Interaction in Second Language Learners

Published by James Taylor

Muho, A., & Kurani, A. (2014). The role of interaction in second language acquisition. European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 16.

The article is an analysis of the role of interaction in the acquisition of second language as well as the avenues through which interaction is propagated. The paper appreciates the very fact that the issue attracts widespread controversy in the scientific field, perhaps due to a lack of a clear understanding of the relationship. Muho & Kurani assert that second language acquisition is facilitated by modifications in the interactions among learners. Through the study, it was found that most students considered interaction as an important factor in second language acquisition. Essentially, the results of the study provides important suggestions regarding the different way through which interaction can be promoted to sustain language acquisition. The paper is useful in providing insights on the link between interaction and second language acquisition among new students.

Kuo, I. C. V. (2011). Student perceptions of student interaction in a British EFL setting. ELT journal, ccq063.

The paper is a detailed account of a study on the perceptions of students of British EFL setting regarding the interaction with other students. In particular, the study explores the classroom practice of interacting with other fellow students. Further, the paper focuses on analyzing the reasons why the students perceive interactions in the manner that they do. The experiment also explores the factors that possibly influence the perception of learners. Moreover, it found out that students’ perceptions were influenced by their initial goals and motives as well as their expectations of a new language. By extension therefore, the perceptions are shaped by a desire of the students to acquire a new language. However, the study limits the relationship arguing that the perceptions were not helpful in some aspects of the second language acquisition.

Ng, L. L., & Sappathy, S. M. (2011). L2 Vocabulary acquisition: The impact of negotiated interaction. GEMA: Online Journal of Language Studies, 11(2), 5-20.

The article analyzes the importance of student teacher interaction in classroom settings in the attainment of second language vocabulary. Essentially, the paper assumes that the language used during such interactions is the main source of the vocabulary in the acquisition of a second language. In fact, it asserts that the instructional materials are only complimentary to the teacher-student interaction and cannot be effective when used alone. It draws on past literature to conclude that interaction in the right contexts is very effective in the process of second language acquisition. The interactive nature of the learning in class is a facilitator of second language acquisition especially to foreign students. The study found that most students showed an ability and willingness to negotiate for meanings of certain vocabularies despite not being proficient in the language.

Xu, F. (2010). The Role of Input and Interaction in Second Language Acquisition/LE RÔLE D’INPUT ET D’INTERACTION DANS L’ACQUISITION D’UNE DEUXIÈME LANGUE. Cross-cultural communication, 6(1), 11.

The paper is assertive that facilitation of second language acquisition is facilitated by both input and interaction. In essence, the research supports the theories of input and interactional hypothesis in improving the process of acquiring a second language among students. The paper draws inferences from past research showing that conversational interactions among second language learners is central to the effectiveness of second language acquisition. The literature available regarding the role of interaction in aiding the comprehension of second language among new learners is emphasized in the paper. The research is unique because it draws inferences from past literature and is therefore a detailed summary of all the available studies.

Sarem, S. N., & Shirzadi, Y. (2014). A Critical Review of the Interactionist Approach to Second Language Acquisition. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research, 1(1), 62-74.

The article draws inference from three major theories in understanding the relationship between interaction and second language acquisition. The three theories of behaviorism, innativism and interactionism have all contributed to the knowledge about second language acquisition through the provision of specific aspects. The paper thus analyzes the contribution of these theories in relation to their effectiveness in second language acquisition. The first theory attaches the main role of environment through such concepts as habit formation and imitation. The second theory however focuses on the cognitive ability of the students and the role of the mind in the process of learning second language. Lastly, the third theory concentrates on the importance of social interaction in the acquisition of second language.

Long, M. H. (1981). Input, interaction, and second‐language acquisition. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 379(1), 259-278.

The article is a summation of the link between input, interaction and second language acquisition among foreign students. The paper finds that native speakers modify their speech when they are speaking with non native speakers. The reason for the modification is to enhance interaction and is identified as an involuntary action that the people cannot control. The conversations between native and non native speakers are dependent on the related phenomena of input and interaction. The paper defines input as the linguistic forms used in the conversations while interactions are the functions served by the linguistic forms including repetition and expansion. The paper further asserts that input and interaction are important in both theoretical and practical terms in terms of second language acquisition.

Pica, T. (1996). Second Language Learning through Interaction: Multiple Perspectives. Working Papers in Educational Linguistics, 12(1), 1-22.

The paper explores a myriad of perspectives in the acquisition of second language among learners through interaction. It adopts the interactionist approach on second learning that focuses on the social aspects of interaction. As thus, the study views interaction as a process and context by which the second language can be learned. The approach is different from innativism and behaviorism that focus on other aspects of learning. In addition, interaction can be viewed through different perspectives including the interaction of learner needs and interaction of learning processes. The link between the different types of interaction and the implementation by the learners is also explored. Ultimately, the paper provides insights in to the understanding of the process of acquiring a second language among non native learners.

Gass, S. M., & Varonis, E. M. (1994). Input, interaction, and second language production. Studies in second language acquisition, 16(03), 283-302.

The paper analyzes the fact that second language learning is facilitated through interaction and input. In fact, it is paramount that conversational interactions be integral in the development of second language among non native learners. It appreciates the fact that past literature on the acquisition of second language is vast. However, it is not clear how the effects of interactions impact on the learners in the long term and how they affect the linguistic development among the non native learners. Further, Gass & Varonis examine the linkage between input, interaction and second language production. The results from the study indicated that the relationship is through task performance which is directly affected by interaction and input. Moreover, interaction is identified as having the most effect on task performance.

