ABSTRACT
The past several decades have seen a significant shift in the conceptualization of language. From perceiving the laws of language as an external phenomenon in and of itself worth study, through positing them in the human mind, we have come to understand language as closely interwoven with society and social semiotic systems. Our understanding of learning has undergone a similar change. Learning a second language (L2) no longer seems to be about memorization of rules and discrete language items. Increasingly, it is perceived as a two-tiered phenomenon: individual and cognitive on the one hand, and socially-situated, collaboratively-constructed and inseparably connected with other semiotic systems such as gesture, customs and rituals, and social and cultural artefacts on the other. Consequently, there has been an evident shift from the learner as individual to the learner as a member of the social group actively involved in goal-oriented activity and in co-constructing the learning process. Socialization has become a desired feature of the L2 classroom and a viable area of learning research.
