Language Acquisition: Input and Output Hypotheses

• Language is acquired by understanding comprehensible input, or messages slightly beyond the learner’s current level, referred to as i+1

Key Ideas of Krashen's Input Hypothesis

• Focus should be on the meaning, not grammatical form
• Learners experience a silent period, listening before speaking
• Language acquisition occurs naturally with sufficient understandable input

Input Requirements for Krashen's Input Hypothesis

• Input must be slightly above the learner's current proficiency (i+1)
• Input must be interesting and relevant to the learner
• Input must be provided in large quantities
• Implications: Teachers should prioritize meaningful, understandable language exposure over forcing early speaking

Swain’s Output Hypothesis

• Language acquisition requires comprehensible output, providing opportunities for students to produce language accurately

Key Ideas of Swain’s Output Hypothesis

• Learners identify gaps in their language ability when trying to express themselves
• Output encourages learners to shift from semantic to syntactic processing, focusing on grammar and form
• Language production leads to self-correction and learning through feedback

Functions of Output

• Noticing problems in language use
• Hypothesis testing, or experimenting with language forms
• Metalinguistic reflection, or thinking about language itself

Classroom Activities for Listening & Speaking

• The below activities provide comprehensible input and encourage output

Story Retelling with Visual Aids

• Teacher tells a story with pictures, and students listen carefully (input) and then retell the story in their own words (output)
• Focus: Listening and speaking

Information Gap Activities

• Students pair up with different pieces of information and must communicate to complete a task, like filling in missing parts
• Focus: Speaking, specifically output

Dictogloss

• Students listen to a short text twice, then reconstruct the text as accurately as possible in groups
• Focus: Listening leading to speaking, with an emphasis on accuracy

Role Plays

• Students act out real-world scenarios, such as ordering food or visiting a doctor, to promote spontaneous speaking and error identification
• Focus: Speaking for social and pragmatic use

Shadowing Practice

• Students listen to and immediately repeat short sentences or dialogues, which helps internalize patterns naturally
• Focus: Listening and pronunciation

Clarification Requests

• Students request clarification in conversations when they don’t understand, using phrases like "Can you repeat that?" or "What do you mean by...?"
• Focus: Listening comprehension and output

Opinion Sharing Circles

• Students listen to a model opinion on a given topic, then discuss their own thoughts in small groups
• Focus: Listening, specifically model input, and speaking

Problem-Solving Tasks

• Groups receive a problem, like planning a trip with a budget, requiring negotiation, suggesting, and agreeing
• Focus: Speaking for fluency and accuracy

Listen-and-Act (TPR - Total Physical Response)

• Students listen to commands, like "Touch your nose" or "Open the door," and physically respond
• Focus: Listening, especially for beginners

How Activities Relate to Theory

• Krashen: Storytelling, shadowing, and TPR ensure abundant meaning-focused input
• Swain: Story retelling, information gaps, and role plays encourage language production, error identification, and form improvement