Principle 8.

The opportunity to interact in

the L2 is central to developing L2 proficiency
Principle 8. Opportunity to interact in the L2

• Long (1983, 1996) and Interaction hypothesis

• Language acquisition is facilitated through the

negotiation of meaning that takes place in
interaction

• When interlocutors seek to prevent or adress a

communication problem
Principle 8. Opportunity to interact in the L2

• Long (1983, 1996) and Interaction hypothesis

NS: we got a plant
• Language acquisition is facilitated through the
NNS: plant?
negotiation of meaning that takes place in interaction
NS: yeah, um it’s kind of like a fern, has a lot of big
leaves;
• When it’sinterlocutors
in a pot (Pica,seek
1992,toquoted in Ellis
prevent orand Shintani,
adress a
2014: 9)
communication problem
Principle 8. Opportunity to interact in the L2

•The interactional
Long modifications
(1983, 1996) arising
and Interaction help to:
hypothesis
make input comprehensible (comprehensible input
• Language acquisition is facilitated through the
for learning), [Long, 1983]
negotiation of meaning that takes place in interaction
provide corrective feedback (focus on form), and
• When interlocutors seek to prevent or adress a
push Ls to modify their own output (modified output:
communication problem
output that has been adjusted to facilitate the
interlocutor’s comprehension or repair an initial error)
[Long, 1996]
Principle 8. Opportunity to interact in the L2

•The interactional
Long modifications
(1983, 1996) arising
and Interaction help to:
hypothesis
make input comprehensible (comprehensible input
• Language acquisition is facilitated through the
for learning), [Long, 1983]
negotiation of meaning that takes place in interaction
provide correctiveInteraction-
feedback (focus on form), and
• When interlocutorsLanguage
seek to prevent or adress a
push Ls to modifyacquisition
their own output (modified output:
communication problem
output that has been adjusted to facilitate the
interlocutor’s comprehension or repair an initial error)
[Long, 1996]
Principle 8. Opportunity to interact in the L2

“Yo no fomento el trabajo por

parejas porque los peores alumnos
se benefician de los mejores”
Principle 8. Opportunity to interact in the L2

• Sociocultural theory

• Lantolf: Interaction enables Ls to construct new

forms and perform new functions collaboratively

Learning manifesting itself first in social interaction and

subsequently becoming internalized
Principle 8. Opportunity to interact in the L2

• Vygotsky (1978) and Zone of Proximal

Development (ZPD)

“the distance between the actual developmental level

as determined by independent problem solving and
the level of potential development as determined
through problem solving under adult guidance, or in
collaboration with more capable peers” (p. 86)
Principle 8. Opportunity to interact in the L2

• Vygotsky (1978) and Zone of Proximal

Development (ZPD)

Learning: when an expert (i.e. a teacher/ more

capable peer) interacts with a novice (i.e. a learner/
less capable peer) to enable the novice to perform a
task collaboratively that the novice is unable to
perform independently.

Construct a zone of proximal development

Principle 8. Opportunity to interact in the L2

• Vygotsky (1978) and Zone of Proximal

Development (ZPD)

Learning: when an expert (i.e. a teacher/ more

capable peer) interacts with a novice (i.e. a learner/
less capable peer) to enable the novice to perform a
task collaboratively that the novice is unable to
perform independently.

Construct a zone of proximal development

Principle 8. Opportunity to interact in the L2

• What characteristics should interaction have?

1. Creating contexts of language use where Ls have a
reason to attend to and use the language
2. Providing opportunities for Ls to use the language to
express their own personal meanings (initiating topics
and controlling topic development)
3. Helping Ls participate in communicative activities/
tasks that are beyond their current level of proficiency
4. Engaging Ls in using the language in a full range of
contexts (Johnson, 1995)
Principle 8. Opportunity to interact in the L2

• What characteristics should

Transmission-oriented interaction
communication have?
(van Lier, 1996,
2007)
1. Creating contexts of language use where Ls have a
reason to attend
(transmission to and use
of information theteacher
from language
to Ls)
2. Providing opportunities for Ls to use the language to
express their own personal meanings (initiating topics
and Transformation-oriented
controlling topic development)
communication
3. Helping Ls participate in communicative activities/
(Ls actively participate in the construction of personal
tasks that are beyond their current level of proficiency
meaning
4. Engaging Ls in using the language in a full range of
contexts
Having (Johnson,
control 1995)
over discourse

Initiating interactions themselves with their own words)

 Principle 8. Opportunity to interact in the L2

• Classroom interactions can be:

I. teacher controlled

II. learner controlled

III. jointly managed by the teacher and Ls

• Interactions follow the pattern of Initiation-

Response-Feedback (IRF)
Principle 8. Opportunity to interact in the L2

• Collaborative work (pair/ group work)

Excessive use of the L1

Equal participation