Arab World English Journal (AWEJ) Volume 14. Number 2 June 2023 Pp.281 – 294
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol14no2.20
Insight into the Role of Interaction in Language Acquisition: Vygotsky’s Interactionist
Theory of Language
Jamilah Maflah Alharbi
Department of English
Majmaah University
AL-Majmaah 11952, Saudi Arabia
Email: jm.alharbi@mu.edu.sa
Received:01/09/2023 Accepted:05/10/2023 Published: 06/24/2023
Abstract:
Psychologists’ theoretical implications have led to several studies investigating L1 and L2 acquisition. This research examines Vygotsky’s (1978, 1987a, 1987b, 1997, 2012) interactionist view of language acquisition and draws on a critical review methodology to assess the relevance of Vygotsky’s (1978) interactionist theory in L1 and L2 acquisition. To assess whether Vygotsky’s (1978) theory of language acquisition is effective, the selected articles will be critically examined. This research indicates that the articles under review prove the validity of Vygotsky’s (1978) arguments. However, they did not address how children from non-western cultures and those with disabilities acquire language, on the one hand, and the role of self-regulatory speech in language acquisition, on the other hand. Though Chomsky’s (1965) Universal Grammar and Skinner’s (1957) behaviourist theory have inspired scholars, linguists, and researchers to examine L1 and L2 acquisition deeply, Vygotsky’s (1978) interactionist theory explains how social interaction is crucial to a child’s cognitive development. The theory’s emphasis on learner-centeredness may significantly empower language teachers if implemented wisely into the L2 Curriculum. To maximize the effectiveness of social interaction in L2 learning, more profound and longitudinal research on the integration of zone of proximal development and scaffolding into teaching is required. Though teacher and peer interactions in L2 learning have been studied empirically, the types of social interactions that enhance language acquisition need to be assessed. Educators, researchers, and scholars must investigate how social interactions affect the cognitive and linguistic development of learners. Educators, researchers, and scholars must investigate how social interactions affect the cognitive and linguistic development of learners.
Keywords: Language acquisition, scaffolding, socio-cultural, Vygotsky’s Interactionist Theory of Language,
zone of proximal development
Cite as: Alharbi, J. M. (2023). Insight into the Role of Interaction in Language Acquisition: Vygotsky’s Interactionist Theory of Language. Arab World English Journal, 14 (2) 281-294.
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol14no2.20
References
Ameri, M. (2020). Criticism of the sociocultural theory. Budapest International Research and Critics Institute-Journal, 3(3), 1530-1540.
Anton, M. (1999). The discourse of a learner-centred classroom: Sociocultural perspectives on teacher-learner interaction in the second-language classroom. The Modern Language Journal, 83, (3) 303-318. https://doi.org/10.1111/0026-7902.00024
Azabdaftari, B. (2013). On the implications of Vygotskian concepts for second language teaching. Iranian Journal of Language Teaching, 1(2), 99-114.
Berk, L. (1986). Relationship of elementary school children’s private speech to behavioral accompaniment to task attention and task performance. Developmental Psychology, 22(5), 671-680. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.22.5.671
Berk, L. & Garvin, R. (1984). Development of private speech among low-income Appalachian children. Developmental Psychology, 20 (2): 271-286.
Berk, L., & Landau, S. (1993). Private speech of learning disabled and normally achieving children in classroom academic and laboratory contexts. Child Development, 64(2), 556-571. https://doi.org/10.2307/1131269
Bruner, J. (1983). Child’s Talk: Learning to Use Language. Reinhart and Winston.
Caselli, M., & Stefanini, S. (2006). Early Language Acquisition: Typical and Atypical Processes. In D. Riva, I. Rapin, & G. Zardini, (eds.), Language: Normal and Pathological Development (pp. 15-26). John Libbey Eurotext.
Cannella, G., & Reiff, J. (1994). Individual constructivist teacher education: Teachers as empowered learners. Teacher Education Quarterly, 21(3), 27-38.
Carpenter, M., Nagell, K., & Tomasello, M. (1998). Social cognition, joint attention, and communicative competence from 9 to 15 months of age. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 63(4), 1-143. https://doi.org/10.2307/1166214
Chomsky, N. (1965). Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. The MIT Press.
Crawford, K. (1996). Vygotskian approaches to human development in the information era. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 31,(1/2),43 -62.
DePoy, E. & Gitlin, L. (2015). Introduction to Research – E-Book: Understanding and Applying Multiple Strategies. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Donato, R. (2000). Socio-Cultural Contributions to Understanding the Foreign and Second Language Classroom. In J. Lantolf (ed.), Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning (pp. 27-50). Oxford University Press.
