Perception, Practice and Progress - Significance of scaffolding and zone of proximal development for second or foreign language teachers

Vygotskian approaches to second or foreign language (L2) learning and teaching have been gaining momentum in the field of L2 studies. This paper examines the significance of these approaches, especially scaffolding and the zone of proximal development (ZPD), in the perception, practice and progress of L2 learning and teaching. It also focuses on the applications of scaffolding and ZPD on L2 development in two perspectives: (i) feedback strategies in task-based language learning and (ii) assessments of ZPD and in ZPD in language teaching.