Stephan in Peru asks:
Do you think no or limited structures are equally valid for absolute beginners?
I responded:
Some people argue that structures are needed for beginners. This gives them control over the dialogue and gets people to come to their trainings.
If no targets worked for beginning teachers, those trainers would not have a platform. No blame, but I disagree with the notion that new people can’t do this work without training wheels.
I argue that the only reason structures are seen as necessary by most trainers is that they haven’t explored non-targeted instruction deeply enough.
What we need is to align with the research. Then CI will work for us and it won’t involve targets. It is easy to teach a language without structures. We just need a book that doesn’t confuse new people, one that aligns with the research without mixing it with how schools function. I am writing that book.