My main research and pedagogical interest is second language development. In a dialectic interaction, both my teaching and research are principally informed by Vygotskian cultural-historical psychology, referred to as sociocultural theory (SCT for short) in the fields of applied linguistics and second language pedagogy.

 

The Vygotskian view of consciousness takes a holistic, developmental view of the unique human capacity to regulate one's own and mediate one's conspecifics' higher mental functions through artificial stimuli—language being the most important. Within this view, thinking first occurs on an interpersonal plane as social speech (I+you conversation). Then, through concurrent bioligical and cultural development (i.e., neurological development and joint-attentional interaction with more advanced conspecifics) language takes on a special, self-regulatory function as social speech goes "underground", occurring on the intrapersonal plane as inner speech (I+me conversation). As an adult, then, thinking occurs in a number of ways: it can be social speech and simultaneously inner speech; it can be private speech (self-regulatory) and simultaneously inner speech; thinking, too, can simply occur as inner speech. Here, the key point is that thinking always has a social function in its genesis and, therefore, always retains this characteristic. Bearing this in mind, we are provided with a lens to understand learner development in a multitude of ways through the production of language, be it speech, co-speech gesture, private speech, writing, etc.

 

While Vygotsky primarily focused on the development of children as a way of understanding how adults came to possess such self-regulatory functions, the theory also provides researchers and educators with a lens to analyze learners' conceptual development in a second language and provide mediation when needed. One of the contributions to the field of pedagogy by cultural-historical psychology is the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). During the process of the ZPD, an expert assesses the ceiling of a novice's ability with the mediation of the expert and what the novice is capable of achieving on their own. This line of assessment and teaching has been quite successful in the area of Dynamic Assessment.

 

Indeed, in Vygotskian Praxis view both research and education co-exist in a dialectic relationship; much like two sides of the same coin (Lantolf & Poehner, 2014). Within this view, research informs education and vice versa. 

 

As educators we must then incorporate the findings of research into the theory that underpins our pedagogy. However, one difficulty that we might find in the classroom, whether or not we have a theoretically sound lesson, is that students might lack motivation. In such instances, I have employed DiPietro's (1987) Strategic Interaction method to create organic learning moments in the classroom. DiPietro's method calls for the use of conflict-based scenarios that create dramatic situations, in which the students create more language than they might normally do in an foreign or second language classroom. In doing so, students typically take self-interst in their use of language in certain situations, and they might analyze their use of language with the aid of the teacher or fellow students. 

 

Previous Research:

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From a SCT persepective, I have conducted a study that investigates the interface between speech and gesture in the cartoon narration of motion events by two advanced Brazilian-Portuguese speakers of English as a second language (L2). As a theoretical basis, the study is framed by both Slobin’s (1996a, 1996b, 2003) thinking for speaking (TFS) framework as well as McNeill’s (1992, 2005) growth point (GP) hypothesis. More narrowly, the focus of the study was the L2 participants’ production of manner-path conflated gesture—manner and path co-expressed—in concert with a manner verb. Conceptually, the production of manner-path conflated gestures, in synchrony with a manner verbs, does not follow the verb-framed language (V-language) typology (Talmy, 2000) of the speakers’ first language (L1). In V-languages path of motion is conflated with the verb, and manner is optionally co-expressed in gesture or an adverbial, if at all. Satellite-framed languages, on the other hand, convey manner of motion on the verb and path on satellite phrases; additionally, manner-path conflated gestures are synchronized with a manner verb when manner is in focus. Through such L2 co-speech gesture production, the participants indicate a shift towards L2 TFS or hybridity of the L1 and L2 TFS patterns. 

 

The pedagogical implications for this study can be understood as further proof that the acquisition of L2 concepts are quite difficult, especially when acquiring L2 S-language features as a L1 V-language speaker. As the my study evidences, current educational programs do not provide the necessary means for learners to understand the more nuanced features of a L2. Within a SCT framework, adult learners are understood to be operating with a fully-formed cognitive system that is mediated by their L1. As such, the pedagogical imperative is to teach learners in an explicit manner that allows for a holistic uptake of L2 concepts. Indeed, operating within this understanding of adult learner needs, it is the project of Systemic Theoretical Instruction (STI; also referred to as Concept Based Language Instruction in language pedagogy) to present the learner with the most holistic representation of the L2 concept; such representations are drawn from image schemas in the field of cognitive linguistics. 

 

Contact Information:

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If you would like to contact me for further discussion of any points that I have mentioned here, be it for projects or general interest, to give recommendations, or to share useful information, please feel free to contact me at the address below. I look forward to hearing from you:

 

Keenan M. Sweigart

 

keesweig@gmail.com