The Frequency Effect Of Different Input Modes On Output Information Similarity

Frequency is a hot topic in second language acquisition,whose significance has been universally acknowledged.Some scholars believe that frequency plays a decisive role in language learning.However,it has been questioned by some other scholars,who hold that frequency only plays a part in certain language skills.That is to say,frequency effect is still debatable.Therefore,based on input hypothesis,output hypothesis and information processing theory,this study aims to investigate the frequency effect of different input modes on oral output information similarity.This study addresses the following research questions:(1)Under Visual mode,Audio mode and Audio-Visual mode,what are their best frequencies for oral output information similarity?(2)Considering the effectiveness and efficiency,which input mode is most conductive to oral output information similarity?(3)With their best frequencies,what are the differences between students of different English levels under different input modes?In addition,what is optimal input mode for classes with different proportion of high-level students and low-level students?Fifty-four third-year English majors of Yangzhou University participated in the experiment.According to the score of TEM-4,they were divided into high-level group(scores ? 80)and low-level group(scores ? 65).Moreover,based on WordNet,this thesis creatively proposes improved TF-IDF algorithm,which is programmed into software to analyze and to process the experimental data.Three major findings have been yielded as follows:Firstly,the best frequencies of Visual mode,Audio mode and Audio-Visual mode for oral output information similarity are eight times,ten times and eight times respectively.Secondly,considering the values of similarity and best frequencies under three input modes,reading is optimal input mode,followed by Audio-Visual mode and Audio mode is the last choice.Finally,taking both input effectiveness and efficiency into account,groups of different H/L proportions have different optimal input modes.For classes with H/L =1/9,the optimal mode is reading,while listening is least suitable.For classes with H/L=9/1,its best choice is listening input and Visual-Audio mode performs worst.For classes with H/L=5/5,reading is optimal choice,and audio input should be reduced.To conclude,for high-level students,they show the most progress under Audio mode and the least suitable input mode is Visual-Audio mode.While for low-level and middle-level students,Visual mode is on the top of the list and Audio mode should be applied less.This study may also have some pedagogical implications.In language teaching,teachers should choose the optimal teaching mode to help students with different language proficiency learn foreign language effectively.Currently,reading is the most common and the most important input mode in teaching,however,in order to ensure the best teaching efficiency and learning effect,teachers should apply corresponding optimal teaching modes for classes with different proportion of high-level students and low-level students.Only by teaching students in accordance with their language competence can teachers maximize their teaching effectiveness and guarantee the improvement of students' language proficiency.