This paper seeks to further develop and refine a theory of the ways in which artefacts created by humans direct and deflect the attention of groups and individuals as they act in specific institutional settings. It draws on the writings of Basil Bernstein and Lev Vygotsky. These are two bodies of theory that have strengths which, to some extent,…

This study was designed to understand the multi-layered aspects and conflicts that shaped the identity development of English language pre-service teachers in Chile. This longitudinal, multiple case study research investigated the identity trajectories of seven EFL Chilean pre-service teachers over an 18-month period. Data were drawn from a range…

The article reviews Digital Language Learning (DLL) research that has used principles and concepts of Sociocultural Theory (SCT) to support the research. We explain several key principles of the theory and shows how they have been misused or used in a superficial way in the DLL research. These include the assumption that SCT is a social rather…

In new paradigms, teachers' cognition and emotion must be considered dialectically shaped co-evolving processes. To address the issue, the study examined how language teachers' "perezhivaniya" (plural form of "perezhivanie," a concept from Sociocultural Theory that describes a unity between cognition and emotion) developed.…

A Vygotskian approach to assessment is proposed by invoking the distinction between the development of lower and higher psychological functions. Higher psychological functions are specifically human and develop with the use of cultural tools via mediation. Accordingly, a distinction is made between tests that are based on association, which have…

Students of private universities in Bangladesh are often found to be less competent in spoken English. Since the universities have adopted EMI (English medium instruction) policy, the prevailing linguistic condition on the campus is an "English only environment." In this context, students are required to communicate in English both…

This article tells the story of an attempt to bring about major educational reform of the curriculum and educational values in Kazakhstan, using action research as part of that process. The article begins with a brief and selective review of the literature on aspects of emotion and moves to an account of the context and history of the reforms,…

As the younger generation in Vietnam increasingly switches between the English and the Vietnamese languages, numerous linguistic and sociocultural strictures arise. Foregrounding the preservice English-language teachers of this generation, this article locates them in a dilemma between the discourse of globalization and their code-switching…

The suggestopedic model of accelerated learning as developed by Lozanov is referred to by him as a set of attitudes inherent to sociocultural behavior common to the Soviet Bloc countries. The theoretical base accounts for a built-in obedience reflex, acceptance of authority, lack of competitiveness, promotion of collective growth, and a…