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Continuation writing has attracted considerable research interest since its adoption in the National College Entrance Examination in 2018, yet its theoretical underpinnings remain poorly integrated. Existing accounts draw selectively on the Interactive Alignment Model, the Output Hypothesis, and incidental vocabulary acquisition research, leaving unresolved how these frameworks relate to one another and where each loses explanatory purchase. This paper reappraises the three frameworks against the specific cognitive demands of continuation writing, identifies their respective limitations, and on that basis constructs a three-layer model organised around depth of lexical processing—lexical recurrence, flexible lexical use, and lexical internalization. The surface layer is driven by automatic priming mechanisms; the middle layer by production-induced noticing; and the deep layer by task-induced involvement that consolidates semantic and collocational knowledge. The analysis suggests that productive accounts of this task type cannot rest on any single theoretical tradition. Implications for task design and assessment are noted, and directions for empirical validation, including longitudinal tracking and think-aloud protocols, are outlined.
Continuation writing; interactive alignment; Output Hypothesis; incidental vocabulary acquisition; integrative framework
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Interaction Alignment and Lexical Uptake in L2 Continuation Writing: A Theoretical Reappraisal
How to cite this paper: Shuxian Wang. (2026) Interaction Alignment and Lexical Uptake in L2 Continuation Writing: A Theoretical Reappraisal. Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science, 10(6), 604-608.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2026.06.001