Probing Interactional Competence through Collaboration in the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) Compared to Non-ZPD Contexts[Latin Thesis]

Zahra Shahbazi

Learning as a high mental function takes place in the Vygotsky’s (1978) ZPD as the gap between the actual developmental level and the potential developmental level. Vygotsky (1978) posits that knowledge is primarily attained on the inter-psychological plane (social) and eventually on intra-psychological plane (personal). Interactional Competence, according to Kramsch (1986, p.367) entails a shared knowledge of the world (external context) as well as shared internal context (sphere of inter-subjectivity). Young (2011) states that Interactional Competence is local and practice-specific and distributed among all participants. This study probed the development of Interactional Competence in the ZPD-based Proximal Contexts of Iranian EFL learners through qualitative methods of data collection and analysis of paired speaking tests, video-taped conversations, language contact journals, simulated oral proficiency interviews, the rater notes, the summary statements, stimulated verbal recalls (reports), and paired rater discussions. The results of the study demonstrated the development of speaker selection, alignment activity, topic management, and repair among Iranian EFL learners in the ZPD-based Proximal Contexts. The order of the development of Interactional Competence resources is related to the importance and weight of these resources in the co-construction. This study monitored that Iranian EFL learners’ development of Interactional Competence in symmetrical and asymmetrical Proximal Contexts outperformed non-ZPD group. According to the findings, less-ritualized practice might be readily generalized to more-ritualized practice.