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THURSDAY, 2:00PM—3:00 PM, AUDITORIUM
MERRILL SWAIN
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO, CANADA
輸出假設(shè): 回顧與展望 The Output Hypothesis: Its History and Its Future
In this talk, I will begin with a definition of the output hypothesis. Fundamentally, the output hypothesis proposes that producing language (speaking or writing) is part of the process of second/foreign language learning. This is so because of four functions of output: 1) output enhances fluency; 2) output causes learners to notice what they do not know and leads them to pay attention to relevant input; 3) output is a means of testing out ideas about how the language works; and 4) output is a means of reflecting on what is said or written. In this initial section, I will describe the theoretical context (information processing) and the research evidence (large-scale evaluations of immersion programs) that led to the generation of the output hypothesis.
In the second part of the talk, I will briefly describe some of the smaller-scale quantitative and qualitative research studies related to second and foreign language learning that have supported the output hypothesis, and have led to its further development. Much of the research has focussed on the second, third and fourth functions noted above. In this paper, I will focus on the fourth function, demonstrating with examples how learners’ reflecting on (talking about) difficulties they encounter in speaking and/or writing is a source of second/foreign language learning.
In the third part of this talk, I will suggest that the output hypothesis is enriched by taking into consideration the perspective of Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of mind (SCT). In particular, the centrality of language as a tool of the mind (rather than as in information processing theory where language is understood to represent the already existing contents of the mind), will be discussed. By understanding language as a cognitive tool, the process of “languaging” (i.e. the output hypothesis framed in SCT) can now be seen as a significant source of learning, including second and foreign language learning.
In the final part of this talk, I will provide my views about the future of the output hypothesis – from a theoretical perspective, empirical perspective and teaching and learning perspective. Put simply, I will argue that the importance of the output hypothesis has grown because it has deepened, and will continue to deepen, our understanding of how second and foreign languages are learned.
Dr. Merrill Swain is a Professor in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto. She has taught and conducted research at OISE/UT for 33 years. Her interests include bilingual education (particularly French immersion education) and communicative second language learning, teaching and testing. Her present research focuses on the role of collaborative dialogue and “languaging” in second language learning within a sociocultural framework. She was President of the American Association for Applied Linguistics in 1998-99, and is currently a Vice President of the International Association of Applied Linguistics (AILA). She is recipient of the 2003 Robert Roy Award which is given to “an outstanding Canadian second language educator who has been active in the second language professional community in teaching, research, writing and dedication to the improvement of second language teaching and learning in Canada”. She is also the recipient of the American Association for Applied Linguistics’s 2004 Distinguished Scholarship and Service Award. Her most recent book is one co-edited with Bygate and Skehan “Researching pedagogic tasks: Second language learning, teaching and testing” (Longman’s). A book of particular interest to this audience is “Immersion education: International Perspectives” edited by Johnson and Swain (CUP). She is author of over 150 articles published in refereed journals, as well as many book chapters | |
