May 2025 – Volume 29, Number 1
https://doi.org/10.55593/ej.29113r2
Second Language Literacy Pedagogy: A Sociocultural Theory Perspective |
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| Author: | Kimberly Buescher Urbanski (2023) |  |
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| Publisher: | Multilingual Matters | ||
| Pages | e-ISBN | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
| pp. 184 | 9781800417632 9781800417601 |
$49.45 (Paperback) $129.95 (Hardback) |
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Second language (L2) learners often struggle with reading authentic and academic texts in advanced-level courses due to underdeveloped L2 literacy skills (Yáñez Prieto, 2010). In beginner-level courses, L2 instructors typically focus on grammar and vocabulary acquisition, using modified texts designed to enhance L2 proficiency and reduce cognitive load. In contrast, teachers in advanced-level courses prioritize content, expecting learners to apply their L1 literacy skills while drawing on the syntactic and lexical knowledge acquired in earlier stages of L2 learning. However, the reliance on simplified and artificial texts in beginner-level courses may limit learners’ exposure to essential genre conventions and rhetorical moves necessary for analyzing and engaging with authentic texts.
Urbanski’s Second Language Literacy Pedagogy: A Sociocultural Theory Perspective addresses this curricular gap by implementing concept-based language instruction (C-BLI) as an alternative approach. This L2 reading pedagogy equips L2 learners with scientific concepts that function as semiotic tools, enabling them to interpret the meanings behind linguistic forms in authentic L2 texts. The book is organized in seven chapters: Chapter 1 examines the curricular gap, Chapters 2 and 3 establish the theoretical foundation for the alternative literacy pedagogy, Chapters 4 through 6 present research findings on the pedagogy, and Chapter 7 discusses the pedagogy’s implications, limitations, and future directions.
After examining the gap in current reading practices in Chapter 1, Chapters 2 and 3 provide an in-depth overview of the philosophical and theoretical foundations of L2 literacy pedagogy, distinguishing between reading and literacy. The cognitivist perspective, influenced by Piaget, assumes that L2 learners can process complex and authentic texts only once their cognitive development has reached a sufficient level. In contrast, the alternative perspective, grounded in Vygotskian Sociocultural Theory, rejects the notion of a single correct form of language use. Instead, literacy is conceptualized as a tool for thinking that enables L2 learners to engage in meaning-making and recognize multidimensional relationships within texts. Chapter 3 outlines the study’s design, focusing on the implementation of C-BLI and the division-of-labor pedagogy (DOLP). Three narrative literacy concepts – foundation, organization, and genre – are introduced as essential tools for fostering L2 literacy skills.
Chapters 4 through 6 present the findings from the study. Chapter 4 reports significant improvement in intermediate-level L2 French learners’ pre- and post-test summary scores for mid-level texts. Additionally, learning potential scores provide insight into individual learners’ receptiveness to mediation and their Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). Chapter 5 explores the development of L2 literacy through learners’ verbalizations, revealing how participants articulated their understanding of reading, literacy, and the three core concepts they developed through C-BLI and goal-oriented literacy activities. Chapter 6 examines the cognitive and emotional growth of Claire, a student who demonstrated significant progress between the pre- and post-tests and achieved a high learning potential score. With mediation from the researcher-teacher (RT) and collaborative interactions with classmates during DOLP sessions, Claire gradually internalized the key concepts. As she gained self-regulation in L2 reading, her reliance on co-regulated mediation from the RT diminished. Chapter 7 concludes by summarizing the book’s objectives and discussing how the research addresses the gap identified in Chapter 1.
This book introduces a groundbreaking approach to L2 literacy instruction, challenging traditional models of bottom-up, top-down, and interactive reading strategies. L2 teachers often select reading materials that match students’ current proficiency levels, following the Piagetian belief that learners must mature first before tackling more complex texts. Urbanski, however, rejects this assumption, instead designing pedagogical activities to actively facilitate L2 learners’ artificial development rather than passively waiting for maturation. Through pedagogically purposeful and intentional goal-oriented activities and interaction with human and symbolic mediation, learners cultivate the cultural mind (Kozulin, 2023). By internalizing symbolic tools for thinking, they become capable of interpreting the intended meanings behind linguistic forms.
