Moscow State University of Psychology and Education invites you to the 6th meeting of the Moscow CHAT Reading Group “ReadingLive”, that will take place on May 25th at 6 pm (Moscow time) in Zoom.

Presentation title: The ZPD and Second Language Learning: A Method for Future-in-the-Making

Abstract. In this webinar, we begin with an overview of important contributions and approaches to Dynamic Assessment (DA) that have been pursued by second language (L2) researchers in their efforts to identify learner “ripening” abilities and align subsequent instruction to them in order to promote development (Poehner, 2018; Poehner & Wang, 2020). Turning to the problem raised by Valsiner and van der Veer (1993) concerning the Zone of proximal development (ZPD), we propose that this work offers a potential solution to the methodological difficulty of empirically observing the future in the present. Specifically, attention to the quality of mediation required by learners during DA is interpreted as indicative of how ‘near’ or ‘far’ learners are from independent performance, that is, from the language abilities in question shifting from the ZPD to ZAD. In this way, future independent performance is brought into the present during DA – a dialectical activity in which tension between learner actual abilities and the demands of the task are resolved through mediator-learner cooperation. We then consider how this approach to possibly observing the future-in-the-making can be further developed through increased attention to the forms of learner contribution and responsiveness during DA. The concept of learner reciprocity, originating in the DA research of Lidz (1991) and Feuerstein (Feuerstein et al., 2003), offers a point of departure for capturing the various ways in which learners may engage with mediation and how this offers insights into emerging abilities. While preliminary studies of reciprocity in L2 DA have been undertaken (e.g., Ableeva, 2018; Poehner 2008), a framework to guide the integrated interpretation of mediator and learner moves has yet to be determined. We propose that such a framework offers a resolution to Valsiner and van der Veer’s methodological paradox.

Recommended for reading:

Poehner ME, Leontjev D. To correct or to cooperate: Mediational processes and L2 development. Language Teaching Research. 2020;24(3):295-316. doi:10.1177/1362168818783212 

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