| This study investigates the role of input, interaction and output in the second language acquisition of word meanings. The study addresses three research questions: (a) What is the relationship between input, interaction and output and the comprehension of directions containing new L2 words? (b) What is the relationship between input, interaction and output and the recognition of new L2 words? (c) What is the relationship between input, interaction and output and L2 learners' ability to use recently learnt words in their production?; The 50 subjects used in the study were taken from six intermediate level classes of the Intensive English Language Program (IELP) at Temple University. They were assigned to one of the three conditions: the premodified input group, the interactionally modified group and the pushed output group.; The subjects received a pretest, treatment, posttests and follow-up tests. The data were collected and a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted to determine if significant differences were evident between groups across dependent variables. After significant differences were found across the three dependent variables, one-way analyses of variance (ANOVA) were employed to test these differences.; The results indicated the pushed output group achieved significantly higher comprehension, recognition and production scores than both the premodified input and the interactionally modified groups. However, in general, no statistically significant differences were found between the premodified input group and the interactionally modified group although the interactionally modified group gained higher mean scores. The study contributes to both the theory of L2 acquisition by providing evidence that learners' output can play a major role on acquisition of vocabulary. It also suggests a practical and effective way of learning new vocabulary in the context of a communicative task. |
