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Elaborating the later Vygotsky’s radical initiative on the nature and function of language: implications for mathematics education

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Abstract

Scholars interested in the function of language in mathematical learning often draw on Vygotsky, whose early work on word meaning has shaped many research studies. However, near the end of a rather short life, Vygotsky heavily critiqued his own previous work and began to sketch a radical theory revision, which overturns much of what he had done and is famous for. The purpose of the present study is to elaborate a possible avenue of such a theoretical revision. This study develops the new theory in the course of an exemplary analysis. The data derive from a scientific laboratory, where three scientists discuss a graph as it evolves in real time before their eyes and as a result of transformations designed to recover the real signal from the noise that is apparently present. Implications of the emerging theory for mathematics education are discussed.

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Notes

  1. This actually is a quotation of Marx and Engels (1978), which the English translations, having removed the quotation marks that appear in the original, do not acknowledge as such.

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Acknowledgements

Data collection was made possible with the aid of a joint grant from the Canadian Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Victoria, MacLaurin Building A567, Victoria, BC, V8P 5C2, Canada

    Wolff-Michael Roth

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  1. Wolff-Michael Roth
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Correspondence to Wolff-Michael Roth.

Appendix: Transcription conventions

Appendix: Transcription conventions

The transcription conventions follow Jefferson (2004).

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Roth, WM. Elaborating the later Vygotsky’s radical initiative on the nature and function of language: implications for mathematics education. ZDM Mathematics Education 50, 975–986 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-018-0912-x

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