The document discusses various types of language input provided to language learners, including comprehensible input containing linguistic items slightly beyond the learner's competence, and modified input using simplifications to aid comprehension. It also examines interaction and feedback, noting the interaction hypothesis that language acquisition benefits from negotiation of meaning during communication breakdowns and the various forms feedback can take, such as recasts, clarification requests, and explicit correction.

1. Input, Interaction, and Output
• Input: (in language learning) language which a learner hears or receives and
from which he or she can learn.
• Enhanced input: a type of spoken or written input provided to language
learners in which some target language features are made more salient, such as
by increasing their frequency or in speech by using stress or intonation to
highlight them.
• Comprehensible input: language which contains linguistic items that are slightly
beyond the learner’s present linguistic competence.
• Modified input: discourse addressed to second language learners and young
children that has been «adapted» or “simplified” to make comprehension
easier, such as by using comprehension checks, clarification requests and self-
repetitions.
• Intake: a term referring to that part of the language to which learners are
exposed (see input) that actually “goes in” and plays a role in language learning.
Some theorists believe that intake is that part of the input that has been
attended to and noticed by second language learners while processing the
input. It is also possible to distinguish between preliminary intake, brief notice
of some feature of the input, and final intake, integration of knowledge of that
item in one’s interlanguage.

2. Input, Interaction, and Output
• What is the nature of input to a language learner.
• Can you think of the ways in which you modify
your speech to those who are less proficient than
you?

3. Input,
Interaction,
and Output
• What is the nature of input to a language learner?
caretaker speech: also motherese, mother talk, baby talk the
simple speech used by mothers, fathers, babysitters, etc.,
when they talk to young children who are learning to talk.
Caretaker speech usually has:
a shorter utterances than speech to other adults
b grammatically simple utterances
c few abstract or difficult words, with a lot of repetition
d clearer pronunciation, sometimes with exaggerated
intonation patterns.
Caretaker speech is easier for children to understand, and
many people believe that it helps children to learn language.

4. INPUT, INTERACTION,
AND OUTPUT
 What is the nature of input to a language learner?
Foreigner Talk: the type of speech often used by native
speakers of a language when speaking to foreigners who are not
proficient in the language.
Some of the characteristics of foreigner talk are:
a It is slower and louder than normal speech, often with
exaggerated pronunciation.
b It uses simpler vocabulary and grammar. For example, articles,
function words, and inflections may be omitted, and complex
verb forms are replaced by simpler ones.
c Topics are sometimes repeated or moved to the front of
sentences, for example: Your bag? Where you leave your bag?
Native speakers often feel that this type of speech is easier for
foreigners to understand.

5. Input, Interaction, and Output
• Functions of foreigner talk:
• By hearing the speech that has been simplified
in the ways described, the L2 learner will be
better to understand. It is given that, without
understanding the language, no learning can
take place. Although understanding alone does
not guarantee that learning will occur, it does
set the scene for learning.

6. Input,
Interaction, and
Output
• Comprehension: Crucial to the success of any conversation
is the ability to understand and to be understood. Lack of
comprehension is characteristic of many conversations
involving NNSs. What factors determine comprehensibility?
• The first area of concern in a discussion of comprehension
is the NS’s ability to understand NNS’s pronunciation.
However, this is not clearly the only factor; the NNS’s
ability to use the L2 grammatically is yet another.

7. • Comprehension: Research shows that in
interpreting NNS utterances, grammar is
less important than vocabulary and
pronunciation. Why should be the case?
There is a more limited number of
grammatical possibilities in language than
there are vocabulary items or possible
pronunciations. That is, if a learner fails to
mark agreement or puts items in the wrong
order, there is a greater likelihood that an NS
can fall back on his or her grammatical
knowledge to make sense of what a learner
is saying. However, if a learner uses an
inappropriate or nonexistent vocabulary
item, the NS may be sent down a
comprehension path from which there is
little possiblity to of return.

8. Input, Interaction, and Output
• Comprehension: The second area of concern in a
discussion of comprehension is the NNS’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. Or head nods can serve the
same function.

9. Input, Interaction, and Output
• Comprehension: In particular comprehension
appears to be facilitated by 3 factors.
1. Familarity with a particular NNS,
2. Familiarity with nonnative speech in general,
and
3. Familiarity with the discourse topic.

10. Input, Interaction, and Output
• Interaction
• interaction hypothesis:
the hypothesis that language acquisition requires or
greatly benefits from interaction, communication
and especially negotiation of meaning, which
happens when interlocutors attempt to overcome
problems in conveying their meaning, resulting in
both additional input and useful feedback on the
learner’s own production.

11. Input, Interaction, and Output
• Interaction: Think about your own learning
experiences learning and L2. Have you had
experiences negotiating meaning with an NS of
the L2 or with more proficient NNS of the L2?
How were the breakdowns in communication
repaired?

12. INPUT, INTERACTION, AND OUTPUT
 Output: language produced by a language learner, either in speech
or writing.
 Meaningful production practice helps learners by:
• Enhancing fluency by furthering development of automaticity
through practice.
• Noticing gaps in their own knowledge as they are forced to move
from semantic to syntactic processing, which may lead learners to give
more attention to relevant information
• Testing hypotheses based on developing interlanguage, allowing
for monitoring and revision
• Talking about language, including eliciting relevant input and
( collaboratively) solving problems

13. Input, Interaction, and Output
• Feedback: Information that is provided to
learners about whether or not their
production and interpretation of language is
appropriate. This may be in the form of direct
correction, or it may take more indirect
forms.

14. • Types of corrective feedback:
1. Explicit correction
2. Recast
3. Clarification request
4. Metalinguistic clues
5. Elicitation
6. Repetition

15. 1. Explicit correction: Clearly indicating that the
student's utterance was incorrect, the teacher
provides the correct form.

16. • 2. Recast: in second language acquisition, a type
of negative feedback in which a more competent
interlocutor (parent, teacher, native-speaking
interlocutor) rephrases an incorrect or
incomplete learner utterance by changing one or
more sentence components (e.g. subject, verb, or
object) while still referring to its central meaning.
• For example when two students are comparing
two pictures:
Learner 1: What are they . . . what do they do in
your picture?
Learner 2: What are they doing in my picture?

17. 3. Clarification request. By using phrases like
"Excuse me?" or "I don't understand," the teacher
indicates that the message has not been
understood or that the student's utterance
contained some kind of mistake and that a
repetition or a reformulation is required.

18. 4. Metalinguistic clues: Without providing the
correct form, the teacher poses questions or
provides comments or information related to the
formation of the student's utterance (for
example, "Do we say it like that?" "That's not how
you say it in French,).

19. 5. Elicitation. The teacher directly elicits the
correct form from the student by asking
questions (e.g., "How do we say that in
French?"), by pausing to allow the student to
complete the teacher's utterance (e.g., "It's
a....") or by asking students to reformulate the
utterance (e.g., "Say that again."). Elicitation
questions differ from questions that are defined
as metalinguistic clues in that they require more
than a yes/no response

20. 6. Repetition. The teacher repeats the student's
error and adjusts intonation to draw student's
attention to it.