The Modern Language Journal

Volume 107, Issue S1, January 2023

The Modern Language Journal（SSCI一区，2021 IF：7.5）2023年第1期共发文9篇，专刊议题为“社会文化理论与东亚语境下的教学研究”。研究论文涉及社会文化理论、概念型语言教学、基于用法的原则、语言评估素养、动态评估、认知情感辩证法等。欢迎转发扩散！

往期推荐：

刊讯｜SSCI 期刊《现代语言杂志》2022年第2-4期

刊讯｜SSCI 期刊《现代语言杂志》2022年第1期

刊讯｜SSCI 期刊《现代语言杂志》2022年第S1期

目录

ARTICLES

■Sociocultural theory and classroom second language learning in the East Asian context: Introduction to the special issue, by James P. Lantolf,  Matthew E. Poehner, Pages 3–23.

■Decoding EFL learners’ internalization of English modal verbs in concept-based language instruction: Integrating SCOBAs with languaging, by Lili Qin,  Xibei Ouyang,  Wei Ren, Pages 24-45 .

■ Dynamic Usage-based Principles in the Development of L2 Finnish Evaluative Constructions, by Sirkku Lesonen, Rasmus Steinkrauss, Minna Suni, Marjolijn Verspoor, Pages 442–472.

■Concept-based language instruction and the teaching of citation in English academic writing, by Y. Yang,  Yiru R. Sang, Pages 46-67.

■Empowering preservice English teachers with language assessment literacy concepts and practices: Application of Vygotskian concept-based language instruction, by Yu–Ting Kao, Pages 68-94.

■Effects of written languaging on second language learning: Mediating roles of aptitude, by Masako Ishikawa,  Wataru Suzuki, Pages95-112.

■Promoting young EFL learners’ listening potential: A model of mediation in the framework of dynamic assessment, by Yanhong Zhang, Pages 113-136.

■Modeling mediation in the dynamic assessment of listening ability from the cognitive diagnostic perspective, by Yaru Meng,  Hua Fu, Pages 137-160.

■The effect of the cognitive–emotional dialectic on L2 development: Enhancing our understanding of perezhivanie, by Jinfen Xu,  Shanshan Zhang, Pages161-178.

摘要

Sociocultural theory and classroom second language learning in the East Asian context: Introduction to the special issue

James P. Lantolf, Center for the Cognitive Science of Language, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing, China; Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

Matthew E. Poehner, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

Abstract In this introduction to the special issue, we first present a brief historical overview of sociocultural theory (SCT) as it has been extended to the process of second language (L2) development and instruction, beginning with two significant publications that appeared in 1994. In the early years, the theory was used as a lens to understand various aspects of learning and instruction. Eventually, it came to be used as a means of promoting the processes that it investigates. As we explain in this article, the shift in research orientation reflects Vygotsky's commitment to the unity of theory and research with practice. We then address a problem associated with the term “sociocultural,” which has been used since the inception of L2 research informed by the theory. This is followed by a presentation of the four central principles of the theory, which is contextualized within a discussion of dialectics, the foundational methodological approach adopted by Vygotsky in formulating the theory of higher psychological functioning. The principles each relate to the process through which naturally endowed instincts that govern mental and emotional behavior from birth are restructured as they interact with culturally developed forms of mediation, including—most importantly—language. Next, we present an overview of the special issue that includes a discussion of the important concepts that are brought to bear in instructed L2 development. These include the important distinction between everyday and scientific concepts and concept-based instruction; the zone of proximal development and dynamic assessment; languaging, or the psychological use of speaking and writing in the developmental process; perezhivanie, the dialectical unity of emotion and cognition as related to development; and obuchenie, the instruction–development dialectic. These concepts, along with the theoretical principles, are employed in various ways in the seven articles included in the special issue. The articles are representative of the innovative SCT-L2 research that is currently under way in East Asia, a region of the world that only recently has been attracted to the theory. While the research reported on in the special issue emerges from this particular area, the implications for other instructional contexts and for the theory itself are significant.

