Developing second language sociopragmatic knowledge through concept-based instruction: A microgenetic case study

This article presents a case study of the development of second language (L2) sociopragmatic knowledge in an intermediate-level US university learner of French, Jane (a pseudonym), who participated in a one-hour concept-based instruction (CBI) tutorial. Grounded in a Vygotskian perspective on developmental education, this research focuses on the teaching of scientific, or theoretical, concepts as a way of mediating language learners’ developing understanding of and ability to use the L2 for meaning-making purposes. The focus of the present study is on sociopragmatic concepts related to the choice between French second-person pronouns, TU and VOUS. An in-depth moment-to-moment, microgenetic analysis traces how changes in Jane's cognitive functioning (i.e., conceptual knowledge) arose in and through her engagement in the CBI tutorial, which included collaboration with an expert tutor as well as access to such mediating artifacts as written concept explanations and pedagogical diagrams.

► Sociopragmatic concepts can be taught to second language learners. ► Verbalization facilitates appropriation of concepts. ► Concepts help learners establish personally meaningful understandings of pragmatics.