Sociocultural Theory as a Framework for Understanding English as a Foreign Language Vocabulary Learning Through Virtual Reality Digital Content Creation

This chapter showcases why and how I position sociocultural theory (SCT) as the theoretical framework guiding my PhD study, which investigates how virtual reality digital content creation (VRDCC) supports vocabulary learning and learner engagement in English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts. This chapter first examines alternative frameworks such as multimodal learning and embodied cognition. These perspectives illuminate how learners engage with sensory, spatial, and bodily resources in VR, yet they do not sufficiently theorize how social interaction leads to development. In contrast, grounded in Vygotsky’s (1978) view of learning as mediated, socially situated, and developmentally organized, SCT provides conceptual tools for analyzing how learners participate in collaborative activity and how such participation leads to linguistic development. This chapter then justifies the adoption of SCT as a more developmentally oriented lens for understanding the social, mediational, and developmental dynamics of VRDCC tasks. The chapter outlines how core SCT constructs, including mediation, zone of proximal development (ZPD), scaffolding, and dialogic engagement, inform the design of research questions and shape the methodological choices of the study. By employing SCT, my research aims to advance understanding of how VRDCC may support language learning and foster meaningful learner engagement.