This content from a recent response by Robert to Jody on
https://benslavic.com/blog/2011/12/05/ohio-may-have-a-problem/
cannot be ignored so I am reposting it here as a blog entry:
I have to agree with Jody. Most programs ignore the importance of the conversation, i.e. the interpersonal component.
I also question whether Chris’s correspondent understands Krashen. From what I have read and heard, Krashen is not against output, nor does he consider it unimportant. He is against forced output – and that is a significant difference.
Recently I came across a TED Talk that provides, among other things, a time-lapse audio of the presenter’s son transitioning from saying “gaga” to saying “water”. Imagine if the poor kid had had to wait until he said “water” perfectly to get that first drink. The comments about modifying language are also significant for us as classroom teachers. The presenter points out that it was when the caretaker’s speech “dipped” to its simplest form that utterances (output) were elicited from the child. (Voluntary utterances, btw.) I’m sure this is what Krashen is going for when he talks about “transparency”. I think the first half of the speech is most relevant for us as foreign language teachers.
Here are the URLs:
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/deb_roy_the_birth_of_a_word.html
https://benslavic.com/blog/2011/11/24/brian-found-an-article/