The Psycholinguistics of the Output Hypothesis

Abstract

In this article I attempt to elucidate the psycholinguistic mechanics of Swain's "output hypothesis." Taking the information processing approach as a starting point and relating that to Levelt's model of language production and Anderson's learning theory, I argue that output serves an important role in second language acquisition, in particular because it generates highly specific input the cognitive system needs to build up a coherent set of knowledge. Output also plays a direct role in enhancing fluency by turning declarative knowledge into procedural knowledge. Output can also play an indirect role in the: acquisition of declarative knowledge by triggering input that the learner can use for the generation of new declarative knowledge. On the basis of an analysis of think-aloud protocols, I hypothesize that the locus of the effect of output is in the transition of declarative to procedural knowledge.