More Krashen on transparency. The “notes” are from a larger context:
“Using the first language is especially valuable when teaching a language that has few or no cognates with the students’ first language (Note 6) and for providing background information, but there are other ways to make input comprehensible: e.g. visual context, in the form of pictures (Tracy Terrell had a vast collection of pictures, many donated by students), films, real objects, movements of the body (TPR), and linguistic context, in form of explanations, descriptions, and synonyms in the second language.
“NOTE 6: My only encounter with a second language with no cognates was a TPRS class I took from Linda Li. I had been exposed to a great deal of Mandarin from trips to Taiwan, but had acquired nothing: All input I heard had been incomprehensible. Providing translations, and posting them, as recommended by Blaine Ray, was a huge help. It wasn’t however, the only way input was made comprehensible in this class.
“Of course, providing translation will ensure transparency down to the level of the individual word, but this is not necessary for comprehension and acquisition, even though it is reassuring for some students. For vocabulary acquisition, for example, we do not acquire the full meaning of words all at once: as we encounter new words in a comprehensible context, we gradually acquire their meanings a little at a time: It has been estimated that each time we encounter a new word, we pick up about 5 to 10% of the meaning. Given enough comprehensible input, this is more than enough (see Nagy, Herman, and Anderson, 1985; other citations in Note 2).”