Interaction Hypothesis in Second Language Acquisition and Spoken English Teaching

【Abstract】Spoken English is one of the most practical skill that students need to obtain. It is an important link in English Teaching. However， there exist many problems in Spoken English Teaching in China and one of the most serious problems is that it lacks sufficient practice. According to the interaction hypothesis， second language acquisition occurs when learners interact in conversation with native speakers. So， interaction also plays a crucial role in Spoken English Teaching. Based on the interaction hypothesis， this paper presents some new insights for improving Spoken English Teaching and discusses its enlightenment in Spoken English Teaching Classroom. And this thesis also gives a detailed explanation of the hypothesiss importance in SLA.

【Key words】interaction hypothesis； spoken English； second language acquisition

Chapter One Introduction

Second language acquisition is the process by which people learn a second language in addition to their native languages. The term second language is used to describe the acquisition of any language after the acquisition of the mother tongue. Interaction is an important factor that ensure successful second language acquisition. And because Spoken English is one of the basic contents in second language acquisition， we can see that interaction is also regarded as a motivation affecting Spoken English Teaching. In the research filed of SLA， Longs Interaction Hypothesis is the most influential one. I will combine this theory with Chinas situation in the following.

In China， the teaching of reading always dominates our language teaching from a general view of our language teaching. Therefore， Spoken English is paid less attention to and students almost have no opportunity to talk with foreigners in English. This is one picture of Chinas language teaching. On the other side， even in the developed cities， although students have had spoken English course since primary school， they do not practice it after class. In that case， the teachers must figure out a way to ensure that their students can absorb the knowledge and communicate with others they have learned in class. So， interaction a win-win strategy in the process of spoken English teaching. It not only provides more chances for the students to practice oral English， but also help teachers save lots of time and efforts. Since so， teachers need to attach importance to the interaction and try to put it into reality in China.

Chapter Two Literature Review

2.1 The Main Ideas of Interaction Hypothesis

The Interaction Hypothesis， which was first advanced by Michael Long in early 1980s， is put forward as a further supplement or extension of the Input Hypothesis in the field of second language acquisition. In his hypothesis， Long argues that greater attention should be paid to the interaction in which learners are engaged in order to understand more fully the nature and usefulness of input for second language acquisition.

2.2 The Research of Interaction Hypothesis

The field of SLA has been strongly influenced by L1 acquisition. SLA researchers have looked to L1 acquisition for insights into ways of investigating the acquisition as well as the outcomes of the research. During the 1970s， a series of empirical investigation into children s L1 acquisition were carried out under different perspectives， and one common feature of these studies is that interaction plays an important role in the process of children s L1 acquisition. Children acquire language during the interaction with adult. Without interaction，， language learning is impossible. （Wang Chuming 2013）

The Interaction hypothesis emerged in the 1980s， but is usually credited to Michael Long（1996） for his paper The role of the linguistic environment in second language acquisition. It is a theory of second language acquisition which states that the development of language proficiency is promoted by face-to-face interaction and communication. The former research on interaction hypothesis focuses on the great impact of interaction on the learners L2 acquisition and the comparison between Input hypothesis and Interaction hypothesis. （Ellis 1993； Dan Yin 2009； Li Jia 2012） Considered the vital role of speaking in language learning and based on Michael Longs Interaction Hypothesis， this paper aims to discuss the enlightenment and inspirations the hypothesis has on the spoken English teaching.

Chapter Three Existing Problems in Spoken English Teaching

With the development of globalization， English is playing an increasingly important role in every aspect of Chinas society， economy and life. It is out of question that a good command of spoken English is critical for every language learner. Consequently， the ultimate goal of English teaching in China is to enable the students to undertake face-to-face communication which makes spoken English teaching being the spotlight. But the fact shows that the current spoken English teaching quality in China is rather ineffective in spite of abundant time and energy devoted.

Based on the perspective of Longs Interaction Hypothesis， the existing problems in spoken English teaching of China come to rise， which can be summarized as the following two aspects：

3.1 Old Teaching Style

For a long time， many a English teacher still sticks to the traditional teacher-centered teaching method， which provides little opportunity for learners to practice their oral English and gives insufficient time for learners to interact with the instructor and each other in the classroom. The common practice in Chinese spoken English classroom is that teachers are the masters of input. That is to say， the teachers spend a great deal of teaching time on offering topic-related information， directly reducing the time that students can practice oral English. So， it leads to the lack of interaction between teachers and students.

According to the interaction hypothesis， second language acquisition occurs when learners interact in conversation with native speakers. So， English teacher should try to create as much as possible opportunities for L2 learners to make conversation between he/her and among other learners. In this way， the students can improve their spoken English in the process of interacting with one another.

3.2 Inadequate Interactive Activity

According to Long， second language acquisition occurs when learners interact in conversation with native speakers.

But in Chinese English classroom， teachers hold a dominant position while students take a back seat. Even in the spoken English classroom， it is not surprise to find that there just a little bit interactive oral practice have been done by students. It is because of a number of students that the teachers always spend most of the teaching time on explaining certain language point. Hence， the students have no chance to use target language in the interaction with the teacher or other students. On the other hand， due to the shortage of teaching resource， it is impossible for school to recruit sufficient native English-speaking teachers to instruct oral English lesson.

Chapter Four The Enlightenment of Spoken English Teaching

On the basis of the existing problems in spoken English teaching presented and discussed in the previous passage and based on the understanding of Longs Interaction Hypothesis， this paper now is in a position to give some enlightenment for spoken English teaching.

First of all， the teacher should try to play the role of facilitator but not the master in students language learning and return the class to students which means switch from teacher-centered teaching method to student-centered teaching method. Besides， the teacher should become a good guider. As to Long， modifications of the interactional structure of conversation is a necessary condition for L2 acquisition， and negotiation for meaning also helps to make input more comprehensible. Therefore， the teacher should provide useful modification for students in the process of the interactive activities and help students to conduct a successful interaction in spoken English class.

Secondly， when it comes to developing activities， teachers should have a consciousness of guaranteeing the variety of classroom activities. And they also need to design and organize different kinds of activities to prompt the effectiveness of classroom input transfer into output. It is obvious that interaction provides learners with the opportunity to speak in foreign language. Here are several examples of classroom activities that can be accessible to teachers of China.

Chapter Five Conclusion

In China， spoken English teaching is usually implemented by means of the traditional approach which prevents students from making interactional communication with others in English classroom. And recently， this has result in students unsatisfactory oral English competence despite their years by years hardworking in language learning. Long tells us in his Interaction Hypothesis that comprehensible input is essential for successful L2 acquisition and modifications to the interactional structure of conversation is an effective way to improve the comprehensible level of input. Since so， to improve the quality of spoken English teaching in China， we can refer to Longs theory， and put it into practice. Not only the teacher should switch their role in class and organize many interactive activities， but the student should exert their initiative spirit to study the language. By doing this， I believe the standard of our spoken English teaching will increase in the near future. More and more students will appreciate todays achievement of education.

References：

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作者簡介：王佳佳（1992.4.18-），男，漢，安徽淮南人，碩士學位在讀，北京語言大學，理論語言學。