Abstract:

The burgeoning of educational research from a sociocultural perspective has fostered the spectacular expansion of scholarly interest in cultural-historical activity theory and other related concepts. This paper focuses on an interview with Professor Yrjö Engeström, who is Professor Emeritus of the Faculty of Educational Sciences at the University of Helsinki, to explore and enhance the understanding of activity theory, expansive learning, and the Change Laboratory. In this interview, Professor Engeström first illustrated the theoretical roots and developmental trajectories of cultural-historical activity theory before explaining the interpretive and transformative features of activity theory. In addition, he defined the relationships of activity theory, the sociocultural approach, and action research, and then elucidated several relatively new constructs, such as expansive learning, transformative agency, and the interventionist method of the Change Laboratory. Finally, Professor Engeström speculated on the future development of activity theory, and expressed his earnest hope for young scholars of the whole world to enter the research field and to conduct meaningful research. This interview examines cultural-historical activity theory, related concepts, and their applications; in doing so, it contributes to the existing body of research on activity theory and illuminates the thinking and practice in educational studies and foreign-language education research.

Keywords: cultural-historical activity theory; expansive learning; Change Laboratory; transformative agency

摘要：

教育研究的社会文化取向催生了学界对文化—历史活动理论以及其他相关概念的关注。为了更全面地理解活动理论、拓展性学习和革新实验室，笔者对芬兰赫尔辛基大学教育科学学院荣休教授Yrjö Engeström进行了访谈。在访谈中，Engeström教授首先阐述了文化历史活动理论的来源和发展路径，并解释了活动理论的阐释性和转化性。此外，他还厘清了活动理论、社会文化视野以及行动研究的关系，并介绍了一些较新的概念，如拓展性学习、转化能动性和革新实验室的干预方法。最后，Engeström教授展望了活动理论的发展趋势，表达了对全世界范围内青年学者的殷切期望，鼓励广大青年学者走进这一领域，开展有意义的研究。本次访谈聚焦了文化历史活动理论、相关概念及其应用，对外语教育研究的思考和实践具有一定的启示。

关键词: 文化历史活动理论, 拓展性学习, 革新实验室, 转化能动性