We acquire language in only one way: when we understand messages; that is, when we obtain Comprehensible Input. Language acquisition is effortless. It involves no energy, no work. All an acquirer has to do is understand messages. Language acquisition is involuntary.
Difference of Acquisition and Learning
- Language acquisition: Subconscious process.
- Language learning: Conscious knowledge. Acquisition is slow and subtle, while learning is fast and, for some people, obvious.
Why Direct Instruction Can’t Account for Literacy Development
- Language is too vast and complex to be taught or learned.
- Appear to have the same meaning often refer to slightly different concepts or are used in slightly different ways.
- Literacy development can occur without formal instruction.
- The impact of direct instruction is typically small or nonexistent.
- There’s no significant correlations between the amount of explicit vocabulary instruction and gains in reading comprehension and vocabulary.