Application Of Input And Output Hypothesis In College English Teaching

Language learning is the process of input, absorption and output. Language input refers to that language learners perceive amount of intelligible language material of its structure, meaning, and communicative function by means of listening, observing and perception; language absorption is to drill the inputted language materials and relate knowledge to a variety of activities, so as to access them into long-term memory system; language output means that learners according to the communicative situation requirements, re-integrate stored language materials and practiced knowledge, in order to make effective information transmission through oral or written language. In the1980s, linguist Steven Krashen presented" comprehensible input hypothesis", in which he held that language acquisition is produced by receiving a large number of comprehensible input and that as long as sufficient comprehensible language input is provided, language skills and knowledge of grammar will naturally improve. The famous Canadian linguist Merrill Swain supplemented the above theory, on the basis of an immersion study for seven years on Canadians who learning French, saying that language input is not the only successful factors in foreign language learning; language output is also crucial and important; and that to enable language learners to use the language correctly and fluently, and have an all-round development of second language learning, besides comprehensible input, comprehensible output is also needed.Based on the study of input and output theories, this thesis tries to apply them to China’s university English teaching,to explore its guiding significance to foreign language learning, and aims to promote students’ ability of language communication and efficiency of English learning, by strengthening their language input and output.This thesis carried through an empirical research by applying the two theories to university English teaching, comparing the effects of traditional English method which despises input and output but values the explanation of grammar, with the modern teaching method which emphasizes the combination of input and output. It is approved that Krashen’s comprehensible input hypothesis and Swain’s comprehensible output hypothesis is propitious to English teaching and can help students master the language better. This two combined is much better for students to learn English than the conventional one.90university freshmen of non-English major participated in the experiment. One pre-test, two post-tests and a questionnaire were carried out in this experiment. Through the pre-test we understood the students’ current level of English and their learning methods; through the post-tests we got informed of the learning outcomes of the combination methods on those students; through the questionnaire the students view on different teaching methods. By using the statistical software SPSS, the collected data were analyzed, comparing the two teaching methods’effect on students. The experiments show that, students who learned English through input and output combined teaching method got a more significant effect; their capacity of listening, speaking, reading and writing has been greatly improved. In the language teaching process, teachers should on the one hand guide students to increase their input of language material through a variety of ways, and on the other hand adhere to the " learner-centered" principle in classroom, creating more authentic language communicative environment, providing students with the best topics of language communication, and enhancing the communication between teacher and students, by ensuring the quantity of language input and the quality of language output, so as to improve students’ language and communicative competence.