group of researchers have been exploring the implications of L.S. Vygotsky's (1978, 1986) sociocultural theory of mind for the learning and teaching of languages beyond the first." (2007) the work of Steven L. Thorne entitled: "Second Language Acquisition and the Truth(s) about Relativity" states that in the study of second language acquisition several themes arise which are those as follows: (1) the interdependences between language and conceptual development, (2) language as the principal sign system carrying socio-historical-cultural presence into the moment, (3) language as a primary resource through which people interactively construct social reality, and (4) the reproduction of individual and community practices due in part to the inertia of language constructed social worlds. (2000; paraphrased) the work of Vygotsky posits that the "mind is socially constructed 'through mediation via semiotic systems, notably language, that are themselves expressions of socio=historical processes' (Cazden, 1993; as cited in Thorne, 2000) Thorne states that sociocultural approaches to learning "have gained some currency in SLA theorists' and researchers' recent work, but often as an add-on to otherwise epistemologically divergent approach to SLA. Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), for exampled is a popularized and onstensibility accessible dimension of Vygotsky's work that has been widely discussed since the mid-80s." (Thorne, 2000)

II. SLA and COLLIER'S CONCEPTUAL MODEL

Virginia P. Collier presents in the work entitled: "Acquiring a Second Language for School" a conceptual model that has arisen from research in second language acquisition and states that this model has four major components which are those of: (1) sociocultural; (2) linguistic; (3) academic; and (4) cognitive components. Collier states that these processes are "inter-dependent and complex." (1995) the following figure illustrates the model proposed by Collier.

Language Acquisition for School

Source: Collier (1995)

Collier states that central in this figure is the "individual going through the process of acquiring a second language in school." (1995) the social and cultural processes in the students' every day life are central to the language acquisition of the student. This includes cultural processes in the students' life in terms of the past, present and future and includes all contexts of "home, school, community, and the broader society." (Collier, 1995) in terms of language development or linguistic processes which are a second component of the model Collier states that these consists of "the subconscious aspects of language development as well as metalinguistic, conscious formal teaching of language in school, and acquisition of the written system of language." (1995) Collier states that this is inclusive of both oral and written language acquisition. Academic development is a third component of this model and is inclusive of "all school work in language arts, mathematics, the sciences, and social studies for each grade level." (Collier, 1995) Academic work through the progression of each grade brings expansion to the vocabulary, sociolinguistic, and discourse dimensions to the language higher cognition. Academic knowledge and development "transfer from the first language to the second language" (Collier, 1994) making it more efficient that academic work is developed through the first language of the student with teaching of the second language occurring during other times of the school day and through "meaningful academic content." (Collier, 1994) the fourth component in Collier's model is the component of cognition which, according to the work of Collier "has been mostly neglected by second language educators in the U.S. " (1994) These four components are so closely inter-dependent that "if one is developed to the neglect of another, this may be detrimental to a student's overall growth and future success." (Collier, 1994) Research has shown that development, both in terms of cognition and academic development in the first language has a profound effect upon second language acquisition as the "academic skills, literacy development, concept formation, subject knowledge, and learning strategies...will all transfer to the second language." (Collier, 1994) the work of Cynthia Brock relates that the work of Erickson and Shult (1981) suggests that "competence within social contexts can vary due to factors such as participants' cultural backgrounds and developmental levels." (1998)

SUMMARY and CONCLUSION

It is clear that the most fertile ground for second language acquisition is a social setting in which children are able to learn to speak the second language in real-time and in a manner that is important to them for communicating between one another. Second language acquisition, which occurs within the social setting results in cognition and more effectively use of the language as well as a better grasp of the language which can be applied to writing in the second language and a better overall mastery of the second language..