Language in Action

Language in Action
Author: Riikka Alanen
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Total Pages: 492
Release: 2007
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN:

The Russian psychologist L. S. Vygotsky (1896â "1934) has been one of the central figures in the recent shift from the cognitive to the social and the cultural in educational and psychological research. A. N. Leontievâ (TM)s (1903â "1979) activity theory has had a similar impact in the West. A. A. Leontievâ (TM)s (1936â "2004) psycholinguistic theories have also started to attract increasing attention. The ideas of these scholars have also made their mark on second and foreign language learning research outside Russia. However, there is no one widely accepted, monolithic Vygotskian or Leontievian theory. Furthermore, the nature and role of language in action and activity remain open for debate. This edited volume presents 19 chapters bringing together different views from a number of disciplines for a critical analysis and reappraisal of the relationship between language and action. The topics range from theoretical and methodological issues related to sociocultural and activity theoretical views of language to empirical research reports on classroom interaction, identity, language assessment, teacher education and second and foreign language learning. The overall aim of Language in Action: Vygotsky and Leontievian Legacy Today is to shed light on the nature of human action and activity and the role that language has in mediating and shaping what we think, do, and learn. At the same time, the book serves as a showcase of different socially oriented approaches to the study of what we as human beings are and what we do with language.

Revisionist Revolution in Vygotsky Studies

Revisionist Revolution in Vygotsky Studies
Author: Anton Yasnitsky
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 335
Release: 2015-09-16
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1317500423

Revisionist Revolution in Vygotsky Studies brings together recent critical investigations which examine historical and textual inaccuracies associated with received understandings of Vygotsky’s work. By deconstructing the Vygotskian narrative, the authors debunk the 'cult of Vygotsky', allowing for a new, exciting interpretation of the logic and direction of his theory. The chapters cover a number of important themes, including: The chronology of Vygotsky’s ideas and theory development, and the main core of his theoretical writings Relationships between Vygotskians and their Western colleagues The international reception of Vygotskian psychology and problems of translation The future development of Vygotskian science Using Vygotsky’s published and unpublished writings the authors present a detailed historical understanding of Vygotsky’s thought, and the circumstances in which he worked. It includes coverage of the organization of academic psychology in the Soviet Union, the network of scholars associated with Vygotsky in the interwar period, and the assumed publication ban on Vygotsky’s writings. This volume is the first to provide an overview of revisionist studies of Vygotsky’s work, and is the product of close international collaboration between revisionist scholars. It will be an essential contribution to Vygotskian scholarship, and of great interest to researchers in the history of psychology, history of science, Soviet/Russian history, philosophical psychology and philosophy of science.

Alternative Approaches to Second Language Acquisition

Alternative Approaches to Second Language Acquisition
Author: Dwight Atkinson
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2011-03-01
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1136825797

This volume presents six alternative approaches to studying second language acquisition – 'alternative' in the sense that they contrast with and/or complement the cognitivism pervading the field. All six approaches – sociocultural, complexity theory, conversation-analytic, identity, language socialization, and sociocognitive – are described according to the same set of six headings, allowing for direct comparison across approaches. Each chapter is authored by leading advocates for the approach described: James Lantolf for the sociocultural approach; Diane Larsen-Freeman for the complexity theory approach; Gabriele Kasper and Johannes Wagner for the conversation-analytic approach; Bonny Norton and Carolyn McKinney for the identity approach; Patricia Duff and Steven Talmy for the language socialization approach and Dwight Atkinson for the sociocognitive approach. Introductory and commentary chapters round out this volume. The editor’s introduction describes the significance of alternative approaches to SLA studies given its strongly cognitivist orientation. Lourdes Ortega’s commentary considers the six approaches from an 'enlightened traditional' perspective on SLA studies – a viewpoint which is cognitivist in orientation but broad enough to give serious and balanced consideration to alternative approaches. This volume is essential reading in the field of second language acquisition.

The linguistic integration of adult migrants: from one country to another, from one language to another

The linguistic integration of adult migrants: from one country to another, from one language to another
Author: Council of Europe
Publisher: Council of Europe
Total Pages: 58
Release: 2014-01-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 928717962X

The linguistic integration of migrants affects every aspect of settling in a new country (employment, health, etc.). The aim of this collection of texts is to propose a number of specific measures member states can take to help adult migrants become acquainted with the language of the host country. The main focus is on organising language courses that meet migrants’ real communication needs. It is not enough for authorities simply to consider the technical aspects of such courses, they should also design and conduct them in accordance with the fundamental values of the Council of Europe. A number of issues concerning the linguistic integration of adult migrants are presented here, beginning with the notion of linguistic integration itself. Family reunion, the nature of citizenship and the function of language tests, among others, are dealt with from the point of view of language and language use. Readers are invited to reflect on the type of language competences that need to be acquired as well as an appropriate use of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The collection also sets out approaches and instruments designed to assist in implementing effective policies.

