The intent of this chapter is to familiarize readers with the principles and con-structs of an approach to learning and mental development known as Socio-cultural Theory.1 Sociocultural Theory (SCT) has its origins in the writings of the Russian psychologist L. S. Vygotsky and his colleagues. SCT argues that human mental functioning is fundamentally a mediated process that is orga-nized by cultural artifacts, activities, and concepts (Ratner, 2002).2 Within this framework, humans are understood to utilize existing cultural artifacts and to create new ones that allow them to regulate their biological and be-havioral activity. Language use, organization, and structure are the primary means of mediation. Practically speaking, developmental processes take place through participation in cultural, linguistic, and historically formed settings such as family life and peer group interaction, and in institutional contexts like schooling, organized sports activities, and work places, to name only a few. SCT argues that while human neurobiology is a necessary condition for higher order thinking, the most important forms of human cognitive activity develop

This paper suggests that some design features and evaluation criteria for multimedia CALL might be developed on the basis of hypotheses about ideal conditions for second language acquisition (SLA). It outlines a relevant theory of SLA and enumerates the hypotheses it implies for ideal conditions such as input saliency, opportunities for interaction, and learner focus on communication. Implications of each hypothesis for multimedia CALL design and evaluation are outlined and exemplified.

teacher training textbooks for Prentice Hall and Oxford University Press, Prof. Ellis's textbooks on Second Language Acquisition and Grammar are core textbooks in TESOL and Linguistics programs around the world.

This study investigated the effect of functional-analytic teaching on aspects of French immersion (FI) students ' sociolinguistic competence at the Grade 8 level. A set of functional-analytic materials, entailing the study and practice of sociostylistic variation, was implemented in three FI classrooms by their respective teachers during French language arts classes over an average period of five weeks. A pre-test, an immediate post-test, and a delayed post-test were administered to the experimental group as well as to a comparison group in order to compare classes on three measures of sociolinguistic competence (defined as the ability to recognize and produce socially appropriate language in context). The study demonstrated that functional-analytic teaching sub-stantially improved aspects of FI students ' sociolinguistic competence in at least three ways: (I) by significantly increasing their ability in oral production to appropriately and accurately use vous informal situations; (2) by significantly increasing their ability in written production to appropriately use vous in formal letters, and, in the short run, to use polite closings informal letters; and (3) by significantly increasing their ability to recognize contextually appropriate French. 1. BACKGROUND This study follows a series of experiments investigating the effects of instruction on second language (L2) learning in communicatively oriented classrooms. It derives support from L2 curriculum theorists who advocate the inclusion of an analytic focus in communicative language teaching (e.g. Allen 1983; Finocchi-

Over the last 25 years the communicative task has emerged as a significant building block in the development of language curricula and also as an element for motivating process-oriented second language acquisition research. This paper reviews the influence of the communicative task on curriculum development and summarizes the research base for task-based language teaching. In the final part of the paper, an agenda for future research is set out. Over the last 25 years, the communicative task has evolved as an important component within curriculum planning, implementation, and evaluation. In task-based language teaching, syllabus content and instructional processes are selected with reference to the communicative tasks which learners will (either actually or potentially) need to engage in outside the classroom and also with reference to theoretical and empirical insights into those social and psycholinguistic processes which facilitate language acquisition. This approach to language teaching is characterized by the following features; 1. An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target language 2. The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation 3. The provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on language, but also on the learning process itself 4. An enhancement of the learner’s own personal experiences as important contributing elements to classroom learning 5. An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activation outside the classroom Task-based language teaching has been an important addition to the conceptual and empirical repertoire of the second and foreign language teacher in the eighties, having influenced syllabus design, materials development, and language teaching methodology In this paper, I shall review the development of task-based language teaching (TBLT) In the first part of the paper, I shall provide an account of the theoretical and empirical basis for TBLT. I shall then discuss the influence of TBLT on curriculum development and classroom practice. In the final part of the paper, I indicate the ways in which I believe that the research agenda should be extended in the nineties

