Second Language Acquisition Essay -- teachers, psychologists, research

Introduction Through the years, language teachers, psychologists and others have had varying ideas of how languages are learned. Second language acquisition has multiple models, including cognitive based models, sociocultural models, and models regarding input and interaction. In this paper, my goal is to take one prominent model of SLA, the interactionist model, and determine how this model actually plays out in the classroom. I seek to answer the following questions: How does interaction support the development of interlanguage as shown in SLA research? And what does this imply about teaching practice. The discussion of these questions will follow from an analysis of four articles on interaction research. First, I will discuss an article called â€Å"Talking, tuning in and noticing: exploring the benefits of output in task-based peer interaction† by Philp & Iwashita (2013). Then I will discuss Iwashita’s work, â€Å"Negative Feedback and Positive Evidence in Task-Based Interacti on† (2003). I will move on to the work of Mackey and Silver, â€Å"Interactional tasks and English L2 learning by immigrant children in Singapore† (2005). Finally, I will analyze McDonough’s work from 2005 on â€Å"Learner-learner interaction during pair and small group activities in a Thai EFL context.† Through these articles I will gain more information on how to answer my chief questions. Before diving into the research, let us briefly investigate what the interactionist view of SLA is, and how it differs from other views of SLA. Long (1981, 1983, 1996) proposed that interaction is crucial to SLA. One key idea in Long’s perspective on SLA is negotiation for meaning. When interlocutors struggle to understand one another during a difficult language task, they modify their... ...rs and parents for background information. Works Cited Iwashita, N. (2003). Negative Feedback and Positive Evidence in Task-Based Interaction: Differential Effects on L2 Development. Studies In Second Language Acquisition, 25(1), 1-36. doi:10.1017/S0272263103000019 Lightbown, P., & Spada, N. M. (2014). How languages are learned (4th ed.). Oxford [england: Oxford University Press. [Kindle Edition] Mackey, A., & Silver, R. E. (2005). Interactional tasks and English L2 learning by immigrant children in Singapore. System, 33(2), 239-260. McDonough, K. (2004). Learner-learner interaction during pair and small group activities in a Thai EFL context. System, 32,207-224. Philp, J., & Iwashita, N. (2013). Talking, tuning in and noticing: exploring the benefits of output in task-based peer interaction. Language Awareness, 22(4), 353-370. doi:10.1080/09658416.2012.758128