The Linguistic Environment

Question 1

What are the five ingredients of environmental influences that lead to successful L2 learning?

Answer 1

• Attitudes (Acculturation Model)
• Input (Comprehensible Input Hypothesis)
• Interaction (Interaction Hypothesis)
• Output (Pushed Output Hypothesis)
• Attention (Noticing Hypothesis)

Question 2

What was the Acculturation Model by John Schumann?

Answer 2

• The Acculturation Model posits that the distance between the L1 and L2 groups (minority vs majority/dominate group), as well as an individual’s affect towards the target language and its members has an influence on the L2 Learning.
• The greater the distance and more negative the affect the worse the language learning situation will be.
• Essentially: The more acculturated a person can become the more likely their success in L2 will be.

Question 3

What is stated by Krashen’s Comprehensible Input Hypothesis?

Answer 3

Krashen states that for effective language learning to occur, the input language must be i+1. That is, the linguistic data should be slightly above the learner’s current level, in order that they can learn something new from it.

Question 4

What is stated in Michael Long’s Interaction Hypothesis?

Answer 4

Michael Long explains that the best type of comprehensible input is that that is interactionally modified to better suite the learner. Through this i+1 can be achieved.
-This can be achieved through Negotiation for Meaning.

Question 5

What is Negotiation for Meaning?

Answer 5

• Negotiation for Meaning is when either the learner or other person, react to comprehension problems. This can be done by.
• Negotiation for Meaning engenders pushed output

Question 6

What are types of Negotiation for Meaning?

Answer 6

• Clarification Requests
• Confirmation Checks (you mean X, right?)
• Comprehension Checks (you know what I mean?)

Question 7

What is explained by Merrill Swain’s Pushed Output Hypothesis?

Answer 7

• Output beyond the learner’s current competence is essential to language learning, as it often pushes learners to pay more attention to syntax or grammar, or pushes them to use new words in order to convey their thoughts.
• This is much more demanding, cognitively and linguistically.

Question 8

What is explained by Schmidt’s noticing hypothesis?

Answer 8

• Schmidt states that noticing or Attention to detail is vital to learning any part of a language (words, pronunciation, grammar, syntax, etc.).
• Attention to detail allows the learner to see the gaps between their interlanguage and the L1, as well as holes in what they are able to express with their current skills.
• Attention can be driven internally and externally.

Question 9

What is Negative Feedback? What are some forms of it? (Definitions not needed)

Answer 9

Negative Feedback is when others provide feedback on the learners language. This can occur in a few ways:

• Clarification Request
• Recast
• Explicit Feedback
• Elicitation

Question 10

What is a Clarification Request?

Answer 10

Simply “what?”. The interlocutor lets the learner know that something was misunderstood or incorrect.

Question 11

What is Explicit Feedback?

Answer 11

When the interlocutor directly says what the problem was. “The gender was wrong, Buch is a neutral word”

Question 12

What are Recasts?

Answer 12

When the interlocutor resays what the learner had, but correctly.

Question 13

What is Elicitation?

Answer 13

When the Interlocutor gets the learner to try again. This can be done with inflection, or through asking “how do you say X?”