Tony Marsh
Learning Article : How Language Teaches Itself

Discuss the Article : How Language Teaches Itself

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In this article, I would like to illuminate the principle that language teaches itself. Some teachers may point this out explicitly, and with good reason.

Mar 23, 2015 12:00 AM
Comments · 2
4

Thank you for the article, Tony. I see what you mean and I try to explain this to my students. The simple question "where are you from?" gives them an idea of how we often put a preposition at the end of a question: who are you talking to? what are you talking about? And I also understand why you compare grammar with algebra. But there is a but. Firstly, many adults (including me) were bad at algebra. And we needed a teacher to explain all the patterns to us. And even with very clear explanations many people (including me) still were bad at it. Secondly, you give examples of how quickly children learn a language. Well, that's not true. They have their mom and dad 24/7 to talk to them and explain all the things. And after that they go to school and study their native language for about 10 years. And later, at university they may take a course in academic writing. What I'm trying to say is that it's not always good to simplify what is complex. I know that many Russian writers learned foreign languages through reading. It proves your point. But these people had a lot of time on their hands, they didn't have to go to work and they could spend months lying on the couch and reading. Most of us, English learners, do not have this opportunity.

March 23, 2015