抄録
The purpose of the current research is to identify how Sociocultural Theory has been constructed and recognized in the field of foreign language education research. The paper begins with an explanation of how the ideas of Vygotsky have been introduced into the area of Second Language Acquisition by Lantolf and others, and then moves on to describe how Wertsch interprets the essentials of Vygotskian psychology. Based on the three main topics identified by Wertsch it also discusses what has been studied within Sociocultural Theory, indicating its possibilities and limitations. Three recommendations are made: (1) research that focuses on the social context of participants is indispensable; (2) the application of the concept of “mediation” has great potential in shedding light on foreign language education practice and research in Japan; and (3) the genetic method can be used effectively for longitudinal studies. The paper concludes that even though the terminology and concepts in Sociocultural Theory are complicated for those who are not familiar with them, Sociocultural Theory enables us to advance both foreign language education research in Japan and mainstream Second Language Acquisition.
