Contexts of engagement: a discourse perspective on ‘intake’ and ‘pushed output’

Abstract

Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research has come under fire in recent years for focussing too much on cognitive processes (such as ‘noticing’, ‘intake’ and ‘pushed output’) and too little on the contexts of engagement within which such processes may (or may not) occur (e.g. Firth and Wagner, 1997. Modern Language Journal 81, 286–300). These concepts are nevertheless of considerable importance for understanding second language learning. Rather than abandoning them in search of alternative paradigms, perhaps we need to balance the emphasis given previously to cognitive factors by examining how these processes are ultimately dependent on particular contextual conditions. Two aspects of contextual engagement are focussed on here—‘communicative contexts’ and ‘learning contexts’. The former are seriously flawed in respect to the needs of the initial language learner. Instead, learning contexts need to be fashioned which enable learners to exploit contextual cues for intake, and take advantage of an interpersonal context which supports rather than inhibits the risk-taking which necessarily accompanies learners’ early attempts to deploy new forms in their own output.