Compelling Comprehensible Input
Learning a new language is a challenge. There´s no question in that. Different teachers and learners have tried and used many different methods, but there´s one point that always comes back: That of Comprehensible Input. The hypothesis made popular by Dr. Stephen Krashen in the 1970s has stood the test of time and now it´s even being called a theory. We acquire language by understanding messages. It is possible to learn a language, though. Through grammar study, vocabulary lists and all sorts of traditional ways of learning, we "feed" what is called the Monitor System, which serves as a way to correct errors before you produce an output. But that does not help in communication nor in acquiring a language. It is a very limited tool. The use of stories to help in acquisition of a new language is a strategy being used in many modern schools and for all levels of learners, independent of the language in question. One of the strategies used is the TPRS, which stands for ...