Gass & Selinker's SLA Chapter 10

ChAPTER10. INPUT, INTERACTION, AND OUTPUT


10.1. INPUT
Earlier conceptualizations of second language learning were based on a behavioristic view in which the major driving force of language learning (at least for children) was the language ti which learners were exposed(the input). On the other hand, in the innatism, learners were viewed as a creators of language systems; and, at least in the case of children, the input they received was of minor importance. Corder, 1967, made an important distinction between what he called input and intake. Input refers to what is available to the learner, whereas intake refers to what is actually internalized by the learner. Conceptually, one can think of the input as that language ti which the learner is exposed. There are some examples of foreigner talk. As NNS, they have features such as slow speech rate, long pauses, simple vocabulary, and repetition etc. What are the functions of foreigner talk in terms of language learning? Generally, one can claim that by hearing speech that has been simplified in the ways just described, the second language learner will be better able to understand.

10.2. COMPREHENSION
Crucial to the success of any conversation is the ability to understand and to be understood. Lack of comprehension is a characteristic of many conversations involving NNSs. The first area of concern is a discussion of comprehension is the NS’s ability to understand the NNS’s pronunciation. Understanding an NNS’s speech is dependent on at least the grammaticality of the NNS’s speech as well as the pronunciation. An additional factor determining comprehensibility is the NNS’s ability to contextualize the language by using appropriate vocabulary and linking device. We can see one letter as an example. In this letter, there is a sentence that is grammatically correct, but semantically anomalous. From this letter, we can conclude that in interpreting NNS utterances, grammar is less important than pronunciation and vocabulary. The second area of concern in a discussion of comprehension is the NS’s ability to understand. In conversation, indications of understanding are given in a number of ways. Most common are what are called backchannel cues. These are generally verbal messages, such as uh huh or yeah, which are said during the time another person is talking. Backchannel cues are important a s a way of keeping the conversation going. NNS can lead the NS to continue the conversation just by using backchannel cues. Comprehension appears to be facilitated by three factors. (a) familiarity with a particular NNS, (b) familiarity with nonnative speech in general, and (c) familiarity with the discourse topic. Even in the conversation between the NSs, Common background is important. It can help them understand of what has been said, of what was intended, and of how their contribution to the conversation fits in with previous contribution. In discourse where there is not shared background, the conversational flaw is marred by numerous interpretations.

10.3. INTERACTION
When the flow of conversation is interrupted, participants negotiate what was not understood. Negotiation of this sort allows participants to maintain as well as possible equal footing in the conversation. Negotiation provides the means for participants to respond appropriately to one another’s utterance and to regain their places in a conversation after one or both have slipped. Conversational tactics, such as confirmation checks, comprehension checks, clarification requests and choice question, provide the NNS with as much information as possible as she attempts to ascribe meaning to the NS’s stream of sounds. In all of the examples provided in this section, the effect of NS and NNS modifications is to aide the NNS in understanding. This reduces the burden for the NNS in that he or she is assisted by others in understanding and in producing language appropriate to the situation.

10.4. OUTPUT
Input alone is not sufficient for acquisition, because when one hears language, one can often interpret the meaning without the use of syntax. Output has generally been seen not as a way of creating knowledge, but as a way of practicing already existing knowledge, In other words, output has traditionally been viewed as a way of practicing what has previously been learned. Output would seem to have a potentially significant role in the development of syntax and morphology. In what ways can output play a central role in the learning process? We consider four possible ways that output may provide learners with a forum for important language-learning functions

10.4.1. Hypothesis Testing
Output, particularly when it occurs as part of a negotiation sequence, is a way of testing a hypothesis. It is to say that through negotiation and through feedback, learners can be made aware of the hypotheses that they are entertaining as they produce language. It is through this interaction that child is able to come to a correct conclusion after an initial faulty hypothesis. Another piece of evidence supporting the fact that learners test hypotheses through production is self-correction. Negotiation sequences produce many instances of corrective feedback to learners, from NSs and NNSs alike.

