Abstracts
Résumé
L’article proposé se veut une recension des écrits traitant de la théorie historico-culturelle de l’activité (CHAT) qui s’inscrit dans la recherche en classes de langues. Plus précisément, la revue de la littérature aborde la médiation dans le contexte de l’apprentissage d’une langue seconde. Concept introduit par Vygotsky (1978) et repris par des chercheurs tels qu’Engeström (2015) et Prenkert (2010), le concept de médiation est souvent présenté par des chercheurs en classe de langues sans pour autant être clairement opérationnalisé. Issus de cette constatation, les objectifs de cet article consistent en la redéfinition du concept de médiation, la circonscription de son rôle dans le système d’activité, la description de ses apports dans les recherches en classe de langues et la mise en lumière de ses nouvelles applications. Nous effectuons une revue de la littérature narrative issue de bases de données (LLBA, ERIC, EBSCO, PsycNET, SOFIA) et de critères d’inclusion. Les textes sur lesquels s’appuie cette revue sont empiriques et opérationnalisent la médiation en contexte. L’analyse des textes retenus met de l’avant une définition partagée de la médiation et une idée commune quant au rôle de la médiation en classe de langues relié à la compréhension des éléments médiateurs du système d’activité (SA). Finalement, plusieurs apports de ces textes sont dégagés : (1) le double rôle de la langue en tant que médiatrice et objet, (2) la médiation par les stratégies d’apprentissage, (3) le rôle médiateur de la culture de classe et (4) l'utilisation de nouveaux artéfacts en classe.
Mots-clés :
- médiation,
- système d’activité (SA),
- théorie de l’activité (CHAT),
- apprentissage d’une langue seconde,
- classe de langues
Abstract
This article is a review of the literature on the use of cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) in the context of language instruction. It explores the concept of mediation as applied to the learning of a second language. First introduced by Vygotsky (1978) and expanded upon by researchers such as Engeström (2015) and Prenkert (2010), this concept is often presented by researchers in the field of second language teaching without being operationalized. Stemming from this observation, the objectives of the present article are to redefine the concept of mediation, to circumscribe its role in the activity system, and to describe its role in second language teaching research. It also aims to highlight the new applications of mediation as used in the second language classroom. To do so, a narrative literature review based on data bases (LLBA, ERIC, EBSCO, PsycNET, SOFIA) and inclusion criteria is carried out. The texts on which this literature review rests are empirical in nature and operationalize mediation in context. The analysis of the texts reveals a shared definition of mediation and a common idea as to the role of mediation in the second language classroom. In this regard, it draws parallels between the different elements of the activity system. Finally, several contributions of the selected texts are revealed: (1) the dual role of language as mediator and object, (2) the role of learning strategies as mediators, (3) the role of class culture as a mediator, and (4) the use of new artefacts in the classroom.
Keywords:
- mediation,
- cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT),
- activity system (SA),
- second language learning,
- language classes
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Appendices
Bibliographie
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