Analysis of the Input and Output Language Theory and College English Teaching

Abstract: There has been much debate on the topic of language input and language output in College English teaching in China. This paper based on the Krashen's Input Hypothesis and Swain's Output Hypothesis to discuss the problems that existed in the college language teaching. It also put forward some suggestions learned from the two theories to improve the college language teaching quality and make students achieve the balance of language competence.

Keywords: Input hypothesis; Output hypothesis; College English Teaching; Existing Problems; Inspirations

Ⅰ.Introduction

In the history of second language acquisition，input and output theories have been considered as important stages in language learning. English as an international language has gained increasing attention from Chinese institutions of different levels over more than twenty years， every Chinese college or university graduate has at least ten years of English learning experience. However the students’ abilities of handing the language are still very poor.

Ⅱ.Theoretical Basis

Language teaching has a close relationship with the input and output theory. Krashen’s Input Hypothesis (1981，1982， 1985) and Swain’s Output Hypothesis (1993，1995) are very important in the second language acquisition. They also have a great influence on the college English teaching.

A. Krashen’s Input Hypothesis

Input Hypothesis is the key notion of Krashen’s input theory. The Input Hypothesis attempts to explain how a leaner acquires a second or a foreign language. Krashen’s Comprehensible Input Hypothesis holds that input is the only crucial factor for second language acquisition. In other words， it focuses on the importance of acquisition mainly based on listening and reading practices; while the output practices such as speaking are usually regarded as only one possible source for input， thus their important role in second language acquisition is neglected.

B. Swain’s Output Hypothesis

Swain puts forward Output Hypothesis in reaction to Krashen’s Input Hypothesis. Output in this thesis shares the definition with Swain’s to a great extent. Output is an important element in second/foreign language acquisition. It enhances fluency， forces the learner to shift from the semantic processing to the syntactic processing， creates an awareness on the part of the learners about the weaknesses in their current mental model of the language， allows the learners to test hypotheses about the target language， and permits metalinguistic evaluation of the target language when the learners ask native speakers or more fluent nonnative speakers about the target language.

Ⅲ. Problems That Existed in the College Language Teaching

A. The Teaching Thought is relatively backward

As the deep-rooted traditional ideas of education， college English teaching regarded the instruction of linguistic knowledge as the main teaching objectives but neglected the practice of language skills and the actual language contact and application. The traditional teaching thought has played an important role in the college language teaching.

B. The Teaching Method is Relatively Outmoded

Due to the excessive emphasis on the accurate of the language， highlight the \"right voice， solid grammar， some vocabularies and the capabilities of word using”. Although they have put forward the requirements of improving language competence， the status of English teaching is mostly that only the teachers who “speak English”（游洪南，王霞：2004）. This way of teaching is very difficult to achieve the purpose of improving language ability.

C. The Teaching Means are Backward

The modern educational technology developed rapidly， but it is not enough used in teaching applications. Because of the special nature of English teaching， the expanding of the capacity of its classes， many schools do not give a great importance to the improvement of English teaching conditions. The teaching equipment is still relatively simple and there is a serious shortage of video classrooms and multimedia classrooms.

D. The Ability of Comprehension and Production is Unbalanced

This problem has been long existed. Learners mastered a large number of vocabularies， they can read English materials. However， when they are speaking and writing in English， they always forget the words which stored in their memories. The output of the sentence structure which the language learners are free to use is far less than they can understand.

Ⅴ. The Inspiration from the Input and Output Theory

A. The Inspiration from the Input Theory

1. Increase the Quantity and Quality of the Input

In the quality and quantity of language input， we should arouse enough attention. Therefore， teachers should enhance the authenticity of the \"English input\"， establish the Open system of English teaching. Of course， class time is limited. In order to ensure that students have enough input， they must make use of the spare time.

2. Create a Harmonious and Relaxed Atmosphere in Class.

The classroom is the main place for students; a good learning environment will greatly facilitate the learning. Teachers should give full consideration to the current level of the students， taking into account individual differences of students， should fully respect the student's personality， emotions and self-esteem， and create a favorable atmosphere for democracy.

B. The Inspiration from the Output Theory

1. Changing Attitudes In our present English teaching， we pay more attention to the \"Input\" while the \"language output\" has been relatively neglected， which lead to learners’ relatively weakness in oral communication skills and writing skills. Teachers should take the students in the learning process as the main body， should make the classroom a place where students practice the language， focus on students’ output， open the door to the output， improve their self-awareness of learning and help them actively participate in communication， with particular emphasis on oral and written skills training and practical training， make students swift the language output to language absorption better in the English practice， so as to achieve the purpose of language output.

2. Emphasis on Output Quality， Increase the Intelligibility of Output

When teaching the students of language output fluency， teachers should also pay attention to language output accuracy and intelligibility. With the increase of the foreign economic and cultural activities， only fluent and accurate use of English can avoid unnecessary misunderstandings， and can attribute to the smooth of communications.

Ⅵ. Conclusion

To see whether a person masters a language is to see whether he has mastered the four basic skills of the language: listening， reading， speaking and writing（張愛春： 2001）. Listening and reading are to obtain the language skills which belong to the input. Speaking and writing are skills which used in the production of language， which belong to the output. Language input and output are inseparable. Input is the premise of the output. The quantity and quality of Language input also determines the quality of language output.

References：

[1]Krashen， S. Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning. Oxford: Pergamon Press. 1981

[2]Krashen， S. Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Pergamon Press. 1982

[3]Krashen， S. D. The Input hypothesis: Issues and Implications. London: Longman

[4]Krashen， S.D.， Terrell， T.D. The Natural Approach. Oxford: Pergamon Press. 1985.

[5]Swain， M. The Output Hypothesis: Just Speaking and Writing Aren’t Enough. The Canadian Modern Language Review， 1993

[6]Swain， M.， Lapkin， S. Problems in output and the cognitive processes they generate: A step towards second language learning. Applied Linguistics，1995

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[8]張愛春. “語言的輸入與輸出”[J].安康師專學報，2001年6月，第2期