Internal Relations and Dialectical Dance Steps in Vygotsky’s Cultural-Historical Psychology

Abstract The connection between Vygotsky’s Cultural-Historical Psychology (CHP) and the Marxist logic of dialectics is currently gaining focus to promote the development and application of Vygotsky’s psychological theory. However, their interconnection has not been recognized and appreciated to the extent that it deserves, especially in English academia. Dafermos (2018) has clarified the necessity for Vygotskians to rethink cultural-historical psychology from the dialectical perspective to avoid misconceptions. To call for more focus and to deepen theoretical understanding, this study analyzes the philosophical basis of Marxism in CHP by adopting the framework demonstrated by Ollman (2003, 2015) in two connected aspects: 1) internal relations and 2) the dialectical steps involved in abstraction in Marxism. Through analyzing Vygotsky’s texts and elaborating on the conceptual ideas and methodologies in CHP, it presents the connection between CHP and Marxism. Subsequently, it introduces the application of CHP in SLA studies, referred to as Sociocultural Theory-Second Language Acquisition (SCT-SLA), as further evidence to show the impact of Marxist philosophical ideas in practical studies of applied linguistics. Further studies on the relationship between Marxism and CHP, and studies adopting Marxist philosophy to solve SLA issues are encouraged.