Regarding L2 assessment, comprehension questions and multiple-choice tests are commonly used to measure what learners have already acquired rather than what they can achieve with expert guidance. This book challenges these practices, rejecting the assumptions that texts must be comprehended in a single way or that interpretation depends solely on linguistic forms. Standardized one-size-fits-all tests overlook individual differences, assuming that all students process input uniformly. The RT plays a crucial role in continuously interacting with students to diagnose their current performance and potential within the ZPD. The ZPD emerges only through joint and cooperative activities between experts and learners (Holzman, 2018). Without an in-depth understanding of students’ cognition and emotion, teachers cannot provide responsive mediation that effectively addresses learners’ immediate developmental needs (Lantolf & Swain, 2019). This pedagogical shift transforms L2 learners from passive processors of text into empowered individuals with the agency to actively interpret, analyze, and even create new texts. In this approach, teachers support students in reconceptualizing their understanding of reading.
This book is invaluable for L2 practitioners seeking to transform classroom practices in which students focus on finding answers to questions rather than developing the literacy skills necessary to become independent readers. Implementing these instructional changes would help L2 learners recognize that language learning is not about selecting correct or incorrect linguistic forms but about intentionally choosing forms that express writers’ perspectives, moods, identities, and intended meanings. Teacher educators can also use this book as an ideal form for L2 reading instruction, helping novice L2 teachers critically reflect on their reading instruction, particularly those who may not recognize potential issues in their current practices. According to Veresov (2017), cognitive and emotional dissonance, triggered by dramatic collisions, serves as a catalyst for development. Teacher educators can intentionally create such drama by prompting novice teachers to compare their methods with Urbanski’s instructional approach.
One minor limitation of this book is that novice L2 instructors may find it challenging to change their current practices on their own. While Urbanski clearly explains how the RT facilitated learners’ development through responsive mediation, novice teachers with limited teaching experience may require mediation from teacher educators to implement this innovative approach to L2 reading instruction. Additionally, despite Urbanski’s detailed explanation of how she developed the scientific concepts in Chapter 3, both L2 teachers and teacher educators may struggle to develop such concepts independently. Unlike the rules of thumb commonly employed in L2 classrooms, scientific concepts require extensive effort and time to develop. While rules of thumb emphasize observable surface-level features and often come with numerous exceptions, scientific concepts reveal underlying structures essential for fostering learners’ cognitive awareness (Poehner & Lantolf, 2024). Given the complexity and labor-intensive nature required to develop scientific concepts, L2 practitioners may struggle to create them independently for implementing C-BLI without additional support. Therefore, collaboration between researchers and educators is essential for the successful adoption of these pedagogical innovations.
This book is the first to address L2 literacy development through the lens of Vygotskian Sociocultural Theory, offering an alternative to traditional reading instruction. This approach has the potential to reshape current L2 reading practices, which often leave learners struggling with authentic texts due to underdeveloped literacy skills. For teacher educators, this book serves as a valuable resource for orienting L2 teachers in transforming their instructional and assessment methods. For experienced teachers who already provide responsive mediation to students, it offers a theoretical foundation that helps them to become more conscious of their teaching practices.
About the Reviewer
Ehean Kim is a doctoral student in Curriculum and Instruction at the Pennsylvania State University. His research interests include Vygotskian Sociocultural Theory, concept-based language instruction, discourse analysis, teacher education, and technology-assisted language learning and teaching <exk5341
psu.edu> ORCID ID: 0009-0001-6893-3152
To Cite this Review
Kim, E. (2025). [Review of the book. (2023), Second Language Literacy Pedagogy: A Sociocultural Theory Perspective, by Kimberly Buescher Urbanski]. Teaching English as a Second Language Electronic Journal (TESL-EJ), 29 (1). https://doi.org/10.55593/ej.29113r2
References
Holzman, L. (2018). Zones of proximal development: Mundane and magical. In The Routledge handbook of sociocultural theory and second language development (pp. 42-55). Routledge.
Kozulin, A. (2023). The Cultural Mind: The Sociocultural Theory of Learning. Cambridge University Press.
Lantolf, J. P., & Swain, M. (2019). Perezhivanie: The cognitive–emotional dialectic within the social situation of development. Contemporary language motivation theory, 60, 80-105. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781788925204-009
Poehner, M. E., & Lantolf, J. P. (2024). Sociocultural theory and second language developmental education. Cambridge University Press.
Veresov, N. (2017). The concept of perezhivanie in cultural-historical theory: Content and contexts, advancing Vygotsky’s legacy. In Fleer, M., Perezhivanie, emotions and subjectivity (pp.47-70). Springer.
Yáñez Prieto, M. D. C. (2010). Authentic instruction in literary worlds: Learning the stylistics of concept-based grammar. Language and Literature, 19(1), 59-75 https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:220719654
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