Sadraque Vicente
The Role of Input in Second Language Acquisition
The importance of input in second language acquisition has been widely acknowledged
by most of SLA researchers. Input of some sort is important for second language acquisition.
Gass (1997) claims that second language cannot be learned or acquired without some exposure to
some type of language input. The role of language input in second language acquisition has been
of a great importance in SLA research and theory, and it’s concept has been developed for
decades. Krashen (1981, 1982, 1985) emphasizes the role of input for second language
acquisition, claiming that comprehensible input is the only variable which would result in second
language acquisition. Input alone is enough for SLA. Krashen established a psychologically
oriented theory of language learning. He included five hypothesis in his monitor model which
are: the input hypothesis, the natural order hypothesis, the acquisition learning hypotheis, the
monitor hypothesis, and the affective filter hypothesis. However the input hypothesis is what
constitute the tenet of this paper.
Krashen’s initial conception of input in SLA has been developed to contemporary
perspectives on the role of input in language learning. Although no one disagrees that input is
essential for language learning, however, Krashen’s theory has been widely criticized by many
researchers in a contemporary perspectives. White (1987) introduced the concept of
incomprehensible input as a facilitator for second language acquisition. Swain (1985) discusses
about comprehensible input, claiming that it is also a facilitator for second language acquisition.
She contradicts Krashen’s (1981, 1982, 1985) who claims that comprehensible input is the only
ingredient which guarantees second language learning. In addition, the concept of comprehended
input is also introduced by Gass (1988,1997), as cited in Bahrani (2013). Moreover, other
researchers question how does input contributes for second language acquisition? How is input
processed to guarantee acquisition? Is input alone (weather comprehensible, incomprehensible or
comprehended) enough for second language acquisition? Does the type of input matter in SLA?
How about output and interaction? (Ellis, 2009; Sun, 2008; Slabakova, 2013; Krashen, 1998;
Bahrani, 2013; Sung-Park, 2009; among others).
Input
Input is the linguistic data available for second language learner. Slabakova (2013)
defines the concept of input as “all the comprehensible primary linguistic data that learners are
exposed to.” The input can be available through spoken or written language.
Types of input
There are two types of input: naturalist input which is also referred to as usage-based, and
Instructional or pedagogical (Slabakova, 2013). The former one is acquired outside the
classroom, mainly through interaction with native speakers of the target language or through
other means such as television, radio, etc. Instructional input refers to the input that is learned in
the classroom.
According to Ellis (2009) there are very few researches about natural language input, and
most researches put a lot of weight to instructional input, mostly through written-base corpora
work.
Critiques of the input hypothesis.
According to Bahrani (2009),
Mclaughlin (1987) was one of Krashen critics who
disagree with Krashe’s claim of the level of the learner, the famous i + 1 level. Mclaughlim says
that it is a very difficult task to determine each learner’s current level in the classroom, and make
available for them the i + 1 language input. A lot of criticism to Krashen’s theory are based on
the type of language input. Krashen has not provided enough evidence to support his theory.
In a nutshell, most of contemporary researchers claim that second language acquisition is
not acquired only through comprehensible input. As stated in the beginning, incomprehensible
input (White, 1987), comprehended input (Gass,1997), comprehensible output (Swain 1985)
provide necessary input which facilitate second language acquisition.
Input-Acquisition
Ellis (2009) discusses the relationship between input and second/foreign language
acquisition (input-acquisition) putting more emphasis on oral input. He claims that “extensive
corpus linguistic investigations of the frequencies, frequency distributions, and salience of forms
in language input and longitudinal corpora relating the properties of learner interlanguage to the
available input have the potential to provide crucial insights into the input-acquisition
relationship.” He focuses his research on aural input, analyzing a variety of morphological and
syntactic language constructions, in an instructed, uninstructed, and in a laboratorial setting.
