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2.3.3 Mediation and internalization
Mediation and internalization are two important interrelated concepts of sociocultural theory.
Mediation, which is the central notion of sociocultural theory, refers to “the process through which humans deploy culturally constructed artefacts,
concepts, and activities to regulate i.e. gain voluntary control over and transform the material world or their own, and each other’s social and mental activity” Lantolf
Thorne, 2006, p. 79. In this view, humans do not act directly with their physical world but use numerous artefacts to mediate their activities. According to Lantolf and Thorne
2006, within sociocultural theory, artefacts or mediational means include both “material and conceptual aspects of human goal-directed activity” p. 62.
Sociocultural theorists e.g., John-Steiner Mahn, 1996; Wertsch, 1985; Moll, 1990 use the term
“cultural tool” to refer to both physical tools e.g., pen, computer and psychological tools such as language, inner speech, signs, and symbols.
Vygotsky 1978 and Kozulin 2003 classified three major categories of mediation: mediation through material tools
e.g., using picture cards to aid remembering;
mediation through symbolic systems e.g., silently rehearsing the words
to be remembered; and mediation through another human being
e.g., children could be supported by an adult in the process of remembering.
The mediated activities may use any one or combinations of those three mediation tools. In the context of this study,
a series of self-evaluation activities can provide a particular opportunity of mediation through material tools and through another human being for Indonesian teachers to
develop their instructional practice. Vygotsky 1978 define internalization as the process by which intermental
functioning in the form of social relations among individuals and interaction with socially constructed artifacts is turned inwards and transformed into intramental
functioning Vygotsky, 1978. It is, therefore, the transformation of the external into the internal. Damianova and Sullivan 2011, p. 346 explain that “the core postulates of
Vygotsky’s stance on the formation of higher mental functions, including speech, are that they have social origins as sign-mediated activities and are the product of the
process of internalization”. Johnson and Golombek 2011 argue that the process of internalization does not happen automatically but takes continued participation in social
activities that have a clear purpose. Further, Johnson and Golombek 2011 explain that mediation underlies the
transformation of external forms of social interaction to internalized forms of mental
30 functions. One form of mediation is regulation in which individuals eventually regulate
their own behavior after participating in social activities. Lantolf and Thorne 2006 point out that the process of developing self-regulation consists of three stages: 1
object-regulation; 2 other-regulation; and 3 self-regulation. The first stage, object- regulation, happens when learning is regulated by objects. Lantolf and Thorne 2006
give an example of object-regulation is when children learn mathematics may find it difficult to carry out simple addition inside of their heads and have to depend on objects
for external support e.g., blocks. The second stage, other-regulation, involves “implicit and explicit mediation involving varying levels of assistance, direction, and
what is sometimes described as scaffolding by parents, siblings, peers, coaches, teachers, and so on” Lantolf Thorne, 2006, p. 200. In other words, other-regulation
happens when learning is regulated by other people. The final stage is self-regulation, which is made possible through internalization. Self-regulation happens when a learner
has full control and ability to function independently, and takes over complete responsibility for performing the goal-directed task Wertsch, 1985. Self-regulation
thus becomes the goal of internalization.
2.3.4 The Zone of Proximal Development ZPD
Kategori