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Model of characteristics and processes in ISLA External context (activities, modified input and feedback, shaped by non-verbal input and negotiation techniques) stimulating the leaner's internal cognitive system (conceptual and linguistic system) in the form of sensory input
Source publication
Linguistic input is considered one of the most important prerequisites for the acquisition of a foreign language. In recent decades, theoretical approaches within a cognitive-interactionist framework (Long, 2015) have identified various aspects of L2 input and characteristics of instruction that predict learners’ L2 outcomes. Teaching principles re...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... overview of characteristics and processes in ISLA in Fig. 1 depicts, first of all, the external situational and linguistic contexts in which learners encounter the L2. This context is composed of activities and modified linguistic input usually chosen and delivered by the teacher in accordance with the age and language level of the learners. They are accompanied by different types of verbal and ...
Context 2
... for linguistic L2 input, and specific features of both language and activities that are thought to affect SLA. Language and activities are accompanied by nonverbal aspects of communication such as body language and illustrations, and are further shaped by the ways in which they are modeled and structured. It is important to note that the model in Fig. 1 restricts itself mostly to descriptive form-rather than function-related terms. Functionrelated terms such as 'scaffolding' inherently presuppose an intention; however, input characteristics -input used in the encompassing sense of the term -do not always result from a conscious goal or decision of the teacher to intentionally use ...
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... depicted here as the conceptualizer and the (L2) language system. For an overview of the relationship of L1 and L2 processing/storage components in current processing models see de Groot (2015) and Truscott & Sharwood Smith (2019) -these could easily complement this graphic but are not relevant for the current purpose. In that sense, the model in Fig. 1 emphasises the multisensory character of input both from an external and an internal ...
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... in low reception and no further processing. In more recent work, emotions play a central role in the affective system of Truscott & Sharwood Smith's (2019) Modular Cognition Framework (MCF), and have been thoroughly investigated in terms of foreign language anxiety and enjoyment (Dewaele & MacIntyre 2014). Correspondingly, the 'thermometer' in Fig. 1 indicates the role of the perceived learning atmosphere and emotional availability of the ...
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... Our mind is constantly exposed to a great amount of incoming information through all of our senses. This relates to everything we see, hear, smell, touch, and taste, not only in everyday but also in instructional contexts. Fig. 2 gives a more detailed overview of how recent models of input processing depict the central part illustrated in Fig. 1, that is, a conception of what happens when incoming linguistic and environmental stimuli hit the mental system and are comprehended and stored. (Note that, as in Fig. 1, this graphic is not supposed to be exhaustive but is rather used as an illustration to highlight some effects described in this paper. This holds particularly for the ...
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... not only in everyday but also in instructional contexts. Fig. 2 gives a more detailed overview of how recent models of input processing depict the central part illustrated in Fig. 1, that is, a conception of what happens when incoming linguistic and environmental stimuli hit the mental system and are comprehended and stored. (Note that, as in Fig. 1, this graphic is not supposed to be exhaustive but is rather used as an illustration to highlight some effects described in this paper. This holds particularly for the network of associations depicted on the right which just serves an exemplary modeling purpose of a highly complex and widespread activation pattern.) These processes ...
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... input is typically embedded in language-and/or content-based activities (Fig 1). Research in ISLA, and notably within the cognitive-interactionist framework, has centered around characteristics of activities with a high potential to facilitate L2 acquisition. ...
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... of interactions required: To achieve this meta-level of understanding, activities need to be explicitly and comprehensibly linked to their specific learning goals [T5]. Furthermore, activities are considered effective if they provide opportunities for genuine interactions between learners and, relatedly, for genuine output (language use) [T10,11] (Fig. 1). For incremental language learning to take place, they need to require specific linguistic elements [T6] which are necessary to complete the goal of the activity and which can be attended to explicitly (compare section 5 output, focus on form), and which are increased in complexity over ...
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... in a process referred to as negotiation of meaning (NoM) and, with a focus on language, negotiation of form (NoF). These are considered the vital, SLA-driving processes in the cognitive-interactionist framework. Different forms of interaction and negotiation cover a wide range of techniques which refer to or combine all other external aspects of Fig. 1, i.e. negotiating contents of classroom activities, modifying verbal input, encouraging learner output and giving corrective feedback, which is why a number of interactional techniques are covered within different sections of this paper, and analogously, in different scales of the TIOS. The first step to render an activity comprehensible ...
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... line with the models of cognitive processing presented in Fig. 1 and 2, verbal utterances have a high chance of intake if they are encountered frequently and demand recurring attention. This is in line with the Frequency Hypothesis (Hatch & Wagner-Gough, 1976, N. Ellis, 2012 which claims that the use of large amounts of input in which elements reoccur frequently and many examples of the same phenomenon ...
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... way to encourage beginning learners to use the L2 [T33]. In a meaningful task-or content-based context, questions which require open answers are part of the teaching approach [T31], and are considered especially beneficial as they increase the chance of widespread activation of conceptual structures both with regard to language and content (Fig. 1), and make active retrieval from memory necessary. In some cases, especially if the activation of prior world knowledge concerning a meaningful problem is successful and requires strong learner involvement, beginning learners might not yet possess the necessary language skills to express their thoughts. However, since language in ...
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... Form refers to situations in which the teacher raises explicit awareness of certain linguistic elements at the precise moment when they arise or lead to a problem within meaningful communicative situations or tasks, so that learners can understand and analyse them in the context of the situation [T41]. In accordance with input processing models (Fig. 1), the network of meaningful representational associations is supposed to be widespread and highly active at those times, assumedly leading to better knowledge construction (Fig. 4.b). This is much less the case in Focus on Forms activities, i.e., exercises, in which only very limited mental capacity is needed, L2 input is impoverished ...
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... tasks and content-based approaches rather than exercises are best suited to fulfil the criteria summarised in the above sections. While language-focused exercises provide practice opportunities, support explicit knowledge about language and foster (restricted forms of) output, they can stimulate such cognitive processes as outlined in Fig. 1 and 2 only in a very restricted way (Li & Jeong, 2020, see Fig. 4.a for an example from a language-based primary classroom). Usually, they mainly trigger explicit knowledge. Their lack of content focus makes comprehension scaffolding techniques and negotiation of meaning and form unnecessary, which are however considered major driving forces ...
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