He investigates to what extent the acquisition of linguistic constructions may be
determined by the ways in which general perceptual and cognitive principles of category
learning shape the exposure of the learner to the linguistic input. Therefore, Ellis discusses four
determinants of construction learning: 1) input frequency, 2) Form, 3) function, and 4)
interactions between function and form.
Input frequency
It involves construction frequency, type and token frequency, zipfian distribution and
recency.
Construction frequency requires that learners must index patterns of occurrence in processing.
Input frequency affects the processing of all levels of linguistic constructions. Yet, it serves as
evidence for usage-based models which gives emphasis to the role of input for second language
acquisition.
Type and token frequency – the former one is related to the number of different lexical
items that can be replaced in a given slot/position in a construction. If a construction is used
frequently which is called high type frequency, helps the learner to make a generalization and
extend it to to new items. A good example is the regular past tense “ed.” Because it appears very
frequently in the input, learners can easily acquire and store this form in their IL system. The
latter, token frequency, refers to which regularity a particular form appears in the input. High
token frequency facilitates the engraining of irregular forms and idioms. For example, the
following past tense form of the verb to break, see, and speak are only entrenched into learners
IL because they appear very often in the input; otherwise, they would be difficult to survive.
Zipfian distribution refers to the process of learning through categorization from samples
which starts with an initial low variance sample. It can be illustrated with how a child acquires
the verb-argument constructions (VACs) – he registers the highest frequent verb used than
others.
Recency has an effect in language processing, and is often referred as priming which
entails that a particular structure can be used as a result of recent exposure to it.
Form - low salience cue in the language stream (such as grammatical particles and
inflections) are difficult to be learnt by 2L learners.
Function - prototypicality of meaning – It will be considered prototype depending on the
degree of token frequency which helps to determine the category.
Redundancy – Many grammatical meaning-form are redundant in the understanding of
their meaning; therefore, they are harder to be acquired.
Ellis helps us to comprehend the importance of input in second language acquisition, and
shows how they are inmately tuned. There is not acquisition without input. Frequency, form and
function play a very important role in the acquisition of input which triggers second language
learning. I is important to state that according to current researches which some of them were
discussed before, comprehensible input alone is not the only variable for second language
acquisition.
2.
Upon my return to Angola, the knowledge I have gained about input will have a huge
impact in my work as a foreign language teacher, and as the vice president of the Angolan
English Language Teachers Association – ANELTA.
As I have learned that input is very important for second language acquisition, I will
endeavor to provide as much input as I can to my English language learners. One good way to
guarantee some level of qualitative input, would be by using authentic materials. For example, if
I use videos or any audio material (which is produced by native speakers of English) to the
classroom, it will help language students with their listening, and will develop their
comprehension of the natural input. Another type of authentic material could be books, journals,
newspaper with authentic language.
In Angola teachers and student focus more attention to written input than aural input.
With my return back to Angola, I would help both teachers and students to give a some chance to
spoken input. There are various ways to do so. Some of them I already referred above, by
bringing to class authentic spoken materials. Interaction among teacher and students will also
facilitate the learnability of the input.
Encouraging students to read various materials in English will also help them to acquire
some linguistic constructions.
Regarding my role in ANELTA, I would suggest that teachers of English get involved in
programs which are related to visiting different universities of institutions in English speaking
countries, where they can stay at least for couple of weeks or months. This will help teachers to
be exposed to a different type of input. It is important to point out that many teachers of English
in Angola have never been exposed to an environment where they can interact with native
speakers of English. Most of them have learnt English in the classroom, and do not have enough
opportunity to practice their English. Angola is a Portuguese speaking country, and people do not
use English in their daily life. Therefore teachers of English have received poor input, and they
exposed their student to the same input they have been exposed to. This causes difficulties in
second language acquisition. I agree that the amount and quality of input matters in second
language acquisition.
Another suggestion for teachers of English in Angola would be to enhance video or
teleconference with professionals whose native language is English. I have implemented this
with the American Embassy in Angola, and it seemed to have some positive effect.