Input to Output

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Input to Output

• Rakesh M. Bhatt
• University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

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Five givens in SLA 1

• SLA involves the creation of an implicit
  (unconscious) linguistic system
• Compare
• Mujhko ghar jaanaa hai
• ?maine ghar jaanaa hai
• mai ghar jaanaa hai

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2

• SLA is
• Complex
• Linguistic competence
• Lexicon/Morphology/Syntax
• Communicative competence
• Pragmatics/Discourse
• Different processes
• Input processing
• Change accommodation, restructuring
• Output processing

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3

• SLA is dynamic but slow
• Developmental stages
• Acquisition orders
• sequential acquisition

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4

• Most L2 learners fall short of native like
  competence
• Critical Period Hypothesis
• Ultimate attainment rare, exception
• gtNonnativeness is natural and typical

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5

• Skill acquisition is different from the creation
  of the implicit system
• Knowledge, yes
• Articulation, no

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Input

• Language that a learner hears (reads) that has
  some kind of communicative intent
• This input must be processed (made
  comprehensible) for acquisition to take place
• gtInput gt processinggtintake

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Input processing Principles

• Learners process input for meaning before
  anything else
• Process content words
• Process meaningful grammatical forms
• Learners process content/propositional message
  with minimal cost to attentional sources

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Principles contd.

• Utterance initial position is the most salient,
  followed by final position
• Learners interpret first noun/noun phrase as the
  subject of the sentence

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Output

• Language that has communicative purpose
• Language that learners produce to express some
  kind of meaning
• 2 important (related) elements of output
• Fluency speed and accuracy
• Automatization speaking w/out much conscious
  effort