ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a synthesis of the extension of L. S. Vygotskian cultural-historical psychology (CHP) to the study of second language (L2) pragmatics and its development. It explores a brief sketch of the general theory of psychology associated with Vygotsky and its extension to L2 research. Since the 1990s, there has been increasing interest in extending Vygotskian CHP, or sociocultural theory (SCT), to L2 research. In the L2 pragmatics literature, Vygotsky’s ideas have been used as an analytic lens for understanding processes of L2 socialization into appropriate language use and, as the basis for designing pedagogical arrangements aimed at fostering and assessing pragmatic growth. C. Kinginger extended the genetic approach to documenting L2 pragmatic development to the context of study abroad. The central theme of Vygotsky’s work is mediation. Vygotsky’s ideas have been extended to L2 research in a number of productive ways since the early papers of Frawley and Lantolf.