10.4.2. Feedback
In second language learning, it is undoubtedly the case that adults receive more correction than children, and it may further be the case that adults must have negative evidence in order to accomplish the goal of learning a second language. Negotiation serves as a catalyst for change because of its focus on incorrect forms. By providing learners with information about incorrect forms, negotiation enables learners to search for additional confirmatory or nonconfirmatory evidence. There needs to be reinforcement of what is being learned. Acquisition appears to be gradual and, to state the matter simplistically, takes time and often requires numerous doses of evidence. Positive evidence can reveal to learners the presence of information in the L2 that is different from their native language, but that negative evidence is necessary to show what is not possible in the L2 when it is possible in the native language. Feedback serves a corrective function. Learners respond differentially to different types of feedback. Other studies that show a positive effect for recasts point to two main problems with recast studies: the concept of uptake and the data to be included in analysis. Learners were relatively accurate in their perceptions about lexical, semantic, and phonological feedback. However, morphosyntactic feedback was generally not perceived as much. It is not always clear that learners perceive feedback in the way it was intended. Thus, there may be a differential role for feedback in different linguistic areas.

10.4.3. Automaticity
A third function of output is the development of fluency and automaticity of processing. The consistent and successful mapping of grammar to output results in automatic processing

10.4.4. Meaning-based to grammatically Based Processing
Processing language only at the level of meaning will not and cannot serve the purpose of understanding the syntax of the language, a level of knowledge that is essential to the production of language. Output provides learners the opportunity to produce language and gain feedback, which through focusing learner’s attention on certain local aspects of their speech may lead them to notice either a mismatch between their speech and that of an interlocutor or a deficiency in their output.

10.5. THE ROLE OF INPUT AND INTERACTION IN ALNGUAGE LEARNING
As a first step to learning, a learner must be aware of a need to learn. The view of input and interaction that has been presented in this chapter appears to be in opposition to the view of language learning constrained by principles of UG. However, the goal of both perspectives is to come to an understanding of how second language grammars are formulated in light of the fact that the evidence learners have about the second language is so limited. The linguistic input coupled with conversational interaction is the driving force of language development. Thus, understanding the learning environment is central to an understanding of the nature of learning. In Krashen’s view, given the right kind of input, acquisition will be automatic. However, one must also consider the role of negotiated interaction, as learning will be promoted in those instances when a conversational partner’s assistance in expressing meaning can be relied on.
Syntax develops out of conversation. Learning can take place within a conversational setting, as the learners in these cases use the conversation to further their lexical development. Conversational interaction in a L2 forms the basis for the development of language rather than being only a forum for practice of specific language features. Also, conversation stimulates later learning, serving only as a catalyst.Interaction was able to step up the pace of development, but was not able to push learners beyond a developmental stage. Interaction is a priming device, allowing learners to focus attention on areas that they are working on. In many instances, thinking time is needed before change takes place. Different kinds of interaction differentially impacted the rate and route of acquisition.

10.5.1. Attention
Negotiation requires attentiveness and involvement, both of which are necessary for successful communication. As reported, numerous studies suggest that interaction and learning are related. In the recent history of SLA research, much emphasis has been placed on the concept of attention. Schmidt argued that attention is essential to learning; that is, that there can be no learning without attention. It is widely accepted that selective attention plays a major role in learning. It is through interaction that a learner’s attention is focused on a specific part of the language, particularly on mismatches between TL forms and learner-language forms.

10.5.2. Contrast theory
The nativist hypothesis suggests that negative evidence, even when occurring adjacent to a child error, is no more effective than positive evidence in bringing about language change, whereas the contrast theory-based hypothesis suggests that the former is more effective than the latter. Some claim that contrast theory was a more reliable evidence.; that is, children reproduced correct forms more frequently when the correct form was embedded in negative evidence than in positive evidence. But the correct form in such study was limited to immediate response; hence, there was no information provided about long-term effectiveness. Negative evidence probably can not apply to long stretches of speech given memory limitations, but it may be effective with low-level phenomena such as pronunciation or basic meanings of lexical items.

