1 Note: translated from Portuguese. Please refer to as: LEFFA, V. J. . Vygotsky e o ciborgue. In: SCHETTINI, Rosemary H.; DAMIANOVIC, Maria Cristina; HAWI, Mona M.; SZUNDY, Paula Tatianne C.. (Orgs.). Vygotsky: uma revisita no início do século XXI. São Paulo: Andross Editora, 2009, p. 131-155. Vygostsky and the Cyborg Vilson J. Leffa Programa de Pós-Graduação em Letras, Universidade Católica de Pelotas, Rua Felix da Cunha 412, CEP 96010-000, Pelotas, Brazil Abstract The introduction of new technologies in FL teaching has increased the need for a robust theoretical approach with sufficient explanatory power to account for three aspects in the area: (1) define tools to be used for a given objective, (2) situate tools in the learning community, and (3) describe tools from a historical perspective, including past, present and future. The purpose of the paper is to argue that a focus on tools, seen as mediational means to reach an objective, helps us to better understand how language teaching has evolved up to now and prepare us better for what we can expect in the future, including a post-human era. The paper describes how Vygotsky’s initial ideas on mediation naturally develops into the concept of functional organs, as the merging of body parts with external objects, and how this merging eventually leads to cyborgization, seen as total fusion between human and artifact, including integrated circuits that can be internalized. The conclusion is that FL teaching is a technology- intensive area and can draw on alternative disciplines, from Social Psychology to Literary Criticism and Feminism, for theoretical support and insights on the role of technological mediation in pedagogical practices. Keywords: Activity Theory; Cyborg Theory; Functional organ; CALL; Cultural artifact. 1. Introduction The objective of this paper is to reflect on a possible connection between Vygotsky’ ideas and the Cyborg Theory (Haraway, 1991). Vygotsky’s ideas are used for its emphasis on the mediational process, seen as a critical issue in human learning, and fundamental to the development of Activity Theory, as proposed by Leontiev (1981) and developed by Engestrom (1999). Wertsch’s (1998) ideas on the extended