As part of an ongoing "component building" (Slavin, 1984) program of research designed to estimate the effects of several individual components of a Spanish-toEnglish language arts transition program (Saunders, O'Brien, Lennon, & McLean, 1998), an experiment tested the effects of two instructional components---literature logs and instructional conversations---on the story comprehension and thematic understanding of upper-elementary-grade students. Five teachers and 116 fourth and fifth graders participated in the study. Slightly more than half the students were English learners completing their first or second year of English language arts. Teachers had completed one year of literature log and instructional conversation training. Students were randomly assigned to one of four treatment conditions: literature logs only, instructional conversations only, literature logs plus instructional conversations, and control. Posttests found significant differences among treatment groups. Students...

This paper investigates the value of language classroom negotiation of meaning from both cognitive and sociocultural perspectives. According to Long (1985, 1996) comprehensible input gained through interactional adjust-ments such as negotiating meaning and modifying output is central to second language acquisition, and much research has been undertaken to discover which classroom activities give learners the greatest benefit from this type of interaction (Pica 1994). This paper discusses the measures typically used to identify negotiated interaction and proposes that more rigorous definitions need to be employed to separate signals of communication problems from signals of interest and encouragement. In the study reported for this paper, learners were recorded during an interactive classroom task, and the incidence of negotiation moves (learners ’ clarification requests, comprehension and confirmation checks) was calculated by counting only those instances where communication problems were clearly signalled. The quantitative results show that the incidence of negotiating meaning was very low. A qualitative analysis of the data subsequently investigated what was going on in the long stretches of interaction that lacked any signs of meaning negotiation. A picture emerges of learners actively assisting each other to transact the task through co-construction and prompting. Learners expressed interest and encouragement while seeking and providing assistance and initiating self-repair of their own utterances, all in the absence of communication breakdowns. Obtaining completely comprehensible input appeared to be of lower priority than maintaining a supportive and friendly discourse. Negotiation is one of a range of conversational processes that facilitate SLA as learners work to understand and express meaning in the L2.

This report looks at programs and approaches for educating students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. It is intended as a guide for decision makers in schools and school districts to help them identify the instructional approaches and programs that would best serve their students, meet their goals and needs, and match local resources and conditions. An underlying assumption of this report is that no single approach or program model works best in every situation. Many different approaches can be successful when implemented well. Local conditions, choices, and innovation are critical ingredients of success. We discuss four program alternatives that are currently available to meet the diverse and complex needs of English language learners: (1) newcomer programs, (2) transitional bilingual education, (3) developmental bilingual education, and (4) two-way immersion. We also discuss an instructional approach that can be used with all students learning through the medium of a ...

Structuralist philosophy, constructivist theory, and holistic beliefs define the learn-ing enterprise in opposition to reductionistic behavioral learning theory and sug-gest that the task of schools is to help students develop new meanings in response to new experiences rather than to learn the meanings others have created. This change in the very definition of learning reveals principles of learning that beg consideration in designing classroom instruction. Twelve principles are drawn here from the structuralist, constructivist, and holist literature and are applied to teaching students with learning disabilities. Looking at learning from this paradigm, one can see a different classroom environment emerging, one in which instruction is seen through the eyes of the students rather than through preferred methodologies, mandated curricula, and student assessments and diagnoses. N aming and giving language to nonreductionistic values, beliefs, and principles of the teaching/learning process is an extremely difficult task since for so long most of the language we use in education has been associated with reductionism. Alternative means of "seeing " phenomena (i.e., nonreductive-ly) have been and are being developed in every field from physics (Prigogine & Stengers, 1984) to epistemology (Piaget, 1970). Indeed, different ways of think-ing about phenomena lead invariably to different definitions of knowledge (Polanyi & Proesch, 1975) and learning

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at