Decoding EFL learners’ internalization of English modal verbs in concept-based language instruction: Integrating SCOBAs with languaging

Lili Qin, School of English Education, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; Department of World Languages, Dalian University of Foreign Languages, Dalian, Liaoning, China

Xibei Ouyang, School of Foreign Languages, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

Wei Ren, School of Foreign Languages, Beihang University, Haidian District, Beijing, China

Abstract Concept-based language instruction (C-BLI) is a pedagogy guided by sociocultural theory, which has been shown to be effective in facilitating second language learning. Typical activities include materialization by using a schema for a complete orienting basis of an action (SCOBA) and languaging, through which learners’ internalization of scientific knowledge can be observed. However, previous studies have mainly used languaging as an assessment tool to examine the outcome of the internalization of concepts. Few studies have integrated SCOBAs (visual) and languaging (oral or written) in their investigation of the internalization process. This 5-week study involved 53 Chinese English-as-a-foreign-language learners in a university who were all taught with the C-BLI approach to learn English modal verbs. Among them, there were 26 lower proficiency students and 27 higher proficiency students. Visual, oral, and written data were collected to examine the participants’ internalization of the modal verb concepts. All 53 learners participated in SCOBA drawing and written-languaging tasks. Twelve students (6 per group) volunteered to participate in oral languaging. The results showed that in the SCOBA drawing activity, higher level learners produced more abstract, systematic, and imitated visualizations of the concepts, while lower level learners produced more concrete, disconnected, and emulated visualizations. With regard to oral languaging, both groups largely abandoned their previously learned “rule of thumb” after the C-BLI intervention, and there were no obvious differences in oral-languaging performance between the two groups, except that the higher group produced more languaging units. Finally, we also found that the changes between pre- and post-written-languaging tasks for lower level students were more obvious, especially in the appropriation of SCOBAs in written languaging.

Concept-based language instruction and the teaching of citation in English academic writing

Ruiying Y. Yang, School of Foreign Studies, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China

Yiru R. Sang, School of Foreign Studies, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China

AbstractThis article reports a teaching project for the purpose of improving the citation ability of second language (L2) graduate students in academic writing through concept-based language instruction (C-BLI). “Citation” here refers to writers’ use of external sources in their own writing, which is an important and unique feature of academic writing. However, developing the ability to use citation appropriately and effectively is a difficult process for many L2 novice writers of English. This study attempts to apply C-BLI in the teaching of citation in order to observe whether it is effective in bringing about changes in the perception and performance of novice academic writers in terms of their use of citation forms and functions. The teaching focused on citation types and functions with creatively designed SCOBAs (schema for complete orienting basis of an action) and activities. To examine the pedagogical impact of C-BLI, we administered four measurements: questionnaire, interview, test, and revision of previously written research proposals. The four types of data were collected before and after the teaching sessions. Comparative analyses identified positive evidence that indicates the occurrence of changes in the students’ understanding of the complexity of the citation concept as well as their improved practice in the use of citations.

Empowering preservice English teachers with language assessment literacy concepts and practices: Application of Vygotskian concept-based language instruction

Yu–Ting Kao, Department of Foreign Languages and Literature, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan City, Taiwan

AbstractLanguage teachers are expected to engage in classroom assessment practices and report on learners’ progress aligned with proficiency standards, as well as prepare learners for external examinations. The term “language assessment literacy” (LAL) describes what the constituency of language instructors needs to know about assessment matters. Traditionally, a top-down perspective has been provided for language teachers, such as through textbooks and testing courses. However, the result of this top-down, decontextualized approach is that teachers often seem unable to influence and change the policy. Accordingly, this article reports on a study framed within sociocultural theory, in which a group of preservice English teachers applied Gal'perin's model of systemic theoretical instruction, brought into second language education as concept-based language instruction (C-BLI), to internalize and apply LAL concepts in instructional contexts. Results of the study suggest that C-BLI was more effective than a top-down, textbook-based teaching approach in facilitating preservice teachers’ understanding of LAL concepts. It also helped them become active agents of their own language-testing practice. Implications of the study are trifold. First, the C-BLI intervention empowered preservice teachers on the design of classroom-based assessments. Second, it brought positive washback to the instructional plan and English curricula. Third, the intervention helped form the dialectical unity of theory and practice, which contributed to the teachers’ professional development in English-as-a-foreign-language contexts.

Effects of written languaging on second language learning: Mediating roles of aptitude

Masako Ishikawa, Language Education Center, Josai University, Sakado-shi, Saitama, Japan

Wataru Suzuki, Graduate School of Education, Miyagi University of Education, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Japan

Abstract Languaging—that is, using language to mediate thinking, orally or in writing—facilitates second language (L2) learning. As languaging requires the deliberate, analytical action of L2 learners, learners with higher language aptitude are likely to benefit more from languaging than those with lower aptitude. Thus, this study investigated the extent to which language aptitude mediates the effects of written languaging (WL) on L2 learning. Pre-intermediate Japanese university students were assigned to +WL or −WL groups. The +WL group was instructed to compare their composition with the model text and explain, in writing, the use of articles (i.e., WL). In contrast, the −WL group copied the model 3 times. Examination of the association between the scores on aptitude tests (i.e., LLAMA, Language Aptitude Battery for Japanese, and Modern Language Aptitude Test) and the gain scores on assessment tests (pre-, post-, and delayed posttests) revealed that half of the correlations were significant for the 2 test types in the −WL group. However, no such correlations were found in the +WL group. Thus, WL might have benefitted the +WL participants by facilitating their noticing and reflecting on the linguistic issues, regardless of their aptitude profiles. We argue that WL may be a more influential factor than aptitude.

