Transcript Dr. Merrill Swain - Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Researcher Biography:
Merrill Swain, Ph.D.
ENGL 800 – Introduction to Research
November 28, 2010
John C. Hepler
Merrill Swain
Dr. Merrill Swain earned her
Ph.D. in 1972 at the University of
California, Irvine.
For the last 38 years, she has been
a professor in the Curriculum,
Teaching and Learning
department at the Ontario Institute
for Studies in Education (OISE) at
the University of Toronto (UT).
From 1981 to 1990 she was
responsible for the Centre for
Educational Research on
Languages and Literacies
(CERLL) at UT.
Merrill Swain
Her interests include bilingual education (particularly
French immersion education) and communicative
second language learning, teaching and testing.
Her present research focuses on the role of
collaborative dialogue in second language learning.
She was President of the American Association for
Applied Linguistics in 1998-1999.
More recently she served as Vice President of the
International Association of Applied Linguistics
(AILA).
Merrill Swain
She taught graduate courses in the Second Language
Education Program at the OISE.
Her graduate level courses included:
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Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning
Second Language Classroom Research
Research Colloquium in Second Language Education (in collaboration
with Dr. Sharon Lapkin)
Advanced Research Colloquium in Sociocultural Theory and Second
Language Learning
Although she retired in 2007, She remains active as Professor
Emerita at UT.
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For the Fall/Winter 2010-2011 semester, she is again teaching
Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning
Merrill Swain
She is the author of over 160 articles and book
chapters.
She has co-edited four books, most recently
Researching Pedagogic Tasks: Second Language
Learning, Teaching and Testing (co-edited with
M. Bygate and P. Skehan), published in 2001.
In addition to teaching and research, she has
supervised over 50 Ph.D. students to completion.
Merrill Swain
Dr. Swain is well known in second language
acquisition studies as the originator of the
Comprehensible Output Hypothesis in second
language acquisition.
She developed this hypothesis in 1985 in
response to Dr. Steven Krashen’s
Comprehensible Input Hypothesis (1984).
Merrill Swain
Her hypothesis states that learning takes place
when the language learner encounters a gap in
his/her linguistic knowledge of the target
language.
By noticing this gap the learner becomes
aware of it and may attempt to modify his/her
output.
As a result, the language learner may modify
his/her interlanguage.
Merrill Swain
Three Functions of Output
Noticing function: Learners encounter gaps between what they
want to say and what they are able to say.
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As a result, they notice what they do not know or only know partially
in the target language.
Hypothesis-testing function: When learners say something
there is always a hypothesis underlying, e.g. about grammar.
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When speaking, the learners test this hypothesis and receive feedback
from an interlocutor.
This feedback enables them, if necessary, to reprocess their hypothesis.
Metalinguistic function: Learners reflect about the language
they learn and hereby the output enables them to control and
internalize linguistic knowledge.
Merrill Swain
Dr. Swain did not claim that comprehensible output was solely
responsible for all or even most language acquisition.
She did claim that under some conditions, comprehensible
output facilitated second language learning in ways that
differed from and enhanced input due to the mental processes
connected with the production of language.
Krashen has been critical of her output theory:
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He maintains that the types of adjustments made to language as
described in her theory rarely occur.
He also maintains that the act of speaking for many language learners is
very stressful.
He maintains that the stress-induced affective filter would impede any
actual language acquisition.
Merrill Swain
She is also known for her work with Dr.
Michael Canale.
They developed of the theory of
Communicative Competence (1980).
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They expanded on the work of Dell Hymes from
1966.
Ethnography of Communication
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A Method of Discourse Analysis focused on both language and
culture
Merrill Swain
Canale and Swain defined communicative
competence in terms of three components:
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Grammatical competence: words and rules
Sociolinguistic competence: appropriateness
Strategic competence: appropriate use of
communication strategies
Merrill Swain
Other Collaborators
Her most frequent research collaborator is Dr.
Sharon Larkin, also at the OISE.
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They have published together since the 1970s.
Dr. Henri C. Barik was a frequent collaborator
in studies on bilingualism and immersion in
Canadian schools in the 1970s.
Merrill Swain
Awards & Recognition
In 2003, Dr. Swain was the recipient of the Canadian
Association of Second Language Teachers’ Le Prix
Robert Roy.
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This annual award is presented to a distinguished educator
in honor of outstanding contributions in the field of Second
Language Education (SLE).
The following year, she was the recipient of the
American Association for Applied Linguistics’
Distinguished Scholarship and Service Award.
In 2006, she was the recipient of Language
Learning’s Distinguished Scholar in Residence
Award at Beijing Foreign Studies University.
Merrill Swain
Workshops and Institutes
In 2006 she was a visiting professor at the
Hong Kong Institute of Education.
Also in 2006, She taught a course on
Sociocultural Theory and Second Language
Learning at the University of Victoria at
Wellington, New Zealand.
In 2009 she taught at the Summer Institute in
Applied Linguistics at Penn State University.
Merrill Swain
Current Activities
According to her profile on the OISE website, Dr.
Swain is currently conducting a three-year research
project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities
Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) with her
colleague, Dr. Sharon Lapkin.
Their research project is entitled “Extending the
Output Hypothesis: The Role of Collaborative
Dialogue and Metatalk in Second Language Learning.”
Merrill Swain
Current Activities
In this research, they are :
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continuing their exploration of the roles played by
output (speaking and writing) in L2 learning,
attempting to extend their theoretical perspective
beyond output to the construct of collaborative
dialogue, and
continuing to inform pedagogical practices leading
to improved L2 speaking and writing skills among
immersion students.
Personal Thoughts
As a second language learner, I believe there is merit
in Dr. Swain’s comprehensible output theory.
According to Krashen, I should have been able to
acquire French simply sitting in my university
classroom and listening to my professor.
But it wasn’t until I was living in France and forced
to communicate on my own outside of the classroom,
testing and trying the language as I interacted with
native speakers, that my target language production
became more automatic and original.
REFERENCES
Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA) (2004).
2004 Immersion Conference: Pathways to Bilingualism Featured Speaker.
Minneapolis, MN October 21-23, 2004. Retrieved from
http://international.uiowa.edu/centers/flare/news/past-events/swain.asp
Foreign Language Acquisition Research & Education (FLARE) (2005).
Collaborative Dialogue and Second Language Learning. University of Iowa.
April 22, 2005. Retrieved from
http://international.uiowa.edu/centers/flare/news/past-events/swain.asp
Krashen, S. (1994). The Input Hypothesis and Its Rivals. In N. Ellis (Ed.),
Implicit and Explicit Learning of Languages (pp.45-77). London, UK:
Academic Press.
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (n.d.) Faculty Profile: Dr. Merrill
Swain, Ph.D. Retrieved from
http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/ctl/Faculty_Staff/Faculty_Profiles/1438/Merrill_S
wain.html
Swain, M. (2004). The output hypothesis: Its history and its future.
[Presentation] National Research Center for Foreign Language Education of
Beijing Foreign Studies University. Retrieved from
http://www.celea.org.cn/2007/keynote/ppt/Merrill%20Swain.pdf
Turnbull, M. (2003). Presentation: CASLT Prix Robert Roy. Retrieved from
http://www.caslt.org/about/about-history-past-awards_mswain_en.php