Grounded in Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory, Dynamic Assessment (DA) can provide fine-tuned information regarding learners' development and opportunities to promote further development. Vocabulary knowledge, because of its complex nature, requires a more sensitive assessment, especially for second language (L2) learners. This systematic literature…

Vygotsky chose consciousness as a foundation for his approach to psychology, although it took several iterations to arrive at his final conception of a dynamic, semantic system, which included not only thought and language, the subject of most of his work up to that point, but how we refract our experience of the world through personhood as well.…

A balanced interrelation between theory and practice is still often missing out in many (language) teacher education programs (Esteve, 2018; Lantolf & Esteve, 2019). Hence the need to critically analyze teacher educators' professional practice and rethink it. This paper presents a deep reflection upon the difficulties and the possibilities of…

This article crafts a distinct conceptualization of time in social sciences through two temporal concepts: Chronos and Kairos. Chronos refers to sequential, linear time, which frames quantitative causality and qualitative documentation in research methodology. Kairos, however, captures time as transformative, conceptual, and emotional moments,…

The aim of this work is to investigate and describe the teaching methods in the field of the German language that emphasize cooperation and interaction, demonstrating how participants in a case study benefit from these approaches, ultimately enhancing their linguistic skills. The initial section of this paper will establish a theoretical framework…

This study attempts to explore the teachers' beliefs on the causes of learners' misbehavior in language classrooms. To do so, 23 language teachers completed a narrative frame in which they discussed a misbehavior experience they had in the class and why they thought it happened; they, then, attended semi-structured interviews where they discussed…

Abstract Accepted 12 November 2024 In this essay I reflect on James P. Lantolf's contributions to cultural-historical theory and second language learning. I begin with my personal subjectivity and experiences as a limited learner of additional languages beyond English. This anecdotal opening introduces the tension between formal learning in school…

Teacher identity is the reflection of teachers' perception, position, and identification as teachers. Teachers' identities are dynamic and continuously negotiated by the interplay of their professional practices, past experiences, and contextual conditions. Drawing on this understanding, this study explores Chinese English teachers' professional…

The introduction of Vygotsky's sociocultural theory (SCT) into the second language (L2) domain provides a potential site to explore the mechanisms underlying L2 learners' cognitive modification and the transformation of social understanding into the personal one. This study provided a picture of L2 personalization in two groups of advanced and…

A great deal of research has focused on tasks, particularly for adult second language learners. In this paper we provide an account of studies that have investigated children and tasks -- an age group that have received far less attention. We consider, in particular, the impact of tasks on children's language learning, how their design features…

The aim of this personal reflection is to revisit the major concepts that have informed my academic research in the area of applied linguistics and second language development, and show how my overall pedagogical approach has evolved, thanks to the contribution of Vygotsky's sociocultural theory (SCT). The main focus of this paper is on the…

Balancing teaching national, regional, and foreign languages presents a challenge for higher education, illustrated by the use of hypertext for multilingual communication. This study investigates the correlation between proficiency in multilingualism and cultural awareness among higher education students. Embedded mixed methods design explores the…

EFL learners often have problems to speak properly in English. As the purpose of teaching speaking is to improve the learners' oral production, language teaching should maximize language use in the classrooms (Haozhang, 1997), which is achieved through implementing proper teaching techniques to require learners to learn and practice the language…

From the perspective of Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory and Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), dynamic assessment (DA) highlights the role of mediation in the learning process by unveiling the distance between actual learning proficiency and potential learning development. DA is more helpful in fostering students' ability to solve problems…