Input and Interaction and Second Language Acquisition

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Input and Interaction andSecond Language
Acquisition

• by
• Riyana Dewi
• Riana Eka Budiastuti
• Inti Englishtina

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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
• into the current interlanguage system.

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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
• Cognitive 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.
• 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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The characteristics of input to language learners

• Input studies have focused on two issues.
• Input text native-speaker usage
• 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. Adults choose 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
• Functions
• 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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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.
• Modifications to the interactional structure of
  conversations that take place in the process of
  negotiating a communication problem 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 of FT

• Grammatical FT is 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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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 speaker responses to foreigner asking the way

• Repetition
• Straight down to the big junction. Big junction,
  okay?
• Comprehension checks
• right ?
• alright?
• got it ?
• okay ?

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NS speaker 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 speaker responses to foreigner asking the way

• Do deletion in questions
• What country you come from?
• How longlong time in England?
• Absence of inversion in questions
• You have snow there?
• Other deletion
• If I stay at home, no good
• Top road

• Simplified lexis
• The grandchildren. Babies. Grandchildren.
• Cinema there. Picture place
• Absence of contractions
• Ill show you. I will show you
• You cant mistake it

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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?