Input to Output: Chapter 4

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It's helpful to note that "output," like "input," only refers to communicative, meaning-bearing output in the field of SLA. Output processing refers to "access" and "production strategies." Good grief, the brain does some amazing things. Somehow it stores the idea of an object, the word (or lemma) for the object, the grammar surrounding all that involves the object that the user wishes to communicate, and then it tells the motor cortex what and how to communicate it.

The brain "fills in the gaps" whenever necessary (especially when learning an L2), or, uses a "communication strategy" if they cannot access the proper steps in the hierarchy. The trickiest and most profound (yet simple) part of all of this is that I'm learning about language through language and then communicating (producing output) through language. My declarative knowledge about English led me to develop procedural knowledge enough to read and communicate somewhat intelligently. Phew.