The potential of the second Language classroom

The popular advice is that the language learner has to "live in the country" in order to achieve any real proficiency in a second language, and that the informal real world environment is always superior to the classroom, or formal environment. Stephen Krashen, PhD at the University of Southern California, discusses whether classrooms are useful or not.

In one hand On the one hand, when acquirers have rich sources of input (TV programs, speakers, books) outside the class, and when they are proficient enough to take advantage of it (i.e. understand at least some of it), the classroom does not make an important contribution.

In other hand On the other hand, if second language classrooms are filled by with comprehensible input, they students can do much better than in the informal environment at least up to the intermediate level. Because, the true beginner in the informal environment, may require days or even weeks before he or she can "pick out" that much comprehensible input from the barrage of language heard.

Generally, the informal environment is does not always supply comprehensible input to older second language students. Input to for the adult is more complicated grammatically, contains a wider range of vocabulary, deals with more complex topics, and is generally harder to understand. This is simply a reflection of the fact that the adult world is more complex than the world of the child, and our expectations for adult comprehension are much higher.

I agree, good lessons can be really useful for adults who are absolute beginners.

This piece is very well written.