Stephen Krashen and language acquisition

[trackerwannabe]

I am becoming enamored of Stephen Krashen's ideas on language acquisition.
The more I see what does and doesn't work for me, the more convinced I become of the value of his ideas.

[eI000yo]

I also think Krashen's ideas are impressive, but some questions remain unanswered.
How can you make a language comprehensible if you are learning it from scratch? It is clear that you have to learn something at the beginning.
And an adult speaks at least one other language. Interference with the target language is an important factor and has pros and cons. And noticing the differences is essential, IMHO.

[trackerwannabe]

How can you make a language comprehensible if you are learning it from scratch?

Having a "language parent" is one way, but I don't know if there are (yet) enough online resources to make that work for the autodidact. (Mr. Krashen gives an example of the kind of thing I'm referencing between 3:15 and 4:30 in the video.) For now, if we can't find such a person, we're stuck with other (IMO sub-optimal) resources.

For those who want to find a "language parent," Nora McNamara lists some ideas here.

Edit: Steve Kaufmann has some thoughts on getting started in his video How to Succeed in the First 3 Months of Learning a Language.

And an adult speaks at least one other language. Interference with the target language is an important factor and has pros and cons. And noticing the differences is essential, IMHO.

I agree.
A couple of things help me in this regard:

1. I put my knowledge of English (my first language) in the background, using it only as an occasional resource, and thinking in the target language to the extent that I can.
2. I consider my understanding to be tentative, especially so if my understanding is derived from what I believe to be English cognates. Thus, if I have inadvertently failed to recognize a false friend, I'm likely to notice that when I subsequently encounter it in a context where it fails to make sense.

[gmads]

For now, if we can't find such a person, we're stuck with other (IMO sub-optimal) resources.

Suboptimal resources are better than none

For example:

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  ㆍenglish ㆍgeneral ㆍinteresting

[trackerwannabe]

Suboptimal resources are better than none

Agreed. And you've inspired me to seek some for French.

There may be more basic videos out there, but here's what I've found so far:

https://www.youtube.com/c/lesptitszamis
https://www.youtube.com/c/KidsPlanetFrançais
https://www.youtube.com/c/FrenchFairyTales

[gmads]

Suboptimal resources are better than none

Agreed. And you've inspired me to seek some for French.

There may be more basic videos out there, but here's what I've found so far:

https://www.youtube.com/c/lesptitszamis
https://www.youtube.com/c/KidsPlanetFrançais
https://www.youtube.com/c/FrenchFairyTales

Great! You may want to include:

• BookBox's French Stories in HD for children to read along

• BookBox French channel

• Basic French Vocabulary: 'BODY' Words (Le Corps) (Learn French with Alexa)

• La routine | Daily routine | French vocabulary for beginners