Language Teaching Pedagogy

An important part of lesson planning includes determining the types of activities to implement in order to realize the educational goals of a class. A number of factors play a role in determining both the type and sequence of these activities, but foremost among these for the language class is “input,” namely the exposure to the target language used by teachers to promote both language learning and acquisition. This page will focus on conceptual frameworks for understanding input, its various types and applications, along with interaction and output. Moreover, this page will offer guiding principles for conceiving of activities for a lesson for which the input is made meaningful through context and scaffolding.  

Key takeaways from the hypotheses below about what students need in terms of input:

• comprehensible input in the target language

• interaction with other speakers of the target language that provides models and tools for structuring and understanding how to participate in talk

• opportunities to practice negotiating meaning in the target language

• exchanges / conversations that are relevant and purposive

• an atmosphere that reduces anxiety and promotes a willingness to experiment in the target language

Theories of Input, Interaction, and Output

Krashen's Input Hypothesis

The five hypotheses that Krashen proposed are as follows:

• The input hypothesis. This states that learners progress in their knowledge of the language when they comprehend language input that is slightly more advanced than their current level. Krashen called this level of input "i+1", where "i" is the learner's interlanguage and "+1" is the next stage of language acquisition.
• The acquisition–learning hypothesis claims that there is a strict separation between acquisition and learning; Krashen saw acquisition as a purely subconscious process and learning as a conscious process, and claimed that improvement in language ability was only dependent upon acquisition and never on learning.
• The monitor hypothesis states that consciously learned language can only be used to monitor language output; it can never be the source of spontaneous speech.
• The natural order hypothesis states that language is acquired in a particular order, and that this order does not change between learners, and is not affected by explicit instruction.
• The affective filter hypothesis. This states that learners' ability to acquire language is constrained if they are experiencing negative emotions such as fear or embarrassment. At such times the affective filter is said to be "up."

Wikipedia contributors. "Input hypothesis." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 2 Dec. 2024. Web. 29 Jan. 2025. Licensed under creative commons Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.

Long's Interaction Hypothesis

Similar to Krashen's input hypothesis, the interaction hypothesis claims that comprehensible input, which is characterized as a variety of language that can be understood by a learner, is important for language learning. There are a number of ways in which input may be modified for the benefit of the learner. For example, a native speaker of a language may use foreigner talk when addressing a non-native speaker: this kind of modified input entails slowed speech, greater articulation, and simplified vocabulary. In addition, it claims that the effectiveness of comprehensible input is greatly increased when learners have to negotiate for meaning. This occurs when there is a breakdown in communication which interlocutors attempt to overcome. One of the participants in a conversation will say something that the other does not understand; the participants will then use various communicative strategies to help the interaction progress. Many different strategies may be employed by interlocutors: for example, they may request for clarification (e.g. "What do you mean?") or provide a comprehension check (e.g. "Do you know what I mean?"). Negotiation strategies such as clarification requests, confirmation checks, recasts (rephrasing an incorrect sentence with the correct structure), and comprehension checks are considered implicit feedback, while corrections and metalinguistic explanations are explicit feedback. The difference between modified interaction and modified input is that in the latter, participants may engage with one another and their communication is dynamic, whereas in the former the information given to the learner is static and is not open for interaction. As a result, the interactional structure of a two-way conversation or task then elicits the most modifications since the dynamic aspect forces the participants to negotiate for meaning.

Interactions provide a context for learners to receive feedback on the correctness or incorrectness of their language use. Interactions often result in learners receiving negative evidence. That is, if learners say something that their interlocutors do not understand or that is ungrammatical, after negotiation the interlocutors may model the correct language form. Conversely, positive evidence is confirmation that what a learner has said is grammatical. In doing this, learners can receive feedback on their production and on grammar that they have not yet mastered. Individual differences may also affect negative feedback and its effectiveness when each learner has their own preferences for types of negative feedback. The process of interaction may also result in learners receiving more input from their interlocutors than they would otherwise. Furthermore, if learners stop to clarify things that they do not understand, they may have more time to process the input they receive. This can lead to better understanding and possibly the acquisition of new language forms. Finally, interactions may serve as a way of focusing learners' attention on a difference between their knowledge of the target language and the reality of what they are hearing; it may also focus their attention on a part of the target language of which they are not yet aware. A drawback is that in simplifying the input to make it comprehensible, modification takes away from the acquisition of complex structures.

Wikipedia contributors. "Interaction hypothesis." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 22 Nov. 2024. Web. 29 Jan. 2025. Licensed under creative commons Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.