The Study Of Language Output In Chinese Context And Second Language Acquisition

The present study aims to investigate the effects of output on second language acquisition in order to find out an effective way to facilitate language output and improve the quality of foreign language learning and teaching.Since 1960s, linguists and psychologists are more and more interested in the fact that children can acquire their mother tongue spontaneously and without difficulty. Meanwhile, because of the need of second language acquisition (SLA) and foreign language teaching and learning, linguists try to put the theory of the first language acquisition to use. Therefore, the study of SLA develops very quickly. First, the key subject of SLA research lies in the relationship between input and SLA. Krashen' s SLA theory exerts far-reaching influences on SLA and second language teaching. In his theory, Krashen proposes five major hypotheses, among which the Input Hypothesis claims that output is only a possible source of acquisition, but it plays little role in the acquisition; "comprehensible input" is the sole source of language acquisition. However, over the years, a few studies show that merely providing large amounts ofcomprehensible input is not sufficient for the L2 learner to attain a high level of L2 proficiency (Hammerly, 1987; Harley, 1993; Harley & Swain, 1978).Then SLA researchers have begun to investigate the functions of output in SLA since 1980s. The Comprehensible Output Hypothesis proposed by Swain (1985, 1995) claims that language output produced by L2 learners will help enhance the accuracy and fluency of their language use. He claims that "comprehensible input" , although invaluable to the acquisition process, is not sufficient for successful second language acquisition. What acquirers need is not only comprehensible input but also "comprehensible output" if they are to be both fluent and accurate in the target language. Output plays an important role in promoting SLA. Swain (1995) made an explicit discussion about this hypothesis; she claims that comprehensible output can facilitate the SLA from three aspects, that is, its three functions: (1) hypothesis-testing function: acquirers can regard output as a way of testing their hypothesis about language form and language structure developed in the course of learning; (2) meta-linguistic function: by using the second language, acquirers make a negotiation of form in communication; (3) "noticing ortriggering" function: output helps acquirers to recognize some problems in their own language system, and then trigger cognitive processes that either generate linguistic knowledge that is new to the learners or consolidate their existing knowledge. In his theory, Swain points out that SLA should have two-way interaction. Interaction plays an important role in language acquisition. It is an activity involving two parts and it is also a channel for the acquirers not only to get input but also to produce output. Output is the result of language acquisition, it is the ultimate manifestation of target language.In order to investigate the relationship between language output and SLA in the Chinese context, the author follows up the western scholars' researches with two studies of output. The first is to investigate learners' attitudes toward the role of output and the amount of output they obtain. The result of the study indicates that although the students acknowledge the importance of it, the amount of output is very limited. The second is to investigate the effects of output on SLA. Altogether fifty non-English majors from two classes of Grade 2002 in Xiangtan Polytechnic University were chosen as the subjects for the study. A questionnaire and two tests of Band4 were adopted to get the detailed information. Quantitative data was collected and analyzed with SPSS software. The results have revealed that the students in the experimental group outperformed those in the control group in the language proficiency test, that is to say, the findings of the study have confirmed that those engaged in the output-input treatment outperformed those...