Rémi A. van Compernolle

Promoting sociolinguistic competence in the classroom zone of proximal development

This article explores the microgenetic development of learners’ understanding of sociolinguistic variation in French during an instructional conversation (IC) that followed a language analysis task in which learners attempted to formulate hypotheses about the nature of language variation. During the IC, the instructor led students toward a conceptual understanding of variation in French by providing appropriate graduated (i.e. from implicit or strategic to explicit) mediation that was sensitive to the class’s zone of proximal development (ZPD). Teacher–student collaborative interaction within a group’s ZPD has the potential to develop learners’ conceptual understanding of variation, which can provide an important orienting basis for the development of their performance abilities. The transcript of the IC is analysed and discussed with regard to the amount and type(s) of mediation the instructor provides and opportunities for development created in this type of collaborative interaction.

Frames of interaction in Dynamic Assessment: developmental diagnoses of second language learning

The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), first proposed by the Russian psychologist L.S. Vygotsky, is frequently cited as the theoretical basis behind Dynamic Assessment (DA). However, this concept has led to varied interpretations and practices in education. This paper outlines readings of the ZPD that motivate many current approaches to DA and argues that the full potential of Vygotsky’s proposal is realised through what he described as collective, transformative activity undertaken with learners. Through close analysis of transcribed interactions between a mediator and second language (L2) learners, we argue that this activity unfolds through the co‐construction of collaborative and cooperative interactional frames. These allow for the integration of diagnosing and promoting learner development by alternately foregrounding the process of working through assessment tasks and going beyond those tasks to pursue other questions and problems.

Incidental microgenetic development in second‐language teacher–learner talk‐in‐interaction

Adopting a strong socio‐interactionist approach to understanding second‐language acquisition, this article explores incidental microgenetic development during an oral proficiency interview between an intermediate‐level US university learner of French and his teacher. The analytic focus is on the collaborative construction of an object of learning and how the learner and teacher dialogically negotiate an opportunity for development. The data are analysed within a conversation analytic framework in order to elucidate the microinteractional features of the Vygotskian notion of microgenesis. Drawing on three excerpts of the interaction, the analysis centres around the identification of a locus of trouble, mediation as a socio‐interactional achievement, and the learners appropriation of the object of learning into his own interactional repertoire over time. The discussion then focuses on how learning and development are situated in social action and how conversation analytic research can inform our thinking a...Adopting a strong socio‐interactionist approach to understanding second‐language acquisition, this article explores incidental microgenetic development during an oral proficiency interview between an intermediate‐level US university learner of French and his teacher. The analytic focus is on the collaborative construction of an object of learning and how the learner and teacher dialogically negotiate an opportunity for development. The data are analysed within a conversation analytic framework in order to elucidate the microinteractional features of the Vygotskian notion of microgenesis. Drawing on three excerpts of the interaction, the analysis centres around the identification of a locus of trouble, mediation as a socio‐interactional achievement, and the learners appropriation of the object of learning into his own interactional repertoire over time. The discussion then focuses on how learning and development are situated in social action and how conversation analytic research can inform our thinking about mediation.

Promoting metapragmatic development through assessment in the zone of proximal development

The assessment of second language (L2) pragmatic competence typically involves questionnaires, such as discourse completion tasks. This article describes a novel approach to using questionnaires to assess L2 metapragmatic capacities while simultaneously promoting their development: engaging learners in cooperative interaction as they complete the task. Following dynamic assessment principles, cooperative interaction reveals both fully formed and emerging competencies (i.e. zone of proximal development) while at the same time furthering their continued growth. This study draws on data collected during a concept-based pedagogical enrichment program in which US university students of French were learning the concepts of social distance and power hierarchies as illustrated by the second-person pronouns tu and vous ‘you’. We present a case study of one learner, Nikki, to show how support provided by a tutor around one questionnaire item (i.e. choosing tu or vous in an ambiguous situation) both assessed and promoted her developing conceptual knowledge about the dynamics of interpersonal relationships and how these are indexed through language.

Sociocultural theory and L2 instructional pragmatics

1. Introduction 2. Appropriateness in Language Learning and Language Teaching 3. Understanding Learners as People 4. Developing Awareness of Pragmatic Knowledge through Verbalized Reflections 5. Developing Pragmatic Knowledge through Appropriateness Judgment Tasks 6. Developing Performance Abilities through Strategic Interaction Scenarios 7. The Future of Vygotskian Approaches to Instructional Pragmatics

