Input vs. output practice in educational software for second language acquisition

Abstract

This paper presents an experiment concerning the relative effectiveness of computer assisted comprehension practice and production practice in the acquisition of a second language. Two computer programs were developed: (a) an input-focused program providing students with explicit grammatical instruction and comprehension exercises and (b) an output-focused program providing the same grammatical instruction together with production exercises. The results of the study show that the output-focused group performed significantly better than the input-focused group for the production of Japanese honorifics and equally well for the comprehension of these structures. The study supports Swain's argument that there are roles for output in second language acquisition that are independent of comprehensible input.