Socio-cultural and social constructivist theories are crucial in learning and education. This article aims to inform readers about socio-cultural and social constructivist theories and to present their application in language classrooms. The body of knowledge in this article was synthesized from journal articles and books concentrating on the…

Expanded and revised to include four entirely new chapters, this thoroughly updated edition presents a model for how educators can design high-quality, challenging, and supportive learning opportunities for multilingual learners. Starting with the premise that conceptual, analytic, and language practices develop simultaneously as students engage…

Content-language integration has been perceived to be an effective approach in second and foreign language learning. However, it can be challenging to implement in content classes, especially in science classrooms. Researchers have suggested using tasks and games to help design diverse opportunities for language and content learning; in…

This qualitative case study examines learners' experiences in the development of written complexities during Discussion Board (DB) assignments in an Advanced university level Chinese class. Discussion Board was chosen as the avenue for written complexity development because it provides learners a supplementary space with additional time and…

Language learning that is grounded on learners' sociocultural realities promises to be a meaningful experience they are likely to treasure when it comes to grappling with practical day-to-day matters. This article reports on a research study aimed at fostering socioculturally constructed language learning in a group of pre-service English…

This article shares findings from the implementation of an ongoing National Professional Development (NPD) project that advances second language literacy and biliteracy in secondary content areas. The project is part of a research-practice partnership between a large public university and two school districts in south Texas that engages in-service…

After years of controversy and terminological debate, the plurilingual approach is now well accepted by language teaching communities. Still, doubts concerning how the plurilingual approach can shape the way we teach languages remain. The aim of this article is to describe a pedagogical and sequential approach that can be followed by teachers who…

Actively encouraging foreign language learners to establish a meaningful connection with the target language culture--by engaging in authentic activities with other learners and native speakers in real-world communicative contexts--is a critical goal of foreign language education. This paper describes a design-based research study that…

L2 classroom is a place and process that undergoes an array of incessant and concurrent changes affecting its main agents, i.e. the teacher and students in a non-linear and unpredictable manner. Various aspects of their cognitive and affective potential fluctuate and intensify or weaken depending on what is going on in a particular L2…

Reflecting on contributions to this special issue along with my own research, I suggest ways in which sociocultural understandings of peer interactions in multilingual contexts are and should be evolving to encompass the increasingly complex settings that research has come to document. I argue that in order to realize the potential of research in…

This study draws on Sociocultural Theory to explore how 12 adult EFL learners engaged in pair work, how their willingness to engage was demonstrated in pair activities, and what other factors influenced that willingness. Six pairs engaged in seven different activities and were interviewed after all activities were completed. Each pair's type of…

Due to the significant growth in Chinese students pursuing education abroad, there is an increasing trend for researchers to study Chinese international students' challenges, especially the challenges in social adjustment. However, only a few studies intend to design activities or supporting practices to solve these challenges. This study, drawing…

The main purpose of this study was to examine the effect of Peer Scaffolding on students' grammar proficiency development. The recently developed model under study--Peer scaffolding--is based on Vygotsky's and Leentevo's Scaffolding instruction. To put the model into practice an intervention program was designed and implemented. The program had…

The rapid advance in technological tools and their expansiveness, has made their impact on different aspects of life undeniable. Education has also been a field in which technology has found a fertile ground to grow. Technology has made education much easier for both teachers and learners and provided a more autonomous and amusing ambiance for…

This article reports on a study examining the extent to which pedagogical activities can affect students' cosmopolitan communicative competence (CCC) through online transnational encounters. A total of 58 students from a Hong Kong university and 25 students from an American university were divided into 25 transnational groups. They communicated…