Our first collaborative project consisted on researching on the most influential linguistic theories that have influenced Second Language Acquisition (SLA) and the teaching of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Thus, the classroom was divided into eight groups so as to cover as many linguists as possible. In groups, we had to look for information about a given linguist which included their nationality, preceding and following linguists, main influences, some linguistic hypotheses and the application of their findings into the classroom. With respect to the latter, this was probably the most enriching element of this project as it provided us with lots of ideas to put into practice everything that these relevant linguists suggested. In this way, despite seeming a rather theoretical project at first sight, it had some practical interesting applications that will contribute to our development as EFL teachers. 

THE PROJECT PROCESS: a collaborative approach. 

- Choice of linguist: in our case, Vygotsky. 

Presenting our project.

- Distribution of the job into main parts: historical background + preceding theorist (Borja); main theories: zone of proximal development (Lourdes) and the relationship between language and thought (Laura); implications in EFL teaching and applications in the classroom (Patricia and Verónica).

- Putting all together, reviewing each other's part followed by a collaborative discussion to come up with an ultimate version. 

- Designing the PPT that is to be used for the presentation. 

- Presenting it to our peers, peer assess other groups as well as being peer assessed. 








Having dealt with Vygotsky's sociacultural theory in this project, it is rather convenient to talk about the important role of collaboration in education. This is so, because Vygotsky considered that social interaction was the main element triggering the cognitive development of an individual. This translated to the classroom implies the implementation of collaborative work both between teachers and learners. 

Collaborative learning supports the idea that knowledge is a social construct and that in order to acquire and construct that knowledge, social interaction is essential. For this approach to succeed, students should work in pairs or groups and the layout of the classroom should be in a way that facilitates this interaction. 

Studies have proved the numerous advantages of collaboration in education, which include that it:

- Implies the development of higher-order thinking skills as well as leadership and oral communicative competences. 

- Boosts the self-esteem of the student and encourages them to be independent and responsible of their own learning. 

- Prepares for real life social interaction and fosters solving problems skills. 

- Significantly decreases academic underachievement. 










Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) is of the most influential linguists. He was born in present-day Belarus and remained unknown for some decades until the end of the Cold War, when his work was rediscovered. He is considered to be the founder of the sociocultural theory. 

His main preceding linguist is Piaget. Despite both emphasising the importance of social interaction in the process of cognitive development, there are some differences in the way they approach this. The main differences are rather self-explanatory and can be found in the following table: 

The implications of Vygotsky's sociocultural theory in the classroom are various and of incredible interest. His findings suggest that the educational system should promote collaborative work since according to his theory of the zone of proximal development, there are things that students can learn by themselves and other things they can only learn by interacting with their peers. Thus, by providing plenty of opportunities of collaborative work, we are ensuring that our students are reaching their whole academic potential. 

Furthermore, Vygotsky advocates for the scaffolding of knowledge. Translating this to the classroom, this entails that the needs of all our students should be catered for and that activities and content should be scaffolded, that is to say, they should be of increasing difficulty but also with increasing extra support. The idea is that all students acquire the same competences by offering enough individualised support.