10.5.3. metalinguistic Awareness
Metalinguistic awareness refers to one’s ability to consider language not just as a means of expressing ideas or communicating with others, but also as an object of inquiry. The ability to think about language is often associated with an increased ability to learn a language. In order to respond to an inquiry of nonunderstanding, NNSs must modify their output. For this to take place, learners must be aware of a problem and seek to resolve it. Hence, the more learners are made aware of unacceptable speech, the greater the opportunity is for them to make appropriate modifications.

10.6. LIMITATIONS OF INPUT
There are two kinds of changes which occur in learner’s grammars: discontinuous and continuous. Lexical-semantic properties were acquired incrementally where as syntactic properties, if they were acquired at all, developed in a discontinuous fashion.







Comments on chapter 10

여기서는 Input과 interaction 그리고 output에 대해서 나온다. 교수원리 수업시간에 가장 많이 들었고 배운 것은 behaviorism과 innatism에 대한 이론들이었고 그 두 이론이 나올 때 항상 같이 나오는 것도 input이라는 용어였다. 언어를 배우는데 있어서 아무리 머리 속에 UG가 기본 바탕을 이루고 있다고 하더라도 input이 어떻게 작용을 하느냐는 언어습득에 중요한 영향을 끼칠 수 있다. 두 이론 모두 맞는 이론 같아서 난 아직도 나의 입장을 어느 한 쪽이라고 말을 할 수가 없다. Foreigner talk에 대해서 나오는 부분에서 흥미롭게 읽었다. 특히 여러 가지 예를 읽는데 하나하나 내 얘기를 하는 것처럼 다가왔다. slow speech rate, loud speech, long pauses, simple vocabulary, repetition 등등…특히 책 속 예문을 읽을 때는 그 동안 경험해 온 영어회화수업들이 생각났다. 특히 요즘 다니엘 선생님 수업에서 적당히 수업을 따라가다가 어느 부분을 잘못 이해했을 때 오는 난감함 들이 예문으로 나와있는 것 같았다. 특히 선생님께서 나에게 농담을 하셨는데 함께 웃어야 하는 그 상황에서 내가 못 알아들었다는 표정을 지으면 “never mind” 하시며 넘어간다. 나도 함께 웃으며 넘어가지만 사실은 절대 never mind가 되지 않고 오래 생각이 난다. Backchannel cue에 대한 예문들도 흥미로웠으며 그런 추임새를 적당히 이용하면 적절하게 대화를 잘 이끌어 나갈 수 있다는 데는 동의한다. 그러나 단지 NS의 familiarity를 이용해 적당한 대화를 해나가는 것이 아니라 좀더 Fluent한 대화를 위해 많은 연습을 하는 일이 중요하다는 생각을 해보았다. 그리고 대화에 있어서 배경지식이 중요하다는 것은 아주 예전부터 경험해왔고 동의하는 바이다. 여러 수업을 듣고 있지만 학부 때 한번쯤 들어봤던 수업은 그 수업을 임하는 태도부터가 다르다. 좀더 자신감 넘치고 모르는 더 많은 부분을 얻고자 더 열정적으로 참여하는 경향이 있다. 그러나 처음 들어보는 낯선 과목 같은 경우에는 내가 하는 대답이 틀릴 것이라는 생각에 심장이 조마조마해지곤 한다. 사실 지금도 SLA를 읽고 나름 의견을 적고는 있지만 무슨 내용을 어떻게 적어야 하며 내가 쓰고 있는 이 내용이 제대로 흐름을 타고 있는 건지 걱정이 된다. 어쨌든 이번 10과에서는 예문이 흥미롭고 재미있어서 읽는 것이 재미있었다. 물론 여전히 이해가 가지 않는 개념들이 좀 있긴 하지만 말이다.