Output Hypothesis
Input Hypothesis
"Learners who maintain high levels of interaction [HIGs] in second language, progressed at a faster rate than learners who interacted little [LIGs]"
Seliger(1983) p.298
- Learners who speak more learn faster than passive learners.
Comprehensible input is necessary and sufficient for acquisition.
Output has no direct role in acquisition
With enough quantity of input--> speech will emerge
(Innatist theory)
A lesson designed based on Interaction Hypothesis can involve those [LIGs] in communications which increase their chances of output.
Constructivist Theory
ONLY exposure or input is not enough to ensure acquisition
Merrill Swain 1985
- During the interaction when learners speak they need to recall what they have learned (e.g. vocabularies, grammar, phrases and sentence structures).
- The listener has to process the information he gets.
Cognitive
- When the information is familiar, it becomes reinforcement practice.
What is Interaction Hypothesis?
- When the information is new they can connect it to their familiar pieces, which leads to subsumption.
Theories and models of SLA
- Principles of Language Learning and Teaching, authored by H. Douglas Brown
- Overview of Preceding Theoretical Positions and models theorized before Michael Long
- Long’s view, interaction (communications) and input (contributions)
- Gass and Varonis ably pointed out that such a view is not subscribed to by all
How some of Van Patten's observations relate to IH
Interaction Hypothesis
What activities would you use?
Negotiation for meaning
- Information Gap- Partners need information that the other has; work together to acquire each other's information & accomplish a task
1. Exposure input is necessary for SLA (Modified input in IH)
- Repetition
- Confirmation
- Comprehension Checks
- Clarification Requests
- Group story building
- Spot the difference
- Communicative crosswords
- Problem solving
What are the students' jobs?
- Partners are forced to communicate to gather info
- Negotiation for meaning takes place for the pair to comprehend how to complete the task
History of Interaction Hypothesis
Modified Interaction
Conversational Adjustment
Comprehension of Input
Language Acquisition
- Willing to let Ss make mistakes & work together
- Ask questions that help them comprehend
- Values meaningful & practical lessons
- Be patient with one another
2. A good deal of SLA happens incidentally. (Takes place during the conversation)
- Negotiation for meaning and task-based activities can become tedious
- "...making the struggle to communicate a kind of team effort..." (Long & Porter 221).
- Frustration or embarrassment can take place
- Innatist Theory pioneered by Naom Chomsky—concerned with first language acquisition.
- Social constructivist perspectives—Current Approaches that are associated with more CURRENT APPROACHES
3. Second language learning is variable in its out come.
[Interaction Hypothesis in the Classroom]
Missing from the Classroom!
What is the teacher's job?
4. There are limits on the effects of instruction on SLA. (So leave the students interacting with each other)
- Very little teacher-led input (most input & output taking place between Ss)
A study of the effect of study abroad and the home stay on the development of linguistic and interactional practices by Spanish L2 learners.
- Give meaningful, brief presentations with the goal of interaction in mind
- Create activities that are well thought out
By Alfonso Abad Mancheno 2008
- The teacher is doing very little correcting because accuracy & clarification are supposed to be taking place through the Ss interactions
Results support the Interaction Hypothesis (Long, 1983)
Results also show that family setting is more beneficial than the apartment setting because it creates more opportunities to negotiate for meaning.
- Short, teacher-led presentations
- Activity Guidelines:
- Use new language presented
- Not centered on accuracy
- Gives the students freedom to develop personalized, creative talk
- Meaningful; applicable
- Shorter Focused-practices (accuracy is not primary)
- Let Ss figure out their mistakes by interacting with others
5. There are limits on the effects of output on
language acquisition.
- "...outside the classroom, where accuracy is often important but where communicative ability is always at a premium" (Long & Porter (209).
- Goal is to get the students interacting.
Proofs
NNSs interaction with each other is as efficient as NSs with NNSs
Long 1985
The limitations of Interaction Hypothesis
1. Input and interaction alone are not enough to learn a target language.
2.Individual differences have been neglected. People learn in different
ways.
Interaction Hypothesis
How to avoid these and apply the theory to classroom? What activities
can the teachers do?