Input, Interaction, and Second Language Development - Assignment Example

In a global world, the acquisition of multiple languages is vital for our personal and professional growth. The interactionist concept threads together different strands of hypotheses generated around this central idea, such as Krashen’s Input Hypothesis and the notion of comprehensibility. This theory however pointedly falls short in analyzing the effect of interaction between the native and the non-speaker on SLA. Others, like Hatch and Long, too, have come forward with their own brands of theory, each claiming in its own way, the central importance of the process of interaction as the primary site of learning. The main point of interest for me in this chapter is thus, as particularly highlighted by Gass and Mackey under the subheading ‘Core issues”, the conjunction and interrelation between the processes of interaction and learning. I found a reference to Alison Mackey’s essay “Input, Interaction and Second Language Development” particularly relevant in this context, where she puts forward an analysis of the possible effects of ‘implicit negative feedback’ on SLA and the Interaction theory. (Mackey, 1999)
A series of theoretical data on the varied dimensions of interactionist approach, input and feedback and SLA is connected to the entire hypothesis vis-à-vis the current technological era. However, while the chapter as a whole was crammed with information and theories, I found the representational structure rather opaque.
A NOTE ON CHAPTER 2: THE ROLE OF FEEDBACK
Mackey claimed in her essay “Input, Interaction and Second Language Development” that the SLA benefits from negative feedback implicit within an interactive structure that negotiates between the various dimensions of conversational exchanges and the overall process of learning. (Mackey, 1999) The entire idea of this chapter is summed up within the title itself ‘the role of feedback’ in SLA.
I found the notion of ‘corrective’ feedback particularly interesting and challenging. The idea that negative feedback generates an awareness of the errors in L2 acquisition on the part of the learner has been an established and intensively researched area within linguistic studies. In this context, the primary issues explored here touch upon a few very important questions involving the ramifications of feedback on SLA and delve into an in-depth study of the role and, in a sense, suitability of the classroom as a space of free interaction, exchange and negative feedback. While there may indeed be some amount of feedback in the L2 classrooms, linguists agree, and I concur, that a liberated, ‘natural’ and unhindered exchange of ideas in a classroom is an ideal scenario that is not always possible in reality.
The effects of anxiety, defense mechanisms and other individual psychological variables are left unanalyzed, as the article moves on to a detailed analysis of contextual influences of age and gender to the techniques of evaluation and knowledge measurement. While I found the conceptual grouping of the various key points quite useful, I feel a detailed explication of these aforementioned variables from a psychosocial angle would have highly benefited the essay.