Input , Output and

Interaction
INTRODUCTION
Three major theoretical positions:
Behaviourist position Say what I
say
Innatist/mentalist position Its
all in your mind
Interactionist position What do
you mean?

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Behaviourist
The Behaviourist framework holds that
imitation (and reinforcement) of language input
is the primary mechanism in language
acquisition. Without input, learning cannot occur.
Input is comprised of stimuli and feedback.
With the stimuli, the person speaking to the
learner models specific linguistic forms and
patterns which learner internalizes by imitating
them.
Burrhus Frederic Skinner (1957) Verbal Behaviour
Speech as observable behaviour
LA1 = acquisition of a set of behaviours in a process
of imitation and habit formation
Stimulus response reinforcement

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Mentalist
Learners are equipped with innate knowledge of
the possible forms that any single language can
take, and use the information supplied by the input
to arrive at the forms that apply in the case of the
L2 they are trying to learn.
In 1959: Noam Chomskys review of Skinners
Verbal Behaviour, that innate abilities;
biologically programmed for language and
talking is like walking

Input vs Intake (Corder, 1967)

Input : what is available to the learner, what
goes in
one ear and out of the other.
Intake : what is actually interalized; what is
integrated
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into the current interlanguage system.
The innatist/mentalist
position: Its all in your
mind.
Language Acquisition Device / Universal
Grammar
contains all and only the principles
universal to all human languages.
Samples of the language serve as a trigger
to activate the LAD / UG
Child then matches innate knowledge to
the structures of the particular language in
the environment acquisition
LAD works successfully only if stimulated
at the right time.

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Interactionist
Two different types of theory:
1.Interactionist theories, acquisition is seen as a
product of the complex interaction of the
linguistic environment and the learners internal
mechanism, with neither viewed as primary.
Language develops as a result of the complex
interplay between the uniquely human
characteristics of the child and the environment
in which the child develops.

2.Interaction in social orientation or verbal

interaction is a crucial importance for language
learning as it helps to make the facts of the L2
salient to the learner. Crucial element is the
conversational give-and-take between children
and adults.
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Input and intake

Input vs Intake (Corder, 1967)

Input : what is available to the
learner, what goes in one ear
and out of the other.

Intake : what is actually

interalized; what is integrated
into the current interlanguage
system.
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Comprehensible Input

Input must be comprehensible if

it is to play a role in learning:
where does it come from?

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The characteristics of input to
language learners
Input studies have focused on two issues.
a. Input text : native-speaker usage
b. Input discourse : the description of modified input
Caretaker talk
Foreigner talk
a. ungrammatical input modifications
b. grammatical input modifications
c. interactional modifications
d. discourse structure (discourse management and
discourse repair)
e. the function of FT
Interlanguage talk

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Input text : native-speaker
usage
language use is both
communication and cognitive activity

language is simultaneously a
means of communication and tool for
thinking

language is both process and

product

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Caretaker talk
Caretaker talk is derived as people who interact with
young children often intuitively modify their language.
Adultschoose simpler sentences and vocabulary, repeat
themselves, and paraphrase what children say. This
simplified (modified) input is thought to help with
language acquisition, though children may receive it
from a variety of sources, including older siblings.

The caretakers use of inverted yes-no questions (Have

you been sleeping?) and childrens development of
verbal auxiliaries in L1 English

Caretakers speech is derived primarily from the

communicative goal of engaging in conversation with a
linguistically and cognitively less competent partner,
and sustaining and directing attention, not teaching.
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Foreigner talk
Foreigner talk: language directed towards L2
learners.
In general, foreigner talk adjustments reveal speech
patterns that would not ordinarily be used in
conversation with NSs.
Features:
Slow speech rate
High frequency vocabulary
Short and simple sentences
Offering corrections

foreigner talk ( Ferguson, 1975) NS switching to

ungrammatical forms when speaking to NNS.

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Why does foreigner talk occur?

1. zero or very low SL proficiency

in NNS
2. 3. prior experience with low
proficiency NNS
4. spontaneity of the conversation

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Function of FT

Helpful for understanding

But may not lead to learning
Simplification resulting from
discourse elaboration/modification are
more likely to aid comprehension than
simplification at the linguistic level
Greater amount of semantic detail
available in an elaborated text that
allows learners to make inferences
from the text

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Linguistic adjustments to Non-
Native Speakers (NNS)

Three types:
omission: deletion of articles, copulas, etc.
Why you go?

expansion: addition of unanalysed tag

questions:
You like Coke, yes?

replacement/rearrangement: pre-verbal
negation no like?, uninverted sentence forms
Sister me no like man
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Foreigner talk

