Languages in the Big Apple

In American universities, most introductory foreign language classes are taught in English, under the assumption that an explicit understanding of the language’s grammar is essential before the language itself can be picked up.

In many other countries, in fact most of Western Europe, the opposite approach is taken: classes are taught entirely in the foreign language, with the hope that as the language itself is absorbed by students, so will its grammar. The argument between teaching grammar explicitly or implicitly is an interesting one.

In this article by ESL teacher Larry M. Lynch, both methods are examined.

In the argument for explicitly-taught grammar, Lynch explains that for “Logical-Mathematical and Verbal-Linguistic intelligence learners,” understanding a foreign language in terms of its structural foundation is the basis for fluency. Once the structure is learned, students can more easily fill in vocabulary and idiomatic gaps because of their comprehension of the linguistic foundation.

On the other hand, implicitly-taught grammar calls for more “natural, communicative situations”. This view aims to teach foreign tongues in the same way that mother tongues are learned — complete immersion. This exposure often proves more effective in sharpening the ear of the student, and making him/her more comfortable in conversing. In this method, the words come first, and the structural rules fall into place later.

So, which method is better? In considering the arguments alone, there’s something to be said for both. But if you look at evidence, the implicit-teaching might well be more successful. Native English speakers can often write very well in foreign languages because we’ve had so much grammar drilled into us from the beginning of our education, but when it comes to speaking, we sort of choke. Likewise, foreigners in America (or any English-speaking country) tend to speak more fluidly and with less apprehension, perhaps because they’ve practiced the oral aspects of English much more than we do foreign languages in our classrooms.

Is it because we learned grammar first? Possibly, however, it could also be the stigma we attach to speaking French in France, or Italian in Italy, or whatever language in wherever — we worry about our accent, our feminine/masculine endings, etc., to the point where conversations become terrifying.

Lynch responds to the question rather equivocally:

“Although it is essential to teach elements of language and develop communicative abilities in our students, there is no one best way to introduce and provide practice in them.”