Unit 11 Input and interaction.docx

1、Unit 11 Input and interaction Unit 11 Input - from perspective of interaction (1)Pre-questions1. What does input mean?2. What are the major views of input?3. What is the use of input in SLA?4. How does input interact with output?5. What effects does Motherese have on L2 acquisition?6. What effects d

2、oes foreigner talk have on L2 acquisition?15.1 DefinitionIn previous units, L2 learner differences in learning a L2 were presented. All of the differences has to do with input of the L2.Definition: The target language data in spoken or written form produced by native speakers of that language or by

3、users of that language as non-native speakers or by fellow learners of that language, which is exposed to the learner. This definition manifests 3 points: (1) “input” is the target language that is the language learner hears or reads, (2) the target language arrives at the learner either in spoken f

4、orm or written form, or both in spoken and written form, (3) that target language is from native speakers of that language, or users of that language as non-native speakers such as teachers of the target language or other fluent users of the target language, or even peer learners of that target lang

5、uage, and (4) inferrably, the target language exposed to the learner is by means of face-to-face personal contact, by speakers present as real form of communication such as lecture, or by media such as TV program, Video viewing, broadcasting. Input involves two ends of the language data flow, the qu

6、ality and quantity of input. The two ends are the learner and the source where the language data is senta person, a medium of any kinds. The quality concerns correctness and completeness, and quantity concerns how much and how often the data is sent. The input is seen at first as outside the learner

7、 and may occur in different situations. So far, there are different views about the iuput: the behaviorist, the nativist, and the interactionist views. 15.2 Three views on input in language acquisitionIt goes without saying that in order for SLA to take place, there must be (1) some L2 data made ava

8、ilable to the learner as input and (2) a set of internal learner mechanisms to account for how the L2 data are processed. On the one hand it is possible to conceive of the learner as a language-producing machine who automatically and effortlessly learns a L2, as long as he gets the right input data.

9、 On the other hand, the learner can be seen as a grand initiator; In other words, he has the innate abilities needed to discover the L2 exposed to him, no matter how little the L2 data he has. 15.2.1 Behaviorist viewBehaviorist accounts of SLA view the learner as a language-producing machine. The li

10、nguistic environment is seen as the crucial determining factor. In this model of learning, input comprises the language made available to the learner in the form of stimuli and also that which occurs as feedback. In the case of the former, the learners interlocutor models specific forms and patterns

11、 which are internalized by the learner imitating them. Thus the availability of suitable stimuli is an important determining factor in SLA. Behaviorist theories emphasize the need to regulate the stimuli by grading the input into a series of steps, so that each step constitutes the right level of di

12、fficulty for the level that the learner has reached. Feedback serves two purposes. It indicates when the L2 utterances produced by the learner are correct and so reinforces them, and it also indicates when the utterances are ill formed by correcting them. The regulation of the stimuli and the provis

13、ion of feedback shape the learning that takes place and lead to the formation of habits.15.2.2 Nativist viewNativist accounts of SLA view the learner as a grand initiator. Exposure to language cannot account satisfactorily for acquisition. Input is seen merely as a trigger which activates the intern

14、al mechanisms. Chomsky (1965) argued that the imperfect nature of the mothers speech input in first language acquisition made it unlikely that any child could successfully internalize the rule system of a language if he worked on this alone. Degenerate (蜕化) input was inadequate for acquisition. As a

15、 result of the pre-eminence of nativist views in the 1960s and early 1970s, research focused on the output of L2 learners, in particular the errors they manifested in speech and writing. This was because it was believed that the output would reveal the nature of the learning strategies involved. As

16、Larsen-Freeman (1983a: 88) observes:. researchers all too often have confined the scope of their studies to examining the learners linguistic product, thus overlooking an important source (i.e. input) of information which could prove elucidating(阐明，解释) in achieving a better understanding of the acqu

17、isition process.This is to say that nativist views precluded(排除) the possibility that at least some aspects of the learners output could be explained in terms of the characteristics of the input.Thus, whereas a behaviorist view of language acquisition seeks to explain progress purely in terms of wha

