Stephen Krashen & The Natural Approach
25 years ago Stephen Krashen transformed language teaching. He had been developing his ideas over a number of years, but several books he published in the 1980s received widespread acceptance. According to Krashen’s acquisition-learning hypothesis, there are two independent ways to develop our linguistic skills: acquisition and learning. This theory is at the core of the RealPolish method.
What is acquisition?
Acquisition is a subconscious process. We are unaware of the process as it is happening and when the new knowledge is acquired. This process is similar to how children learn their native language. Acquisition requires meaningful interaction in the target language, during which we are focused on meaning rather than grammar or form.
Learning vs. Studying
Learning a language is a conscious process, much like what we experience in school. New knowledge is represented consciously in our mind (grammar rules, tables).
Language acquisition does not require extensive use of conscious grammatical rules, and does not require tedious drill.
Acquisition requires meaningful interaction in the target language – natural communication – in which speakers are concerned not with the form of their utterances but with the messages they are conveying and understanding.
— Stephen Krashen
Ready to put this theory into practice?
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