What Goes In Might Come Out!Input, intake, noticing, and output are four concepts that language teachers need to be aware of when it comes to ensuring our students are getting the most out of their study.
In this mini-lecture I discuss the importance of input, intake, noticing, and output for SLA. I argue that all four factors need to be considered in order to best facilitate second language development. I also suggest a few practical ways you can manipulate these factors to achieve the best results you can for your students. As always, please take the time to read (and think about) the following points I have listed for you. Please watch the mini-lecture at the bottom of the page. |
If It Does Not Go In, Then It Cannot Come Out.
1. There can be no learning without input ('Input' can be defined as the language which the learner is exposed to - i.e. listening and reading).
2. Language development requires copious amounts of input – this is where frequency and time play a huge part (as discussed in my lecture Frequency & Time).
3. It is not only the quantity of input that is important to SLA, but also the type, quality, and level of the input. All of these factors will have an impact on language development.
4. Although all types of input are beneficial (even input that is beyond the learner’s level of comprehension), input that is slightly beyond the student’s current level (but still comprehensible) is probably best for facilitating language development (Comprehensible input can be defined as input that the learner can understand.).
5. Encourage your students to notice the input. By this I mean, that for something to move from input to intake and then to output, it needs to be noticed (‘Noticing’ can be defined as the act of deliberately attending to the stimulus and paying attention to specific linguistic features of the input.), and engaged with (i.e., do something with the input that requires cognitive processing and/or manipulation). Or to put it another way – in most cases input becomes output only once the student has attended to it.
6. Output is arguably just as important as input for language development. ('Output' can be defined as the language the learner produces - i.e., writing and speaking). Therefore, teachers need to encourage their students to try to use the language they are learning as often as possible.
7. Teachers need to encourage output in the classroom. This can be achieved by encouraging fluency over accuracy (i.e., don’t over correct your students – it can get rather frustrating and may result in a student losing motivation), and allowing students to make mistakes. Opportunities for output should be scheduled into the class. This can be achieved by dedicating time to communicative tasks, small group discussions/debates, developing short scripts, giving presentations, playing games that require the participants to communicate with each other, etc.
8. In the classroom you can use pair work or small group discussions to create more speaking opportunities for your students. This opportunity for output is critical to helping your students notice their own gaps and in developing communicative fluency.
9. Teachers need to take note of how much time they spend talking in class. If you feel that you are talking more than your students, then you probably need to talk less. Give you students ample opportunity to speak - and monitor their progress so you can give prompts, recasts, or explicit feedback at the appropriate times.
10. Educate your students on the importance of input and output. It might also be helpful to teach your students a range of strategies they can use to increase the amount and quality of their input and output.
Please use the following APA citation style to reference my writing and lectures
Wedlock, J. (2017). The importance of input and output for second language learning. JoshESL. https://www.joshesl.com/the-importance-of-input-and-output-in-second-language-learning.html
1. There can be no learning without input ('Input' can be defined as the language which the learner is exposed to - i.e. listening and reading).
2. Language development requires copious amounts of input – this is where frequency and time play a huge part (as discussed in my lecture Frequency & Time).
3. It is not only the quantity of input that is important to SLA, but also the type, quality, and level of the input. All of these factors will have an impact on language development.
4. Although all types of input are beneficial (even input that is beyond the learner’s level of comprehension), input that is slightly beyond the student’s current level (but still comprehensible) is probably best for facilitating language development (Comprehensible input can be defined as input that the learner can understand.).
5. Encourage your students to notice the input. By this I mean, that for something to move from input to intake and then to output, it needs to be noticed (‘Noticing’ can be defined as the act of deliberately attending to the stimulus and paying attention to specific linguistic features of the input.), and engaged with (i.e., do something with the input that requires cognitive processing and/or manipulation). Or to put it another way – in most cases input becomes output only once the student has attended to it.
6. Output is arguably just as important as input for language development. ('Output' can be defined as the language the learner produces - i.e., writing and speaking). Therefore, teachers need to encourage their students to try to use the language they are learning as often as possible.
7. Teachers need to encourage output in the classroom. This can be achieved by encouraging fluency over accuracy (i.e., don’t over correct your students – it can get rather frustrating and may result in a student losing motivation), and allowing students to make mistakes. Opportunities for output should be scheduled into the class. This can be achieved by dedicating time to communicative tasks, small group discussions/debates, developing short scripts, giving presentations, playing games that require the participants to communicate with each other, etc.
8. In the classroom you can use pair work or small group discussions to create more speaking opportunities for your students. This opportunity for output is critical to helping your students notice their own gaps and in developing communicative fluency.
9. Teachers need to take note of how much time they spend talking in class. If you feel that you are talking more than your students, then you probably need to talk less. Give you students ample opportunity to speak - and monitor their progress so you can give prompts, recasts, or explicit feedback at the appropriate times.
10. Educate your students on the importance of input and output. It might also be helpful to teach your students a range of strategies they can use to increase the amount and quality of their input and output.
Please use the following APA citation style to reference my writing and lectures
Wedlock, J. (2017). The importance of input and output for second language learning. JoshESL. https://www.joshesl.com/the-importance-of-input-and-output-in-second-language-learning.html