Negotiation of meaning : towards a new definition

[Truncated] Over the last twenty years, researchers in the field of second language acquisition (SLA) have produced a considerable body of work which is referred to as "negotiation of meaning" research. This research has resulted in some worthwhile gains for SLA pedagogy. However, the present study identifies a shortcoming in this body of work as a result of the limiting theoretical approach and consequent shortcomings with respect to the question of how negotiation of meaning actually affects learning. In this study, the theories of Russian psychologist Lev Semyenovitch Vygotsky (1896-1934) are used as a basis for a more wholistic exploratory approach to the study of negotiation of meaning in learner language and a consequent redefinition of the term. The study involved examining recorded language data from adult non-native speaker (NNS) dyads, as well as one native speaker (NS) dyad carrying out a jigsaw task.