UNIT 10: EXPOSURE AND FOCUS ON FORM

Through years people have investigated which is the best way to learn a language. In this unit I learned that  the best way to learn a foreign language is by exposure to it, that is by hearing and/or reading it every day, the more learners are exposed to the language, the more they will acquire it. Therefore, they pick it up automatically. This is the way in which people learn their first language (the language they learn as a baby).

However, exposure is not enough for adults since they need to focus their attention on the form of the language, i.e. the structure of the language, how the words are arranged  into the sentence as well as vocabulary. In this part it is worth mentioning that people need to interact with a view to practising the language, and they can do it by talking with friends. 

I also learned that there are three ways in which we learn a foreign language. Firstly, language acquisition. this means that we learn form being surrounded by language, and we can find  plenty of materials on the internet like movies, musical videos, documentals, books, and so on. Secondly, interaction with other people. As I said above learners need to taldk with someone else who is also learning the same foreign language and they need to be clear with their pronunciation so that the other person can understand what he is talking about, and a good way to do it, is by paraphrasing. Thirdly, learners need to pay attention not just to the meaning of the language but also to its formal features such as, word order, affixes, spelling, and so on.

Now that I know about exposure and focus on form, I would make my students interact more in classes by talking about a movie that all like or with people who share the same likes.
Read this article that contains information about it.
1. Clouston, M. (2011),Focusing on Form: A Teacher's Research Update on Form-focused Instruction, retrieved from: https://www.academia.edu/824758/Focusing_on_Form_A_Teachers_Research_Update_on_Form-focused_Instruction
2.  Allwright, R. (2014), The Importance of Interaction in Classroom Language Learning, retrieved from: http://applij.oxfordjournals.org/content/5/2/156.extract#