Last time I introduced you to linguist Dr. Jeff McQuillan and one of the most significant barriers that can negatively effect your speaking, the idea of an internal “affective filter” (see here).
But Dr.McQuillan emphasizes an even more crucial point: the importance of getting what linguists call Comprehensible Input.
As he summarizes it:
“I’m going sum it up in just two sentences:
You don’t get better at speaking by speaking. You get better at speaking by listening.
Yes, you read that correctly: Better speaking does not usually come from doing more speaking.
There is no need to “practice” speaking in the way most people think. The best “practice” for improving your speaking is not speaking; it’s listening.40 years of research has demonstrated that the more input you get, the more output you can have.
So if you want to speak better, you need to listen and listen and listen to get comprehensible input.“
So, today let’s talk about THE MOST important element to become more fluent and confident in speaking: Comprehensible Input.
In the following interview, Dr. McQuillan explains how to master a second language through comprehensible input.
You’ll learn:
- The difference between “learning” a language and “acquiring” a language
- Why your focus should be on “acquisition” rather than “learning”
- Why acquisition is subconscious and there is no memorization needed
- Why commercial programs are not effective
- Why knowing grammar rules isn’t helpful for speaking
- Why there is no transfer between learning grammar and vocabulary and being fluent with it
- How conscious grammar knowledge just helps you monitor your speech, which is time-consuming
- Why students tend to make the same mistakes over and over again even if they know the rules
- What percentage of understanding you should strive for when reading or listening to something
- Why we acquire vocabulary incidentally and incrementally
- How studies show that memorizing vocabulary lists is very time-inefficient
- Why adults acquire a language faster than children if they set the right expectations
- Why learners should lower their expectations rather than trying to progress faster
So don’t miss the interview and check it out here.
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Whenever you’re ready, in our program “Double Your Confidence in Speaking” we’ll use exactly this strategy to go from “I feel nervous when speaking and afraid of making mistakes or being put on the spot.” to becoming fluent and confident in speaking in your day-to-day life by applying a learning system you can easily integrate into your busy life.
Click here to get on the waiting list so you don’t miss out.
Talk to you soon. Bis bald.
Gruß
Manuel