What Does it Mean to “Teach” a Language?

#72
What does it mean to “teach” a language? In this episode I look at this question, particularly considering the shifts in language teaching and learning over the past 10 years or so. My approach to this question is grounded in a quote from Larson-Freeman and Long that a professor shared with me in graduate school. It continues to guide my approach to teaching. 

"[It is not] because some plants will grow in a desert, [that] watering the ones in your garden is a waste of time. In fact, of course, while the desert may provide the minimum conditions for a plant to grow, watering it may help it grow faster, bigger, and stronger, that is to realize its full potential.”    [Diane Larsen-Freeman, Michael H. Long; An Introduction to Second Language Acquisition Research (1990)]

Links mentioned in this episode

• Episode 41: Practice or Communication (Practice, Activity, Task)

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