Fernyhough, C., & Fradley, E. (2005). Private speech on an executive task: Relations with task difficulty and task performance. Cognitive Development, 20(1), 103–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2004.11.002Gheondea-Eladi, A. (2015). Conducting critical literature reviews: A methodological note. Calitatea Vietti, 26(2), 167-190.
Kohlberg, L., Yager, J., & Hjertholm, E. (1968). Private speech: Four studies and a review of theories. Child Development, 39, 691-736. https://doi.org/10.2307/1126979
Kuhl, P., Tsao, F-M., & Huei-Mei, L. (2003). Foreign-language experience in infancy: Effects of short-term exposure and social interaction on phonetic learning. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 100(15), 9096-9101. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1532872100
Lambert, B., & Clyde, M. (2000). Re-Thinking Early Childhood Theory and Practice. Social Science Press.
Lantolf, J. (2000). Introducing Sociocultural Theory. In J. Lantolf (ed.), Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning (pp. 1-26). Oxford University Press.
Lin, F. (2017). A refutation of universal grammar. Lingua, 193, 1-22. https://doi.org/10. 1515/psicl- 2020-0005
Liu, C. & Matthews, R. (2005). Vygotsky’s philosophy: Constructivism and its criticism examined. International Education Journal, 6(3), 386-399.
Nam, J. (2005). Key concepts in Vygotsky’s theoretical framework: L2 classroom interaction and research. English Language and Literature Teaching, 11(3), 71-87.
Ochs, E. (1985). Variation and Error: A Sociolinguistic Study of Language Acquisition in Samoa. In D. Slobin (ed.), The Cross-Linguistic Study of Language Acquisition (Vol.1., pp. 783-838). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Ochs, E., & Schieffelin, B. (2017). Language Socialization: An Historical Overview. In P. Duff & S. May (eds.), Language Socialization, Encyclopedia of Language and Education (pp. 1-14). Springer International Publishing.
Owens, R. (2008). Language Development: An Introduction. Pearson Education.
Pathan, H., Memon, R., Memon, S., Khoso, A., & Bux, I. (2018). A critical review of Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory in second language acquisition. International Journal of English Linguistics, 8 (4), 232-236.
Piaget, J. (1995). Sociological Studies. Routledge. Language Socialization: An Historical Overview Elinor Ochs and Bambi Schieffelin
Pinker, S. (1994). The Language Instinct: The New Science of Language and Mind. Penguin.
Rudd, L., & Lambert, M. (2011). Interaction Theory of Language Development. In S. Goldstein & J. Naglieri (eds.), Encyclopedia of Child Behaviour and Development (pp. 830-831). Springer.
Sarem, S., & Shirzadi, Y. (2014). A critical review of the interactionist approach to second language acquisition. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research, 1(1), 62-74.
Schieffelin, B. (1985). The Acquisition of Kaluli. In D. Slobin (ed.), The Cross-Linguistic Study of Language Acquisition (Vol.1, pp. 525-593). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Schieffelin, B., & Ochs, E. (1984). Language Acquisition and Socialisation: Three Developmental Stories and Their Implications. In R. Shweder & R. Levine (eds.), Culture Theory: Essays on Mind, Self, and Emotion (pp. 276-320). Cambridge University Press.
Skinner, B. (1957). Verbal Behaviour. Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, 333-339. ttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039
Solomon, P., & Draine, J. (2009). An Overview of Quantitative Research Methods. In B. Thyer (ed.), The Handbook of Social Work Research (pp. 26-36). Sage
Sturdy, C., & Nicoladis, E. (2017). How much of language acquisition does operant conditioning explain. Frontiers in Psychology, 8(1918), 1-5.
Syomwene, A. (2016). Vygotsky’s social development and interaction theory: Implications to the teaching of the English language curriculum in Kenya. European Journal of Education Studies, 1(2), 149-158.
Taylor, B., Sinha, G., & Ghoshal, T. (2006). Research Methodology: A Guide for Researchers in Management and Social Sciences. Prentice-Hall of India.
Turuk, M. (2008). The relevance and implications of Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory in the second language classroom. ARECLS, 5, 244-262.
Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Harvard University Press.
Vygotsky, L. (1987a). The Collected Works of L. S. Vygotsky: Vol.1., Problems of General Psychology, Including the Volume Thinking and Speech. Plenum Press.
Vygotsky, L. (1987b). The Collected Works of L. S. Vygotsky: Vol.3., Problems of the Theory and History of Psychology. Plenum Press.
Vygotsky, L. (1997). The Collected Works of L. S. Vygotsky: Vol.4., The History of the Development of Higher Mental Functions. Plenum Press.
Vygotsky, L. (2012). Thought and Language. The MIT Press.
Webster, J., & Watson, R. (2002). Analysing the past to prepare for the future: Writing a literature review. Management Information Systems Quarterly, 26(2), xiii-xxiii