ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on mediator and learner engagement, examining how activity in the zone of proximal development (ZPD) is co-constructed and negotiated moment to moment by mediators and learners. Since early work on sociocultural theory (SCT) and second language (L2) development, researchers have sought to understand how ZPD activity is co-constructed with learners during interaction, enabling them to participate in activity in ways that exceed their present, or actual, abilities. This chapter broadens the focus beyond the discursive moves of interaction to also include research on eye gaze, body positioning, and gesture, as well as learner emotionality, and how each of these influences both engagement and L2 development. I argue that this broadened focus is essential for understanding the processes through which teachers and learners in classrooms succeed in co-constructing ZPD activity as well as the challenges that might impede success. I then discuss the implications of these findings for teacher training and conclude with a call for future research that moves beyond a sole focus on the recorded and transcribed features of interaction to also include the thoughts and experiences of teachers and learners.
