That children's learning begins long before they attend school is the starting point of this discussion. Any learning a child encounters in school has a previous history. (Vygotsky 1978: 84). The enormous reach of Vygotsky's theoretical approach to mental development derives from the very concept of semiotic mediation. What makes the concept so powerful is the fact that it establishes connections across some of the most important areas of human social existence. More specifically, it

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... a fundamental relationship between mental functions and discourse within the context of social/cultural activity. This, in turn, invites us to explore the relations between the disciplines of psychology, semiotics and sociology. Reflection on these interconnections suggests that if we wish to fully understand the implications of Vygotsky's claims about the sociogenesis of human mind, then on the one hand we must be willing to ignore the conventionally accepted boundaries erected in the name of specialisation across these and many other disciplines, and on the other hand we must be prepared to probe deeper into the significance of the claims made by this powerful theory It is well recognised (Vygotsky 1962; Wertsch 1985) that in putting forward the concept of semiotic mediation, Vygotsky attached greater importance to language than he did to other modalities of meaning. We need, then, to ask why language has been granted this special status in Vygotsky's theory; what it is that language enables us to do which other semiotic Hasan: Semiotic Mediation r March 2001 2 modalities do not --or at least not to the same extent, or with the same facility. Similarly, in identifying social/cultural activity as the essential site for the operation of semiotic mediation the theory opens up interesting questions, such as the relation between cultural activities and language, and whether different kinds of activities encourage different forms of semiotic mediation. Since the societies we know today are pluralistic, with multiple groupings whose boundaries are drawn by reference to interest, race, gender, occupation and socio-economic status, it is important to ask whether the different social groups engage in the same range of activities, and if so, whether the performance of such activities takes the same form across the distinct social groups. If there is an inherent relation between language, cultural activities and semiotic mediation, and if we wish to understand the working of semiotic mediation, then we do need to focus on such questions. It seems to me that the extent to which we can benefit from the application of Vygotskian insights depends on how far we are able to engage successfully in enquiries of this kind. Nowhere does this appear truer than in the complex area of constructive thinking on education, both its theory and its practice. It is the aim of this chapter to begin an exploration of the concept of cultural activity in relation to semiotic mediation by using the modality of language. I hope that this exploration will reveal some important implications of accepting semiotic mediation as the essential means of making human minds, and thus suggest avenues for conceptualising better programs for truly egalitarian education.