Michael Long Interaction Hypothesis

I chose to focus on the Interaction Hypothesis by Michael Long. This hypothesis states that comprehensible language is important in learning a language. Through a lot of observation it was discovered that students, not just English Language Learners (ELL), saw positive correlations when they conversed in the language that they are learning. Though the results may be greater in ELL students because they are starting from a very different background than native English speakers. These “conversations” can take place in a multitude of ways, by singing or writing, not just through day to day conversations. Everyday conversations place a big role in the hypothesis though, these conversations allow for a child to be challenged and know the meaning …show more content…
The lesson focuses on cycles and seasons, specifically relating to time. This is a kindergarten lesson from the Guided Language Acquisition Design project. In this lesson they are combining seasons and development in regards to time, making it feel like it is two separate lessons in one. I chose to focus on them together because they use the same lessons, but change them to fit the topic that they are talking about at that time. One strategy that was used relating to the hypothesis that I chose is singing songs. I think that this is a great way to introduce a topic and have them interact with that topic and the English language. In the lesson they sing songs relating to the days of the week, months of the year, and seasons. The students are conversing as a group with the teacher to better understand and challenge the topic at hand. This directly relates with the hypothesis and I feel that it is a great way to implement it at this …show more content…
This lesson caters to the multiple claims that the hypothesis makes in a variety of different ways. The lesson pulls from multiple collaboration techniques and incorporates them into each lesson.
From this assignment, I learned that it is important to incorporate multiple different learning theories and hypotheses into each lesson. This allows for each student, especially ELL students, to get the most out of what you are teaching them. The more that you, as a teacher, put into your lessons and students, the more success with the material and English you are going to see. I think that this is important in all grade levels, but can be tailored to the specific grade level as needed. The way that this lesson is set up, it is perfect for the grade level that is pertains to. It takes visual aids, collaboration, and activities, into each lesson. In kindergarten, the native speakers and ELL students are both learning English at the same time, though the ELL’s have to learn more, this hypothesis supports all