Modified Input and Output

Building on Krashen's input hypothesis, which states that acquisition occurs when learners are exposed to language input that is comprehensible ( i + 1), researchers have suggested that providing modified input facilitates language comprehension, which in turn leads to language acquisition. The construct of modified output arose from Swain's output hypothesis as well as from Long's updated interaction hypothesis. Modified output refers to the learner's reformulation of his or her previous utterances and results in a more accurate or complex form in response to an interlocutor's corrective feedback. This entry provides a brief review of the two critical constructs (i.e., modified input and modified output) in the field of second language acquisition (SLA) and offers suggestions for promoting modified input and output opportunities in classroom contexts.