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Learning Theory and Concepts

Interaction Hypothesis

Foundational and Developmental Learning Concepts

In psycholinguistics, the interaction hypothesis is a theory of second language acquisition, usually credited to American psycholinguist Michael Long, which states that the development of language proficiency is promoted by face-to-face interaction and communication. Its main focus is on the role of input, interaction and output together in second language acquisition, positing that the level of language a learner is exposed to must be one the learner can comprehend, and that a learner who modifies their own speech to make it comprehensible facilitates their own ability to acquire the language in question. The idea took shape in the 1980s and has since been reviewed and expanded by a number of other scholars.

Facts
Core Claim
Second-language proficiency develops when learners receive comprehensible input and actively negotiate meaning through face-to-face interaction, not from exposure to input alone. 1
Origin Year
1981 1
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Interaction Hypothesis
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Interaction hypothesis, opening paragraph
    In psycholinguistics, the interaction hypothesis is a theory of second-language acquisition which states that the development of language proficiency is promoted by face-to-face interaction and communication.
  • Interaction hypothesis, Historical development section
    Michael Long first developed the interaction hypothesis in his 1981 work titled "Input, interaction, and second-language acquisition".
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