Mackey, A., & Philp, J. (1998). Conversational interaction and second language development: Recasts, responses, and red herrings?. The Modern Language Journal, 82(3), 338-356.

The paper examines the impact of negotiated interaction on the acquisition of second language through the development of question forms in English among non native learners. In terms of interaction, the paper concentrated on the aspect of recasts which is an increasingly observed aspect. In so doing, the research compared learners who received data modified through interaction with those who received input containing recasts. The results were then used to assess the effects of recasts on the learners’ development of the second language and the type of responses that the learners portrayed towards the recasts. In addition, the results found that interaction with recasts is much more beneficial to advanced learners compared to pure interaction. The study concludes that recasts are beneficial to learners’ development in the short terms.

Mackey, A. (2006). Feedback, noticing and instructed second language learning. Applied linguistics, 27(3), 405-430.

The paper draws an association between feedback, noticing and second language learning among non native learners. The paper banks on past literature on the link between conversational interaction and second language acquisition to test its hypotheses. In particular, the assertion that interactional feedback prompts the learners to notice forms of second language is emphasized. Data from this study is used to explore the link between feedback, learners’ noticing of the second language in classrooms and the eventual development of the second language among these learners. Each of these variables was tested through the administration of specific questions to the students through the online platform and questionnaires. The results show a positive relationship between the three variables thus confirming the hypotheses.

Reflection

Most times, people do not learn second languages by reading text books and familiarizing themselves with all the rules of the language beforehand (Muho &Kurani, 2014). Rather, an interactive approach is much more effective in the acquisition of second languages. Research on this field has been conducted vastly with the results often pointing to a relationship between interaction and second language acquisition (Kuo, 2011). In fact, people who use the former approach only realize of its uselessness when faced with the practical application of the second language for instance ordering a meal in a foreign country. The realization that reading all the grammar rules and identifying most of the words in the second language does not guarantee an understanding of the language is critical to the issue of interaction. It is through interaction that most of the new language is absorbed in the minds of the non native speakers.

In the process of second language learning, it is imperative that one considers the processes of input and interaction (Ng & Sappathy, 2011). This is to simply say that one should speak and write to native speakers thereby enhancing their chances of grasping the second language. Researchers have suggested that effective understanding of the second language is facilitated through spending at least 80% of the learners’ time in interactive processes. This is because writing and speaking in the new language increases the fluency of the non native speaker thereby helping in the internalization of the language over time (Xu, 2010). Indeed, language is a practical subject and staying in class for long hours doesn’t guarantee the understanding of the same.

The use of interaction is further lauded for its ability to increase incidental acquisition of the second language among non native learners. Incidental acquisition is the unconscious development of a language through interacting with native speakers who have better understanding of the language being studied (Sarem & Shirzadi, 2014). The process of achieving this development is manifested through negotiation of meaning whereby the non native speaker guesses the meaning of words and thus understands the language even more. Research has identified negotiated interaction as one of the leading factors in the acquisition of second language for its ability to enlighten the non native speakers. In addition, the adjustments made in the course of this interaction provide a platform through which the learner can understand the language even more (Long, 1981).

The use of feedback is another aspect in the process of interaction in the development of second language. The feedback provided to the native speakers during interaction and vice versa is a necessary input in the learning of the second language (Pica, 1996). This feedback could be in the form of corrections whereby the native speaker corrects the usage of words by the non native speakers and helps in the correct definition of new words. Essentially, simple conversations with friends and peers give the learner much more space to learn second languages than just sitting in classes and listening to the teachers. However, this assertion should not be used to justify the uselessness of having a tutor in the development of second languages. Rather, interaction is most effective when it complements the learning that takes place in classes (Gass & Varonis, 1994). For example, students may then interact after they have learned new aspects in class and thus use the interactions for practical lessons.

The interaction in second language acquisition is not limited to the social and friendly conversations among learners, both native and non native. Rather, lit includes the interaction that is propagated in classes between the teacher and the students and even among the different students. The interaction should include such aspects as questions during classes as well as feedback from the students. The correction of mistakes by teachers further helps in the mastery of the new language since students do not want to make the same mistake twice Mackey & Philp, 1998). It is quite common for students to understand different aspects of learning when they are corrected because then they cannot forget the mistakes they make.

There is also a connection between the interaction, what the students notice and the development of second language amongst students. The relationship between the three aspects of learning second language is manifested in the fact that mistakes made and corrected are noticed by the students. Therefore, these students register the corrected aspects and they are likely to remember the aspects for long durations of time. The effect is that the students pay attention to the mistakes and therefore learn the language even faster. Recent studies have cemented the importance of interaction through suggestions of use of new platforms of interaction (Mackey, 2006). For instance, the use of online media and journals to interact with students is an important facilitator of the interaction process.

The acquisition of second languages among non native learners is not a simple task. Studies conducted in the past have all pointed to an increasing relationship between interaction and the development of second language and the importance of the two variables. Essentially, the theories of behaviorism, innativism and interactionism have been floated to explain the process of second language acquisition. While all the three theories have truth elements, the interactionism theory seems to dominate the other two in terms of effectiveness. The learning of second languages is influenced by the incidence of interactions among native and non native learners through feedback and corrections.

References