1. Interaction Hypothesis (Michael Long, 1996) The Interaction hypothesis is a theory of second-language acquisition which states that the development of language proficiency is promoted by face-to-face interaction and communication. The idea existed in the 1980s, but is usually credited to Michael Long for his 1996 paper. There are two forms of the Interaction Hypothesis: the "strong" form and the "weak" form. The "strong" form is the position that the interaction itself contributes to language development. The "weak" form is the position that interaction is simply the way that learners find learning opportunities, whether or not they make productive use of them. Long’s Interaction Hypothesis is divided into two parts: The Early Version: In his initial formulation of the Interaction Hypothesis, Long (1983) emphasised the role played by interaction in making input comprehensible. In Long’s early version of the IH, he (1983) acknowledged that simplified input and context can play a role in making input comprehensible, as Krashen claimed. However, he stressed the importance of the interactional modifications that occur in negotiating meaning when a communication problem arises. In other words, he argued that interactive input is more important than non-interactive input because it supplied learners with information relating to linguistic forms that were problematic to them. The early version of IH was subjected to a number of criticisms. First, as Hawkins (1985 showed, learners often fake comprehension. That is, they frequently pretend they have understood as a result of negotiating a comprehension problem when, in fact, they have not. Second, Aston (1986) points out that forms used to realise the topic management functions associated with meaning negotiation can also be used to realise entirely different functions. The identification of negotiation sequences is problematic, although this is rarely acknowledged by IH researchers. A third problem is that the early version of the IH, like the Input Hypothesis, failed to explain how the comprehensible input resulted in acquisition. As in the early version, negotiation was seen as providing learners with comprehensible input, thereby supplying them with positive evidence. The Later Version: Long (1996) updated IH, which emphasised that the role of negotiation is to facilitate attention to form. Long (1996) wrote, “Negotiation for meaning, and especially negotiation work that triggers interaction adjustments by the NS or more competent interlocutor, facilitates acquisition because it connects input, internal learner capacities, particularly selective attention, and output in productive ways” (pp. 451-452). In contrast to the early version of the IH, which simply postulated an effect for comprehensible input, this later version sought to account for how interactionally modified input contributes to acquisition by specifying the learner internal mechanisms involved. In the later version, Long (1996) was more faithful to the earlier work of Hatch in that he acknowledged that interaction can facilitate acquisition by assisting learner’s L2 production. The later version of the hypothesis has also been closely associated with another construct, that is, focus on form. The general claim of both early and later versions of the Interaction Hypothesis is that engaging in interpersonal oral interaction in which communication problems arise and are negotiated facilitates incidental language acquisition. The later version of the IH also posits two other ways in which interaction can contribute to acquisition: through the provision of negative evidence and through opportunities for modified output. Long (1996, p. 413) defined negative evidence as input that provides “direct or indirect evidence of what is ungrammatical”. It arises when learners receive feedback on their own attempts to use the L2. Gass (1997) suggested that the negative evidence learners obtain through negotiation serves to initiate interlanguage change but that permanent restricting may only take place after an ‘incubation period’ during which the learner has access to input that provides further evidence of the need for the change. In other words, the effects of negative evidence may be delayed. Modified output occurs in cases where there is learner uptake-with-repair. |