We’re in the middle of a series whose basic point is that, when it comes to providing learners with material in the target language, “whatever works.” If you expected a catch, you expected right. Here it is: That anything works is true of content. It’s not true of teacher-learner relationships, learner-learner relationships, classroom culture, or fundamental approaches and […]
Tag Archives: language
“Whatever” Works: Non-Targeted CI Lesson 2, “Thank You, Justin Bieber”
Justin Bieber has done at least one good thing for me: He provided the impetus and the core material for this lesson. It’s another “Whatever Works” lesson, delivering non-targeted Comprehensible Input. (See yesterday’s post for an introduction to non-targeted CI and another lesson plan.) Really, this is another Quirky Feature (again, see yesterday’s post), which I […]
“Whatever” Works: Non-Targeted CI Lesson 1, The Man Who Sells the Moon
I am often asked what works in language teaching and learning. One of my favorite answers is “Whatever.” When I evaluate a language teaching method or program, my basic principle is that teachers and learners should do whatever works, i.e., what is proven to be successful in achieving the goals of the program, which, for […]
Driving With Dido: How I Came To Read Latin Extensively
NOTE 1: Although the texts are Latin, the 50 principles outlined in this article apply to any language. Don’t let the title deter you! NOTE 2: This article is jam-packed with suggestions for specific texts and specific habits. As a result, it is, well, extensive. If you prefer to read offline or want to be […]
On the Go, In the Language: Introducing #indwelli
You’re stuck in line at the DMV. (In other words, you’re at the DMV.) How do you you use the time? Maybe you check Facebook. That’s fine—probably better than checking it when you’ve got time to do something else. Maybe you make a shopping list. Maybe you don’t “use” the time at all; maybe you […]
Language: The School Subject That’s Not a School Subject
If you grow up on a desert island with at least one other person, you will not automatically know physics. You may know the effects of what is studied in physics—say, when the other person pushes you out of a tree—but you will not know the academic discipline called physics. You will be fluent in at […]
What Is Indwelling Language? or, A Rarish Word For a Rarish Thing
Almost everybody studies a language at some point. Almost nobody actually acquires a language in the process. For the past several years, I have been polling middle school students, high school students, their parents, and other adults with the following question: “Have you had a bad experience trying to learn a foreign language?” I let them […]