Input and Second Language Acquisition

InputandSecondLanguageAcquisition[Abstract]Thebehaviorist,thementalistandtheinteractionisthavedifferentemphasesontheroleinputinSecondLanguageAcquisition.Inordertoprotrudetheimportanceofsecondlanguageteaching,itisindispensibletodiscussthecharacteristicsofinputandtoexploreitseffects.[Keywords]InputSecondLanguageAcquisitionCharacteristicsEffects1.DifferentemphasesontheroleinputinSecondLanguageAcquisitionEllisdistinguishesthreedifferentviewsabouttheroleofinput:thebehaviorist,thementalistandtheinteractionist.Behavioristsrejecttheideaof‘mind’asanobjectinquiry;theyignoretheinternalprocessingwhichtakesplaceinsidethelearner.Theyproposeadirectrelationshipbetweeninputandoutput.Withstimuli,thepersonspeakingtothelearnergivesthemodelsofspecificlinguisticformsandpatternswhichthelearnerinternalizesbyimitatingthem.Childrenareconsideredtostudythroughintimating.Feedbacktakestheformofpositivereinforcementorcorrection,dependingonwhetherthelearner’soutputisperceivedtobetarget-like.Mentalisttheoriesemphasizetheimportanceofthelearner’sblackbox.EverylearnerisequippedwithaLADincludinginnateknowledgeofessenceandstructureofhumanlanguage.AlthoughinputisthevitalconditionforL2acquisition,itonlyatriggerthatsetoffinternallanguageprocessinginsteadofhavingnodirecteffects.Inotherwordsmentalistsbelievethatinputtriggerstheinternalgeneralgrammaticalsystemoflearnerstomakeacquisition.Theinteractionisttheoriesaredividedintotwodifferenttypes.Oneiscognitiveinteractionisttheoriesandtheotherissocialinteractionisttheories.Theformerfocusesonthecomplexinteractionofthelinguisticenvironmentandthelearner’sinternalmechanismsandbelievesthatacquisitionisseenasaproductofinteractionofthelearners’psychologicalabilityandlanguageinput.Acommonassumptionisthatinputdoeshaveadeterminingfunctioninlanguageacquisition,butonlywithintheconstraintsimposedbythelearner’sinternalmechanism.Thesocialinteractionisttheoriesemphasizethatverbalinteractionisofcrucialimportanceforlanguagelearningandacquisitionismadethroughcommunicationbetweenlearners.However,manycognitiveinteractionisttheoriesalsoseesocialinteractionastheprimarymechanismofmentalreorganization.2.ThecharacteristicsoftheinputinSLAInputstudiesfocusontwoissues---inputtextandinputdiscourse.Lotsofstudiesaboutinputtextaretryingtoestablishwhatnativespeakersactuallysayorwrite.Whileinputdiscourseisthedescriptionofmodifiedinput,includingforeignertalk,teachertalkandinterlanguagetalk.Therearethreefunctionsofforeignertalk.Oneistopromotecommunication,oneistosignal,implicitlyorexplicitly,speakers’attitudestowardstheirinterlocutors,andanotheristoreachthetargetlanguageimplicitly.However,someresearchersdisagreetheroleofFTinL2acquisition.ThecontroversystartedwithFergusonwhoclaimedthatFTispoorlyformedandcannothelpL2learnerswiththeirlanguagelearningbyhisownstudy.However,anotherresearcherMichaelLongrefutedFergusonthatmostFTisaswellformedascaretakertalkandthereforeprovidesthenon-nativespeakerswithcomprehensibleinputthatleadstoSLA(丁言仁：121-122).HatchconsidersthreewayshownativespeakerscometobeabletoadjusttheleveloftheirFTtosuitthelevelindividuallearners,whichareregression(nativespeakersmovebackthroughthestagesofdevelopmentthatcharacterizedtheirownacquisitionoflanguageuntiltheyfindanappropriatelevel),matching(nativespeakersassessalearner’scurrentinterlanguagestateandthenimitatetheformstheyobserveinit),andnegotiation(nativespeakerssimplifyandclarifyinaccordancewiththefeedbacktheyobtainfromlearnersincommunicationwiththem).TheonlyplacemostL2learnersareexposedtotheL2isintheclassroom.Classroominteractionanalysishassincethe1970sbecomeanimportantareaofresearch.Thiskindoflanguageusedintheclassroomiscalledasteachertalk.Thesearethemaincharacteristicsofteachertalk(Wedell,M:161).One,languageteachersusuallyuseshort,simple,grammaticallycorrectsentencesandgeneral,highfrequencyvocabulary.TheyadjusttheirspeechtoreflectfeedbackfromL2learners.Iftheyrecognizethatlearnersdonotunderstandthem,theytoorepeat,rephraseorexpandtheintendedmessage.Two,typicalinteractionsintheclassroomfollowaveryrigidthree-partpattern:teacherinitiates,learnerresponds,andtheteacherprovidesfeedbacktothelearner.Forexample:Initiate:Johnny,is“broadcast”aregularverborirregularverb?Respond:Hmm…irregular.Feedback:Good.Three,teachersaskalotofunrealquestionstowhichtheyadthelearnersalreadyknowtheanswers.Asaresult,learnersaretrainedtousethelanguageinunnaturalways.Theyaretaughthowtoreply,butnothowtoinitiateconversation.Four,thetopicdealtwith,thecontextsinwhichtheL2isset,areoftenuninterestingandbearlittlerelationshiptothepossibleneedsandinterestsofthelearners.Five,teachers,notlearners,domostofthetalking.Thelastoneistheinterlanguagetalk(ILT).Itconsistsofthelanguagethatlearnersreceiveasinputwhenaddressedbyotherlearners.ILTconstitutestheprimarysourceofinputformanylearners.Therearetwoprominentissues.ThefirstconcernstheextenttowhichILTprovideslearnerswithadequateaccesstothegrammaticalpropertiesofthetargetlanguage.ThesecondoneconcernswhetherILTprovideslearnerswiththesameopportunitiesfornegotiatingmeaningasoccurinFT.3.TheeffectsofinputinSLAIngeneral,peopleagreethatinputfacilitatesL2developmentwhiletheydisagreeoverhow.ItisdifficulttopindownhowexactlyinputleadtoSLA,whatfeaturesofinputareimportanttoSLAorwhataspectsofSLAareaffected.Sofar,somehypothesizeshavebeensetforth.Theyareinputfrequency,theverticalconstruction,andcomprehensibleinput.Thereisnoagreementaboutthecorrelationsbetweeninputfrequencyandaccuracy.Larsen-Freeman’sresearchonmorpheme,Butoyi’sresearchesonnounphrasesascomplement,Lihgtbown’sresearchesoninterrogatives,Hymayan&Tucker’sresearchesonsyntacticstructures,andLong’sresearchesonmorphemeshowthatinputfrequencyiscorrelatedwithaccuracyorderproducedfromthelearners.However,Snow&Hoefnagel-Hohle’sresearchesdon’tprovethatfrequencyisdirectlycorrelatedwithaccuracy.Twoothersetsofstudiesclaimthatinputfrequencyinfluencesacquisition.Oneisthatstudiesthathaveinvestigatedtheeffectsofungrammaticalinput,andtheotherisstudiesoftheformulaicspeechthatmanylearnersproduce.EvidencethatungrammaticalinputhasadirecteffectonacquisitioncomesfromastudybyGassandLakshmanan.Theyfindthepresenceofsubjectlesssentencesintheinputcloselymatchedthoseinthelearners’outputfromonetimetothenext,butthelearners’L1permitssubjectlesssentences.Therefore,itispossiblethatinputandtransferworkjointlytoshapeinterlanguagedevelopment.Inaddition,frequencyofsomestructuresandpoliteformulaemergingintheinputisreflectedontheformulaicspeechacquisitionofthelearners(杨连瑞等：190-191).Overall,thereislittleevidencetosupporttheclaimthatinputfrequencyaffectsSLA,butthereisalsolittleevidencetorefuteit.Perhapsthesafestconclusionisthatinputfrequencyservesasoneofthefactorsinfluencingdevelopment,oftencombingwithotherfactors.