18、t happens outside the learner, the nativist view emphasizes learner-internal factors. 15.2.3 Interactionist viewThe interaction hypothesis, proposed by SLA expert Michael Long, as the third view here, is tenable(学说等)站得住脚的,经得起批判的. It treats the acquisition of language as the result of an interaction

19、between the learners mental abilities and the linguistic environment. The learners processing mechanisms both determine and are determined by the nature of the input. The quality of the input affects and is affected by the nature of the internal mechanisms. The interaction between external and inter

20、nal factors is manifest in the actual verbal interactions in which the learner and his interlocutor participate. It follows from this interactionist view of language acquisition that the important data are not just the utterances produced by the learner, but the discourse which learner and caretaker

21、 jointly construct.Discussion Three different views regarding the role of input in language development have been discussed. The behaviorist view emphasizes the importance of the linguistic environment, which is treated in terms of stimuli and feedback. The nativist view minimizes the role of the in

22、put and explains language development primarily in terms of the learners internal processing mechanisms. The interactionist view sees language development as the result both of input factors and of innate mechanisms: Language acquisition derives from the collaborative efforts of the learner and his

23、interlocutors and involves a dynamic interplay between external and internal factors. The discussion of the role of the linguistic environment in SLA is the main purpose of this unit. It is conducted largely within the interactionist framework. However, many of the early studies of input and interac

24、tion concerned the acquisition of an L1 rather than an L2. 15.3 Nature of input (3 kinds) The nature of input is determined by its nature1. Baby talk (motherese, care-taker speech, child-directed speech) Mothers, other parents or adults, other care-takers make adjustments to the their speech when th

25、ey speak to very young children. 2. Foreigner talk (speech directed towards linguistically defiant non-native speakers). Native speakers make adjustments to their speech when they speak to linguistically deficient interlocutors (Ferguson, 1971). 3. Teacher talk In the L2 classroom, L2 teachers make

26、the speech slower and simpler in order for the L2 learners to follow intelligibly, easily and clearly.15.4 Motherese and L1 acquisitionDefinition Motherese refers to a special use of language with which the mother tunes the pitch, intonation, rhythm to the perceptive sensitivity of the child (Sachs,

27、 1997). This definition is substantiated by further knowledge. It means both the language which is addressed to the child and the way mother uses the language. The language the mother uses to the child is simple in vocabulary and structure. The style or way of using the language is slow, pitchy, and

28、 emotional. The nature1) The mothers speech was (1) remarkably well formed, (2) containing few ungrammatical utterances or sentence fragments. 2) This speech was characterized by a number of formaladjustments in comparison to speech used in adult-adult conversations: (1) a lower mean length of utter

29、ance, (2) the use of sentences with a limited range of grammatical relations, (3) few subordinate and co-ordinate constructions, (4) more simple sentences, the occurrence of tutorial questions (i.e. questions to which the mother already knows the answer), and, (5) overall, a high level of redundancy

30、, (6) adjustments in pronunciation (Snow,1976). Mothers tune the pitch, intonation, and rhythm to theperceptive sensitivity of the child (Sachs, 1977). The functionsFerguson (1977) suggests that there are 4 main functions: (1) an aid to communication, (2) an aid to language teaching, (3) a socializa

31、tion function is the former, however, that motivates motherese,(4) an aid, inferred from the these three functions, to facilitating the childs comprehension. In communicating with their children, the mother (1) simplifies her speech in order to facilitate the exchange of meanings, pays little attent

32、ion to the formal correctness of their childrens speech, but instead attend to the social appropriateness of their utterances. Brown (1977) describes the primary motivation as to communicate, to understand and to be understood, to keep two minds focused on the same topic. Thus if motherese also serves to teach language and to socialize the child into the culture of the parents, it does so only indirectly as offshoots of the attempt to communicate.15.4.4 The basis of adjustments made by mothers How mothers determine the nature and the extent of the