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Ungrammatical input
modifications of FT
Longs study
NS-NNS, NS-NS pairs, face-to-face oral tasks
Little difference between the two groups
(grammatical complexity)
Significant difference in the use of conversational
tactics (NS-NNS) such as repetitions, confirmation
checks, comprehension checks or clarification
requests.
M odifications to the interactional structure of conversations th
at take place in the process of negotiating a communication pr
oblem help make input comprehensible to an L2 learner.
The more the input was queried, recycled and
paraphrased, to increase its comprehensibility, the
greater its potential usefulness as input.
Types of tasks in which both partners are engaged
may affect the types or amount of meaning
negotiation (problem-solving tasks vs. open-ended
discussions)
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Grammatical input
modifications
Grammatical FT is of FT
characterized by
modifications indicate of three general
processes: (1) simplification, involves an
attempt on the part of native speakers
to simplify the language forms they use;
(2) regularization, and (3) elaboration
are directed at simplifying the learners
task of processing the input and can, in
fact, result in the use of language that is
not always simple in itself.
Example : see page 255 table 7.2
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Interactional modifications of
FT
Long (1983) argued that modified interaction
is the necessary mechanism for making
language comprehensible.
What learners need is not necessarily
simplification of the linguistic forms but rather
an opportunity to interact with other speakers,
working together to reach mutual
comprehension.
There are two interactional modifications that
involve, namely discourse management and
discourse repair.

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Interactional adjustments to NNS

Content
narrower range of topics, here and now orientation
interactional structure
acceptance of topic shifts, confirmation checks, clarification
requests, questions and answers
Paraphrase
approximation, circumlocution
Transfer
literal translations
Avoidance
topic avoidance

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 types of interactional modifications in FT

discourse management
- amount and type of information conveyed
- use of question
- here-and-now orientation
- comprehension checks
- self-repetition
interactional
modifications repair of communication breakdown
discourse repair - negotiating of meaning
- relinguishing topic

repair of learner error

- avoidance of other correction
- on-record and off-record correction
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NS responses to
foreigner asking the
Repetition
way
Straight down to the big junction.
Big junction, okay?
Comprehension checks
right ?
alright?
got it ?
okay ?

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NS responses to
foreigner asking the
way
Verbless utterances
So you. Down there. You turn left at the Main
Road. Straight down to the big junction.

Direct imperatives
Normal speech: If you walk straight up here
to the end of this road to the church and turn
left.
FT: Up to the end of this street, to the
church.then turn left and keep walking

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 NS responses to
foreigner asking the
way
Do deletion in Simplified lexis
questions
The grandchildren. Babies.
What country you come Grandchildren.
from? Cinema there. Picture
How longlong time in place
England?
Absence of inversion in
Absence of contractions
questions
You have snow there?
Ill show you. I will show
you
Other deletion
You cant mistake it
If I stay at home, no good
Top road

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Interaction and
Negotiation of Meaning
Signals of comprehension
difficulty
confirmation checks
clarification checks
comprehension checks

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Interaction and
Negotiation of Meaning
Confirmation checks
Moves by which one speaker seeks
confirmation of the others preceding
utterance through repetition, with rising
intonation, of what was perceived to be all
or part of the preceding utterance.
NS : did you get high marks? Good
grades?
NNS : High marks ?
NS : Good grades As and Bs

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Interaction and
Negotiation of Meaning
Clarification request
Moves by which one speaker seeks assistance in
understanding the other speakers preceding
utterance through questions, statements such as
I dont understand, or imperatives such as
Please repeat.

NS : So you came here by yourself or did you come

here with friends?
NNS : No no I what? What you say?
NS : Did you come to the States with friends or did
you come alone?

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Interaction and
Negotiation of Meaning
Comprehension checks
Moves by which one speaker attempts to
determine whether the other speaker has
understood a preceding message.

NS : Okay, hes dancing with the woman

doctor.
NNS : Excuse me?
NS : The young man doctor is dancing with
the woman
doctor, right?
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 Do input modifications actually
help make input more
comprehensible? (1)
1.Comprehension is usually increased by
linguistic simplification, although simple
sentences alone do not always help and may
even hinder.

2. Simplification and elaboration often co-occur,

but when their effects can be distinguished,
simplification is not consistently superior to
elaboration, and some studies find elaboration
more effective.

3. Comprehension is consistently improved by

interactional modifications, and by a
combination of simplification and elaboration.
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 Do input modifications actually
help make input more
comprehensible? (2)
4. Modifications are more useful to NNSs
of lower L2 proficiency.
5.Apart from rate of delivery, isolated
input or interactional adjustments, such
as shorter sentence length or greater
topic saliency, are insufficient to
improve the comprehensibility of whole
texts. (Long, 1996:422-423)
6.NNSs perceived comprehension is
greater when speech has been modified
for them.
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Comprehensible input is
necessary, but is it sufficient?
1. Persistent errors by L2 learners
despite rich input (Schmidt,
1986; Swain, 1991).
2. Inability of advanced L2
learners to incorporate L2
vocabulary and grammar.
Inability to form relative clauses
(Keenan & Comrie, 1997;
Pavesi, 1983)
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Comprehensible input is
necessary, but is it sufficient? (2)
3. Learnability arguments: the need for
negative evidence. Example: Adverb
placement by French ESL learners (White,
1989)
Je bois toujours du caf (* I drink every day
coffee)

The English FSL learner will get positive evidence

that the adverb can appear between the verb and
direct object.
If the French ESL learner transfers the L1 verb-
adverb-direct object order, negative evidence is
needed to change. Comprehension is not enough.

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Conclusion

Comprehensible input (= the

environment) is not enough to
explain learning.

Learner internal variables must also

be considered. These include
attention, awareness and focus on
form.

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