Sociocultural theory was developed by a theorist named Lev Vygotsky. Vygotsky was born in 1896 and came from the former Soviet Union. He was a psychologist who had an abundance of ideas and incorporated them into many theories and writings. Although Vygotsky died of tuberculosis at the young age of thirty-eight, his most important work was done in a short period of ten years. When he died in 1934, the Soviet Union retained most of his work, and only around 1960 was his work translated into English. Currently in the field of education, Vygotsky's major work on sociocultural theory is receiving much attention. Vygotsky believed that during the early stages of life as a child, language (non-conceptual speech) and thinking (non-verbal thinking) were separate areas of development. Non-conceptual speech would be a child mumbling words without fully understanding their meaning. A child observing or playing with an object without using words would be a nonverbal thought. As intellectual development continues, verbal thinking begins to connect these two areas during early childhood. When this begins to happen, children begin to use self-directed speech, “a verbal behavior in which children talk to themselves, naming objects or recounting their actions, particularly while solving problems” (Trawick-Smith, 2010, p. 53). This action demonstrates that children are guided in learning through the use of language. Vygotsky believed that this verbal thinking becomes increasingly important throughout development and that this learning continues to progress for the rest of the child's life. The fundamental tenet of sociocultural theory is the belief that intellectual development is “highly influenced by language, social interaction, and cul...... middle of paper ......ces in attempting to appreciate and acquire knowledge of different cultures. The child's personal needs or learning methods will also be taken into consideration when planning activities. Knowing this theory will give me an idea of ​​what to expect when I teach and how I can facilitate the teaching and learning experience for both myself and the child. Works CitedGrace, E. (2010). "Vygotsky and Socio-Cultural Theory - Child Development". Children's progress, behaviour, learning and thinking at Kids Development (UK). http://www.kidsdevelopment.co.uk/vygotskysocioculturaltheory.htmlScott, S. & Palincsar, A. (2003). Sociocultural theory. Education.com. http://www.education.com/reference/article/sociocultural-theory/Trawick-Smith, J. W. (2010). Early childhood development: A multicultural perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall.