Although increased attention has been given to sociocultural theory in the field of second language acquisition (SLA), only the surface has been scratched. The following paper provides a brief review of some of the sociocultural research which has been done in the field of SLA. The review is divided into four general areas: criticism of SLA research framed in the message model of communication; deficiencies in common instructional practices; the role of private speech in 2nd language learning; and discourse strategies for semiotic mediation. The review concludes by noting that sociocultural theory may be particularly enriching and relevant to the field of SLA because the acquisition of a language is after all first and foremost a social activity.
Zena Abu Shakra