Learning English with James

View Original

Language Acquisition

Turn on the Closed Captions (CC) to enhance your understanding.

Navigating the intermediate plateau and unlocking the secrets of learning a second language

In this episode I discuss the difference between learning a language in a traditional classroom versus acquiring it naturally through immersion and practice. I reflect on my own experiences learning Spanish in school compared to acquiring French through podcasts and real-life interactions.

I will talk about hitting the Intermediate Plateau in language learning and how I overcame it by seeking out more challenging materials. I introduce you to Professor Stephen Krashen's theory of Second Language Acquisition, which includes hypotheses about language acquisition, the natural order of language learning, the role of grammar instruction, the importance of comprehensible input, and the influence of affective factors like motivation and confidence.

Ultimately, I encourage you to embrace the journey and challenges of language acquisition.


Podcast - play or download

Play the podcast and improve your listening skills. Download the podcast and listen wherever you are.

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

Learning English with James | S01 E01 | Language Acquisition MP3 Audio File

Transcript - read or download

While listening read the transcript to enhance your understanding. Additional vocabulary and phrases included.


More to explore…

See this gallery in the original post

Want to speak fluent English?

Learning English with James offers personalized lessons to achieve your goals and objectives. We will challenge you in real-life situations and help you improve your vocabulary and pronunciation. You will be speaking English with confidence in no time.

What are the benefits? You decide what you want to learn and how quickly. Each lesson is designed to meet your language objectives. You will progress quickly and be able to: communicate more fluently; speak with more accuracy; feel more confident with English-speakers; and achieve specific work-related goals.


External links

These links take you to the websites about the organizations and people I mentioned in my podcast.

Coffee Break French: is a production of the Radio Lingua Network and produces all Coffee Break Languages courses.

Inner French and Hugo Cotton: Hugo created innerFrench to offer a different way to learn French.

Theory of Second Language Acquisition made popular by Professor Stephen Krashen