Negotiation of Meaning

Negotiation

• How do teachers get their message across?
• How do they understand what the students are trying to say via their second language?
• How do they help students to extend and refine their communication skills in their second language?

3 Theories

3 Theories

• Input Hypothesis
• Interaction Hypothesis
• Output Hypothesis

3 Theories

• Negotiation plays a crucial role in interaction.
• The requirements for language acquisition differ, yet the three theories can be viewed on one continuum, locating L2 comprehension on one end and L2 production on the other.

Input Hypothesis

We acquire language in one way only: when we are exposed to input (written or spoken language) that is comprehensible to us

Comprehensible input is the necessary but also sufficient condition for language acquisition to take place. It requires no effort on the part of the learner.

Input Hypothesis

• Krashen now refers to this as Comprehension Hypothesis.
• It states that learners acquire language when they are exposed to input at i +1, where i is the current state or stage of language proficiency

Input Hypothesis

• Learners use their existing acquired linguistic competence together with their general world knowledge to make sense of the messages they receive in language just beyond where they currently are (the +1).

Input Hypothesis

• Given comprehensible input at i+1, acquisition will take place effortlessly and involuntarily.

Input Hypothesis

• This theory has clear implications for language teachers; namely that their language instruction should be full of rich input (both spoken and written language) that is roughly tuned at the appropriate level for the learners in the class.

Problem with that theory alone

• Learners should have some role to play in their language acquisition

Interaction Hypothesis

Linguistic/ conversational adjustments promote comprehensible input

Comprehensible input promotes acquisition

Therefore, linguistic/ conversational adjustments promote acquisition

Negotiation of Meaning

Michael Long stressed on the importance of negotiation of meaning after noticing the impact of negative feedback during interaction.

Just simplification of linguistic form does not make learning complete.

Learners need to interact directly in order to reach mutual comprehension.

Learners are interested in meaning, not form, but they begin to pay attention to form in order to understand the meaning.

Taking part in interaction can facilitate second language development (Mackey, 1999)

Gass & Varonis 1994)
Negotiations crucially focus the learner’s attention on the parts of the discourse that are problematic, either from a productive or a receptive point of view.
Attention in turn is what allows learners to
notice a gap between what they produce/know and what is produced by speakers of the L2.
The perception of a gap or mismatch may lead to grammar restructuring.

Zone of proximal development

This is an important aspect of Vygotsky’s theory. It is “the idea that the potential for cognitive development is limited to a certain gap, which he calls the zone of proximal development (ZPD). Learning during the ZPD depends upon full social interaction. Vygotsky felt that the range of skills that would be developed with teacher guidance or through peer collaboration would exceed those that might be achieved by a learner working alone” (Beatty, 2010, p. 104).

Negotiation of Meaning

Negotiation of meaning is a collaborative back and forth process that speakers go through to reach a clear understanding of each other’s message in spite of communication difficulties.

Modification of interaction in order to repair communication impasses and reach mutual understanding

The learner and competent speaker strive to overcome the communicative difficulties.

Comprehensible Output

• Swain (1985) argues that Krashen’s (1985) Input Hypothesis is insufficient for L2 acquisition, and that opportunities to produce comprehensible output are also necessary.

(1985)

• The opportunity for L2 learners to actually practice their language is necessary for them to attend to both meaning and form

The teacher has to do a lot of work to compensate for and avoid communication breakdown

Possible sources of miscommunication

Possible sources of miscommunication

• Lack of background knowledge
• Lack of vocabulary
• Misunderstanding the question
• etc

Role of the L2 teacher

• Getting the message across
• Understanding what the students are trying to say via their second language
• Helping students to extend and refine their communication skills

Strategies and Tactics by the teacher

Strategies

Strategies

• Relinquishing topic control
• Selecting salient topic
• Checking comprehension
• Confirmation checks

Comprehension checks

• Any expression by a teacher designed to establish whether the teacher's preceeding utterance(s) has been understood

Comprehension checks

• These are typically formed by tag questions, by repetitions of all or part of the teacher's preceding utterance(s) uttered with rising question intonation

Checks for understanding

• Students may be asked to
• Repeat information
• Expand statements
• Ask other students questions
• Summarize key points

Confirmation checks

• Any expression by the teacher immediately following an utterance by the student which was designed to elicit confirmation that the utterance had been correctly understood or correctly heard by the teacher
• Formed by rising intonation questions

Confirmation checks

• Repetition of the student's words
• No new information
• Can be answered by yes or no

Tactics

Tactics

• Topic switching
• Request for clarification

Clarification requests

• Mostly formed by questions
• but may consist of wh- or yes-no questions as well as uninverted intonation and tag questions

Clarification requests

• Require the student to give new information or recode information given before

Clarification requests

• there is no presupposition on the speaker’s part that he or she has understood or heard the interlocutor’s precious utterance.

Clarification requests

• requests “indicate to students either that their utterance has been misunderstood by the teacher or that the utterance is ill-formed in some way and that a repetition or a reformulation is required.”

Other Devices

• Using a slow pace
• Attempt clearer enunciation
• Stressing key words

Contextual support

• Extra-linguistic aids such as gestures, pantomime, facial expressions.
• Visuals (pictures, maps, charts, photographs, slide, graphs, realia)

Contributions of Learner

Contributions of Learner

• giving clear signals when he has or not understood
• ask for clarification
• refusing to give up

Negotiation makes input comprehensible and promotes SLA