Sociocultural theory and second language pedagogy

Vygotskian sociocultural theory of mind (SCT) has attracted the attention of second language (L2) researchers and educators since the publication of the papers of Frawley and Lantolf (Frawley & Lantolf, 1985; Lantolf & Frawley, 1984). Since that time, SCT-informed research has become an established part of the landscape of L2 acquisition (SLA), pedagogy, and assessment (Lantolf & Thorne, 2006), as evidenced by the growing number of journal articles and book chapters, dissertations, edited volumes, and books focused on SCT, as well as the presence of SCT in handbooks and other reference texts centered on theories of SLA (see Center for Language Acquisition, 2012). The majority of this research has, however, used SCT as a theoretical lens through which to interpret questions related to SLA rather than as a theoretical motivation for designing L2 pedagogies. In fact, as pointed out by Lantolf (2008), it was not until Negueruela’s (2003) doctoral research that Vygotsky’s proposals were systematically incorporated into a coherent L2 pedagogical program. Since then, a number of studies (including several doctoral theses) have been conducted to explore the impact of SCT-informed pedagogies on adult SLA (e.g. papers in Lantolf & Poehner, 2008). This research has included, centrally, work on dynamic assessment and concept-based instruction, but also perspectives on other forms of social, or human, mediation intentionally introduced into L2 educational contexts in order to promote development. The importance of pedagogical activity for SCT cannot be understated. Indeed, one has to acknowledge that Vygotsky did not conceive of pedagogies derived from his proposals to be mere applications of the theory; that is, the application of theoretically informed teaching ‘techniques’. Instead, pedagogical intervention was itself part and parcel of further developing the theory and of continuing to understand not only the nature of human cognition but, crucially, the processes by which the mind develops (e.g. Vygotsky, 1997). This is what Vygotsky referred to as ‘praxis’; the unification of theory and practical activity. As Lantolf and Poehner (2011) explain: 482933 LTR17310.1177/1362168813482933Language Teaching ResearchEditorial 2013

Learning to Do Concept-Based Pragmatics Instruction: Teacher Development and L2 Pedagogical Content Knowledge.

This article explores the development of pedagogical content knowledge in relation to one teacher’s experience in learning to engage in a Vygotskian approach to teaching second language (L2) pragmatics known as ‘concept-based pragmatics instruction’ (CBPI). The teacher, Mrs. Hanks, was a PhD candidate in second language acquisition at the time of the study, and she was a co-investigator for a larger project that investigated the integration of CBPI into an intact L2 French class that she was teaching. We focus on three aspects of Mrs. Hanks’ development: (1) mediation she received during ‘mentoring meetings’ with a more expert collaborator (her co-investigator), (2) changes in her classroom practices during the study, and (3) metacognitive reflections on her progress at the end of the study. Drawing on Vygotskian theory, we examine Mrs. Hanks’ development in terms of her internalization and transformation of relevant pedagogical content knowledge. In this way, we are contributing to the very small amount of empirical work examining teacher education/development in the context of ‘learning to do’ concept-based instruction (e.g. Williams, Abraham, & Negueruela, 2013), with specific focus on CBPI.

Concept Appropriation and the Emergence of L2 Sociostylistic Variation.

Drawing on longitudinal data, this study explores the dynamic relationship between the development of conceptual knowledge of language and the emergence of sociostylistic variation in second language (L2) speech. Participants include eight intermediate-level US university learners of French who participated in a concept-based pedagogical enrichment program over the course of two months. After presenting an overview of the study’s design, this article analyses the co-development of conceptual knowledge and one type of sociostylistic variation in French: the variable presence versus absence of the proclitic negative particle ne of verbal negation. The analysis centers on learners’ orientations to scenarios to be performed as spoken-interactive tasks, including reasons for choosing different negative structures, their use of negative structures in actual performance, and the emergence of mediated and independent performance abilities.Drawing on longitudinal data, this study explores the dynamic relationship between the development of conceptual knowledge of language and the emergence of sociostylistic variation in second language (L2) speech. Participants include eight intermediate-level US university learners of French who participated in a concept-based pedagogical enrichment program over the course of two months. After presenting an overview of the study’s design, this article analyses the co-development of conceptual knowledge and one type of sociostylistic variation in French: the variable presence versus absence of the proclitic negative particle ne of verbal negation. The analysis centers on learners’ orientations to scenarios to be performed as spoken-interactive tasks, including reasons for choosing different negative structures, their use of negative structures in actual performance, and the emergence of mediated and independent performance abilities.

L2 development around tests: Learner response processes and dynamic assessment

Abstract This paper examines learner response processes during a Dynamic Assessment (DA) of L2 reading comprehension. We present a detailed case analysis of an L2 French learner whose success in responding to a comprehension item obscures her understanding of the text and the challenges it poses. This aligns with research indicating that learners may orient to such assessments as problem-solving rather than comprehension activities (Rupp, Fern, and Choi 2006). In DA, learner response processes are externalized through dialogue with the assessor, or mediator, who does not simply document these processes but intervenes. We trace how the mediator regulates learner orientation to the task, pursues reasons behind learner choices, and cooperates with the learner to create opportunities for learning during the assessment.

Second-person pronoun use in French language discussion fora

This article examines the use of second-person pronouns in on-line French language discussion fora, with specific focus on Doctissimo and Meilleur du chef , two fora from which approximately 400,000 words were collected for this corpus. Two hundred discussion threads (i.e., series of linked postings), with a minimum of fifteen postings (i.e., messages) and a maximum of twenty per thread, were analysed in three different ways in order to determine whether tu , vous -singular, or neither could be considered the default address pronoun. The results of the analysis suggest that while tu is clearly preferred in many cases, its use has not become systematic.