siiky
2024/08/19
2024/08/19
2024/08/19
post,language,learning
Learning a second language is a non-linear process that goes far beyond memorising vocabulary and grammar. It opens up new worlds and ways of perceiving what linguists call “units”: sets of objects or forms and the interconnected relationships between them.
These units are recognised, understood and ultimately learned through exposure to a variety of contexts and real communicative situations, but they can vary massively from one language to another, often in fundamental questions like what it means to “be”. Just ask anyone who has studied Spanish, which splits this most basic concept into two completely distinct verbs.
There is growing research-based support for incorporating a unit-based approach to language learning in the classroom, but many second language teaching methodologies still focus on lists of rules and usages. These lists are often accompanied by a litany of exceptions that lead only to confusion and frustration.