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Juan Yang

University of Helsinki, Finland

 

Yue Peng

The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China

 

Abstract

This editorial introduces a special issue on Chinese language education from the perspective of sociocultural theory. It first outlines key concepts in sociocultural theory, including mediation, internalization, regulation, the Zone of Proximal Development, perezhivanie, and activity theory, together with their pedagogical applications in concept-based instruction and dynamic assessment. It then reviews research applying sociocultural theory to Chinese as a second language. The review highlights the need to move beyond using sociocultural concepts as broad interpretive labels and to examine the moment-to-moment processes through which learners internalize cultural resources and develop agency. The editorial then introduces the five studies in this special issue. Collectively, these studies demonstrate how sociocultural theory can guide instructional interventions, technology-enhanced learning, teacher education, and professional development. The editorial concludes by emphasizing that research on Chinese language teaching and learning should contribute to the extension and refinement of sociocultural theory itself, rather than simply applying the theory. It also proposes several important topics for future investigation.

 

Keywords

Sociocultural theory, Chinese language education, Chinese as a second language, concept-based instruction, dynamic assessment

 

专刊引言
社会文化理论视角下的中文教育
 

杨娟

赫尔辛基大学，芬兰

 

彭越

香港中文大学，中国

 

摘要

本期专刊引言介绍社会文化理论视角下的中文教育：首先，我们简要阐述了社会文化理论的几个关键概念，包括中介、内化、调节、最近发展区、认知和情感的辩证统一体以及活动理论，并在此基础上讨论了相关理论在教学法上的应用，如基于概念的教学法和动态评估。通过综述前人研究，我们认为，社会文化理论并不只是一个用于泛泛解释教学情境的标签，更多的研究需要考察学习者当下时刻发生的学习活动和过程。这个过程最能体现他们如何将文化资源内化为自己的思维并发挥主观能动性。我们进而介绍了本特刊收录的五个实证研究。这些研究展示了社会文化理论能够如何指导教学干预，开展技术辅助的学习，以及进行教师教育和专业发展。最后，我们强调，中文教育的研究不仅仅是运用社会文化理论解释中文教学中的问题，还能够帮助拓展和重新定义社会文化理论本身。基于此，我们提出了一些可进一步研究的话题供参考。

 

关键词

社会文化理论，中文语言教学，汉语二语，基于概念的教学，动态评估