The interlanguage hypothesis proposes that second language learners develop their own language system, or "interlanguage", that is influenced by their native language and the target language they are learning. This interlanguage contains errors and patterns from both languages and evolves as the learner progresses. The hypothesis was introduced in the 1970s as an alternative to contrastive analysis for explaining second language acquisition. It views learner errors as part of a rule-governed developmental process rather than mother tongue interference.

1. Interlanguage Hypothesis

2. Definition
• Interlanguage is the type of language produced
by second- and foreign- language learners who
are in the process of learning a language.
• Errors included:
a. borrowing patterns from the mother tongue.
b. extending patterns from the target language.
c. Expressing meanings using the words and
grammar which are already known.
From Richards, Jack C et al. 1992. Dictionary of Language Teaching & Applied Linguistics. Second Edition. Essex: Longman
Group UK Limited. p.186

3. Background
• Before interlanguage hypothesis rose to
prominence, the principal theory of
second-language development
was contrastive analysis.

4. • This theory assumed that learners' errors
were caused by the difference between
their first language and their second
language.

5. • The first public presentation of the ideas
leading up to the Interlanguage (IL)
Hypothesis occurred a decade ago at the
Second International Congress of Applied
Linguistics.

6. • At that time, it was stated that, in
attempting to understand the
phenomenon of second-language learning,
the field was at a stage where there existed
an “inability to unambiguously identify the
phenomena we wish to study” .

7. What is the interlanguage hypothesis
about?
• Interlanguage is the type of language (or
linguistic system) used by second-and
foreign-language learners who are in
the process of learning a target language.

8. • Interlanguage theory is generally credited to
Larry Selinker, an American professor of applied
linguistics, whose article "Interlanguage"
appeared in the January 1972 issue of the
journal International Review of Applied
Linguistics in Language.

9. • The significance of interlanguage theory
lies in the fact that it is the first attempt to
take into account the possibility of learner
conscious attempts to control their
learning.

10. • It was this view that initiated an
expansion of research into psychological
processes in interlanguage development
whose aim was to determine what learners
do in order to help facilitate their own
learning, i.e. which learning strategies
they employ (Griffiths & Parr, 2001).

11. How can the interlanguage hypothesis
help students to learn?
• Learners need not worry so much about making
mistakes. They can assume that making
mistakes is a procedure of development from
mother tongue to Second Language.
• An interlanguage, on the other hand, is always
unique to a particular individual and is by
definition never anyone's first language, as it is
partially a product of a different language that
the speaker already knows.

12. • Interlanguages typically contain elements
of the speaker's original language.

13. How can your hypothesis help
teachers?
• Interlanguage is often heavily influenced by L1
and interference from this may make it seem
perfectly logical to the learner, although it is
incorrect. It is important for teachers to
understand this and also to see interlanguage as
a series of learning steps. learner’s
interlanguage.
• Teachers can give appropriate feedback after
checking out.

14. Provide 3 practical examples of your
hypothesis
• Saying “goed” instead of “went” or “you am” instead of
“you are,” for example.
• Adjectives in French: follow the noun, there are
exceptions. Petit, French for “small,” is an example of
this. An English speaker might overgeneralize the
knowledge and incorrectly refer to a small fish as “un
poisson petit” rather than the correct un petit poisson.
• English: an adjective appears before the noun it modifies
• French the adjective usually comes after the noun.
• An English speaker learning French: un vert poisson,
when un poisson vert is actually correct.

15. Bibliograpgy
• Council, B. (2 de Agosto de 2014). Teaching English. Recuperado el 3 de Octubre de 2014,
de Teaching English: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/knowledge-database/
interlanguage
• Markley, J. (15 de Septiembre de 2014). Wise Geek. Recuperado el 3 de Octubre de 2014,
de Wise Geek: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-interlanguage.htm
• Mason, T. (20 de Septiembre de 2014). http://interlanguage-ab4.tripod.com/.
Recuperado el 3 de Octubre de 2014, de http://interlanguage-ab4.tripod.com/:
http://interlanguage-ab4.tripod.com/
• Nordquist, R. (10 de Marzo de 2009). About Educatio. Recuperado el 3 de Octubre de
2014, de About Education: http://grammar.about.com/od/il/g/Interlanguage.htm
• Richards, J. (17 de Junio de 1992). tripod.com. Recuperado el 3 de Octubre de 2014, de
tripod.com: http://duermueller.tripod.com/interlanguage.html
• Selinker, L. (1 de Noviembre de 2008). Cambridge Journals . Recuperado el 3 de Octubre
de 2014, de Cambridge Journals:
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=2543316
• interlanguage. (n.d.) The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language,
Fourth Edition. (2003). Retrieved October 3 2014
from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/interlanguage