ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on distinguishing two ways of viewing teaching — external and internal views. It examines what teaching guides and teacher trainers have had to say about 'input', focusing on two key aspects – the use of authentic materials and teacher talk. The chapter summarizes what SLA research has had to say about the role of input and the conditions that promote learning. It considers the pedagogic positions relating to authentic materials and teacher talk. 'Teacher talk' refers to the language used by a teacher when addressing students in a classroom. Teacher educators recognize the importance of teacher talk, and seek to identify those characteristics that constitute 'good teaching'. Input can be non-interactive or interactive. Non-interactive input consists of oral or written samples of the target language that do not require any verbal response from the learner. Non-interactive input may or may not be modified to suit the learner.