Promoting young EFL learners’ listening potential: A model of mediation in the framework of dynamic assessment

Yanhong Zhang, Foreign Languages Teaching and Research Department, Center for Foreign Language Education and Assessment Research, Luoyang Normal University, Luoyang City, Henan Province, P. R. China

AbstractDynamic assessment (DA) integrates assessment and instruction into an organic unity aimed at promoting learner development through mediation sensitive to the individual's (or in some cases, a group's) current abilities. This article reports on the construction of a model of mediation framed within DA for English-as-a-foreign-language listening comprehension. The model was implemented in a 1-semester comparative experimental study in 2 parallel classes of Grade 8 in an urban middle school in central China. For mediation, the experimental class (EC) received four DA sessions aligned to their emerging abilities at all listening stages. Statistical results showed that students in EC outperformed those in the control class significantly in both a posttest and a near transfer assessment test, a more complex task intended to assess development in a more accurate manner, although they showed no significant advantage in the far TA test. Microgenetic analysis of the development of a sample of 9 students revealed that the mode of mediation used during enrichment permitted the teacher to ascertain students’ listening problems, including their struggles with phonology, lexicon, grammar, and strategy use. The value of the DA mediation model is discussed as a dialectical unity of both a diagnostic tool and a pedagogical framework in the context of young L2 learners.

Modeling mediation in the dynamic assessment of listening ability from the cognitive diagnostic perspective

Yaru Meng, School of Foreign Studies, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Shaanxi, China

Hua Fu, School of Foreign Studies, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Shaanxi, China

AbstractThe distinguishing feature of dynamic assessment (DA) is the dialectical integration of assessment and instruction. However, how to design the targeted instruction or mediation has been relatively underexplored. To address this gap, this study proposes the attribute-based mediation model (AMM), an English-as-a-foreign-language listening mediation model based on item attributes (constructs) derived from cognitive diagnostic assessment (CDA). CDA provides theoretical and methodological support for the accurate correspondence of items and attributes via Q-matrix development and validation. The CDA-identified attributes can inform the construction of targeted mediation models in DA, within which the mediation will serve as the subsequent remedial instruction. In this way, diagnosis and instruction were bridged through the integration of CDA and DA. The results of three one-on-one DA sessions showed that the AMM has the potential to diagnose learners’ listening ability at the attribute level and to stimulate microgenetic development. This study is significant in linking the psychometric-based validity of a test and the DA-based validity of development. It also provides insights into future mediation design and a possible way of merging DA and diagnostic language assessment.

The effect of the cognitive–emotional dialectic on L2 development: Enhancing our understanding of perezhivanie

Jinfen Xu, School of Foreign Languages, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China

Shanshan Zhang, School of Foreign Languages, Chang'an University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China

AbstractThe affective turn in the second language (L2) acquisition literature has witnessed a shift from the periphery to a clear focus on emotions. Nevertheless, this shift tends to examine emotion separately from cognition. Vygotsky's perezhivanie provides a theoretical lens to explore the inextricable interconnectedness of emotion and cognition in a dialectical and nonreductionist way. This article investigates the concept of perezhivanie in two Chinese learners of L2 Japanese and its relevance for their language development. Data mainly collected through interviews and narrative journals were thematically analyzed. The study demonstrates how cognition and emotion dialectically foreground one another (i.e., one gains an upper hand over the other), thus shaping each learner's unique perezhivanie as they undertook to learn Japanese. The study showed that the two students had their own purposes for learning Japanese and that affect functioned as both facilitator and inhibitor of the learning processes. Interestingly, this study does not support the notion that negative affect results in a lack of development and that positive affect always leads to development. It also emphasizes that negative and positive affect constitute a dialectical process.

期刊简介

The MLJ is an international refereed journal that is dedicated to promoting scholarly exchange among researchers and teachers of all modern foreign languages and English as a second language. The journal is particularly committed to publishing high quality work in non-English languages. 

《现代语言杂志》是一本国际性的评介杂志，致力于促进所有现代外语和英语作为第二语言的研究人员和教师之间的学术交流语言。该杂志特别致力于以非英语语言出版高质量的作品。

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https://academic.oup.com/applijhttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15404781

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