Input, Interaction, Output
Susan M. Gass, Jennifer Behney, Luke Plonsky, Elizabeth Huntley · 2025
This chapter deals with the nature and function of input, output, and interaction in SLA. It begins with a discussion of the nature of speech directed towards non-proficient speakers of a language and the importance of making speech comprehensible to learners. Included are discussions of negotiation of meaning and its defining characteristics as well as importance of interactional, such as confirmation checks and clarification requests. This is followed by a description of output, particularly pushed output, and the significance of output for learning. Central to the chapter is a discussion of corrective feedback types, such as recasts, elicitation and metalinguistic feedback as well as a discussion of the role played by language-related episodes. The chapter also includes a discussion of the effectiveness of feedback, bringing the constructs of attention and noticing, metalinguistic awareness into the discussion. We introduce Contrast Theory to help in our understanding of feedback effectiveness. Finally, the chapter asks the question of how individual differences in working memory and inhibition can lead to the benefits of learning from interaction.