Repetition in the collaborative discourse of L2 learners: A Vygotskian perspective

This study investigates the role of repetition in the discourse of students of Spanish as a second language working on a writing assignment in collaborative dyads. Data were taken from audio tapes of the dyads' collaborative sessions. The occurrences of repetition (of self or of the other member of the dyad) were analyzed from the theoretical perspective based on the work of L.S. Vygotsky (1978, 1986), which argues that 'sociocultural and mental activity are bound together in a dependent, symbolically mediated, relationship' (Lantolf & Pavlenko, 1995). This study shows that the sociocultural and mental activity of our subjects is mediated by the repetition of both L1 and L2 utterances, the effect of which is to create and maintain a shared perspective of the task (i.e., intersubjectivity) and to construct scaffolded help, which enables them to complete their tasks.