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In this article we examine teaching and learning through the Vygotskian concept of the
zone of proximal development (ZPD). We view the ZPD as a symbolic space for the
emergence of diverse forms of communication to bring about sign mediation. Using this
notion we present detailed analyses of three episodes video-taped in a nursery
classroom, and interpret the teachers’ and children’s discourse and behaviours as
contributions that realize two forms of communication – content-orientated language
(about ecology, science and model-making) and communication-orientated language
(e.g. about ways of communicating in school). We argue that both forms are involved in
the emergence and maintenance of ZPDs as part of the microculture of the classroom.
We conclude by suggesting that the ZPD is an ever-emergent space for interaction and
communication where learning leads development.