ABSTRACT

As chapter 1 demonstrated, a substantial body of research has emerged which attempts to validate hypotheses concerning the theoretical importance of comprehensible-or, in Gass’ (1997) terminology, comprehended-input as a necessary catalyst for SLA. This approach to SLA studies has been significantly influenced by Long’s (1985a) research program, which involves three steps:

1. Show that linguistic or conversational adjustments promote comprehensible input. 2. Show that comprehensible input promotes acquisition. 3. Deduce that linguistic or conversational adjustments promote acquisition.