University of Algiers 2 MASTER 1

Department of English LAL

Input-Intake-Output Consideration

Language Learning Processes

OBJECTIVES: This lesson aims at considering

 Input-Intake-Output relations
 Cognitive processes involved in language learning
Dealing with the concept learning, we will examine it with regard to two major aspects: The
processes that characterize this phenomenon and the factors that are believed to have an
influence on the way we learn.
The present account of learning processes is based on one assumption about learning; namely
the one that figures it out in connection with three major stages: Input- Intake –Output.

Input
Input is the oral and written corpus of the target language to which L2 learners are exposed
through various sources. Input has to fulfil two major conditions.
• Input Availability: Language input should be available through three forms. The first is
simplified input which is the grammatically and lexically simplified language that
teachers, textbook writers, and other competent speakers use in and outside the
classroom while addressing language learners. The second is non-simplified input
which is the language used by competent speakers without any characteristic features
of simplification, that is the language generally used in the media (T.V, radio, and
newspapers.) The third is interlanguage input referring to the still developing language
of the learners and their peers. Interlanguage is characterised by linguistically well-
formed and deviant utterances.
• Input Accessibility: Input should be linguistically and cognitively accessible to
language learners, that is, language input is accepted by learners as something with
which they can cope.

Intake
Intake is the subset of all input that actually gets assigned to our long-term memory store. In a
similar vein, Faerch and Kasper (1980) define intake as “the subset of the input which is
assimilated by the IL system and which the interlanguage system accommodates to.” Krashen
(1981), also, maintains, “Intake is simply where language acquisition comes from, that subset
of linguistic input that helps the acquirer acquire language.” In other words, intake is an abstract
entity of Learner language that has been fully or partially processed by learners, and fully or
partially assimilated into their developing interlanguage system. This complex cluster of
mental representations is the outcome of undetermined interaction between input and intake

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University of Algiers 2 MASTER 1
Department of English LAL
Dr. Abir OUAFI GROUP: 01/02
factors mediated by intake processes. These processes are defined after defining language
output.

Output
Output is a subset of what has been internalised, which in turn is a subset of input. Its features
can be traced not only to the input students are exposed to, but to the dynamics of intake
processes as well. Part of learner intake and learner output go beyond language input because
the impact of the native language on the target language may lead to linguistically deviant
forms of expression and grammatically deviant utterances.
Output was mentioned as a component of learning which was highlighted by Swain (1985) for
its role in leading the learners to produce instances of their interlanguage and in giving them
the opportunity to adjust their utterances for better comprehension by the interlocutors. A third
advantage is that language production also offers the learners to benefit from feedback.
It is noteworthy that there is a quantitative mismatch between input and intake and output.

Intake processes
These are mental operations specific to language learning and problem-solving activities
procedures/ operations internal to the learner governing what goes on in the learners’ mind
when they attempt to internalise the target language (TL) system. These cognitive mechanisms
mediate between input and intake factors. These processes are inferencing, structuring and
restructuring.
Regarding the Inferencing Intake process, it refers to the making of a series of intelligent
guesses to derive tentative hypotheses about the various aspects of the target language system.
This can be achieved based on implicit/explicit knowledge, inductive/deductive reasoning,
overgeneralisation, language transfer.
 Implicit knowledge refers to information learners intuit about the target language, even
though they cannot articulate that information in the form of rules or principles.
 Explicit knowledge refers to learners’ knowledge about the target language, their L1,
and their knowledge of the world.
 Inductive reasoning refers to how a particular subsystem of language works by moving
from the particular to the general.
 Deductive reasoning refers to moving deductively from the general to the particular.
 Overgeneralisation refers to using intralingual cues by learners who overgeneralise
certain features of the target language system on the basis of any partial learning that
may have already taken place.
 Language transfer is used by learners, relying on interlingual cues, to transfer certain
phonological, morphological, syntactic or even pragmatic features of the L1.
It is worth to mention that the process of inferencing varies from learner to another, because it
reflects individual cognitive capabilities involving the connections made by learners
themselves. Through this process, learners are able to pay attention to the new features
presented in the input data in order to find the gap between what is already known and what
needs to be learned.

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University of Algiers 2 MASTER 1
Department of English LAL
Dr. Abir OUAFI GROUP: 01/02

Regarding the Structuring intake process, it refers to a complex process that governs the
establishment of mental representations (MR) of the target language. It is regarded to be at “the
heart of the process of internalisation of language.” (Rivers, 1991: 253), and how language is
internalised refers to how the L2 system is framed in the mind of the learner. The MR combine
elements of analysis and control. Regarding analysis which is connected to language
knowledge, as learners begin to understand how the L2 system functions; and hence the MR
of the system become more explicit and more structured, learners begin to see the relationships
between various linguistic categories and concepts). Control is connected to language ability,
and it is the process that allows learners pay selective attention to relevant and appropriate input
data in order to solve specific language problems. This process allows the gradual progress
from implicit/ unanalysed knowledge (memorised routines, prefabricated patters…) to explicit
/analysed knowledge, i.e. formal and functional properties of the target language become
increasingly apparent to the learners.
Such a process, gives learners not only a deeper understanding of the properties and principles
of the TL system, but also, a greater control over their use for communicative purposes.
Regarding the Restructuring intake process, when learners need to interpret new
information, they opt for a completely new hypothesis as they add a totally new structure to
allow for a totally new interpretation. Learners opt for a completely new hypothesis, i.e. a
qualitative change when a new internal organisation is imposed for interpreting new
information. In other words, there are no changes/ slight modifications of the structure already
in place. This process accounts for discontinuities in the TL development. Indeed, some
features of learning occur continuously and gradually by the development of automaticity
through practice, and some aspects occurs in a discontinuous fashion through restructuring to
account for exceptions (plural form, past tense…)
At length, it is to be highlighted that inferencing, structuring and restructuring are mental
mechanisms governing L2 development.

Source
Kumaravadivelu, B. (2006). Understanding Language Teaching From Method to Postmethod.
New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

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University of Algiers 2 MASTER 1
Department of English LAL
Dr. Abir OUAFI GROUP: 01/02