INTERACTIONIST THEORY (CONTEXTUAL)

- Is an explanation of Language development emphasizing the role of social Interaction

between the developing child and linguistically knowledgeable adults.
- Largely based on Lev Vygotsky’s Social – Cultural Theories.
LEV VYGOTSKY
- Born on November 17, 1896
- From Orsha in Russian Empire
- He graduated with a Degree in Law in Moscow State University

According to Vygotsky Social Interaction plays a huge role in the learning process and
proposed Zone of Proximal Development where learners construct the new language through
socially mediated interaction.
The Social Interactionist approaches rest on the premises of a social cognitive model,
emphasizing the child’s construction of a social world which then serves as the context of
language development.
Influenced by the work of Vygotsky, Jerome Bruner believed that social interaction plays a
fundamental role in the development of cognition in general and language in particular. 
Bruner proposed the Language Acquisition Support System (LASS).
The LASS refers to the social and cultural experiences that support and encourage language
acquisition. This includes child-directed language exposure (e.g., parentese, dialogic reading,
etc.,) as well as the various activities children engage in while also receiving exposure to
language.
LASS emphasizes that it is the world that is ready to expose and support children in learning
language.