The Game Localization Handbook

The Game Localization Handbook
Author: Heather Chandler
Publisher: Jones & Bartlett Publishers
Total Pages: 387
Release: 2011-09-19
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 0763795933

Authored by two internationally known experts in game localization, this text is a comprehensive, up-to-date reference for information about how to localize software for games, whether they are developed for the PC, console, or other platforms.

Stalinist Science

Stalinist Science
Author: Nikolai Krementsov
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 390
Release: 1996-11-25
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1400822149

Some scholars have viewed the Soviet state and science as two monolithic entities--with bureaucrats as oppressors, and scientists as defenders of intellectual autonomy. Based on previously unknown documents from the archives of state and Communist Party agencies and of numerous scientific institutions, Stalinist Science shows that this picture is oversimplified. Even the reinstated Science Department within the Central Committee was staffed by a leading geneticist and others sympathetic to conventional science. In fact, a symbiosis of state bureaucrats and scientists established a much more terrifying system of control over the scientific community than any critic of Soviet totalitarianism had feared. Some scientists, on the other hand, developed more elaborate devices to avoid and exploit this control system than any advocate of academic freedom could have reasonably hoped. Nikolai Krementsov argues that the model of Stalinist science, already taking hold during the thirties, was reversed by the need for inter-Allied cooperation during World War II. Science, as a tool for winning the war and as a diplomatic and propaganda instrument, began to enjoy higher status, better funding, and relative autonomy. Even the reinstated Science Department within the Central Committee was staffed by a leading geneticist and others sympathetic to conventional science. However, the onset of the Cold War led to a campaign for eliminating such servility to the West. Then the Western links that had benefited genetics and other sciences during the war and through 1946 became a liability, and were used by Lysenko and others to turn back to the repressive past and to delegitimate whole research directions.

Vygotsky

Vygotsky
Author: Anton Yasnitsky
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 311
Release: 2018-06-14
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1317615344

– The most famous Russian psychologist, whose life and ideas are least known? – A pioneer of psychology who said virtually nothing new? – A simple man who became a genius after he died? This fundamentally novel intellectual biography offers a 21st-century account of the life and times of Lev Vygotsky, who has long been considered a pioneer in the field of learning and human development. The diverse Vygotskian literature has created many distinct images of this influential scientist, which has led many researchers to attempt to unearth ‘the real Vygotsky’. Rather than join this quest to over-simplify Vygotsky’s legacy, this book attempts to understand the development of ‘the multiple Vygotskies’ by exploring a number of personae that Vygotsky assumed at different periods of his life. Based on the most recent archival, textological and historical investigations in original, uncensored Russian, the author presents a ground-breaking account that is far from the shiny success story that is typically associated with ‘the cult of Vygotsky’. This book will be an essential contribution to Vygotskian scholarship and of interest to advanced students and researchers in history of psychology, history of science, Soviet/Russian history, philosophical psychology, and philosophy of science.

Studies in Functional Stylistics

Studies in Functional Stylistics
Author: Jan Chloupek
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
Total Pages: 294
Release: 1993-01-01
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9027215456

The 15 contributions in the present collection can be divided roughly into three groups: (1) Papers directly following up functional stylistics and the theory of language culture, elaborated in the classical period of the Prague Linguistic School. (2) Papers concerning the problems of style in a wider communicative arena. These contributions are closely related to contemporary text linguistics and also deal with problems involving psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics and semiotics. (3) Papers having, at least in some part, a pronounced historiographic character. These contributions reflect the fact that contemporary Czech linguistic research is firmly anchored in the Prague linguistic tradition. Although the authors' frame of reference is mainly Czech and the current language situation in the Czech Republic, the majority of contributions were intended to have a more general linguistic character and general linguistic validity.

The Autobiography of Alexander Luria

The Autobiography of Alexander Luria
Author: Michael Cole
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 335
Release: 2014-06-11
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1317759281

Alexander Luria was one of the most influential psychologists of the 20th century. His official autobiography was written as a citizen of the Soviet Union, and while it provides a compelling story of his lifelong devotion to developing a comprehensive theory of the biological and cultural foundations of human nature, it is conspicuous for the absence of information about the social context of his work and his personal struggles to be a decent person in indecent times. The current "dialogic autobiography" brings the vitality of Luria's ideas back to life. Michael Cole and Karl Levitin, both of whom knew Luria well and have written about his life and work, have written a carefully researched introduction and epilogue to the original autobiography. They provide readers, for the first time, with information about the social and personal contexts of Luria's remarkable achievements. Their account is supplemented by downloadable resources with reminiscences of leading psychologists from around the world who knew and worked with Luria. At last, Luria's life and science are brought together in a single volume. The book will appeal to psychologists, neuropsychologists, and other scientists interested in Luria's life achievements.

Historical Dimensions of Psychological Discourse

Historical Dimensions of Psychological Discourse
Author: Carl F. Graumann
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 296
Release: 1996-07-13
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0521480213

This book challenges the popular and scholarly concepts of psychological reality throughout history.