Unit 10 Exposure and focus on form

Unit 10

Exposure and focus on form

Many people were wondering if it is better to learn by exposure or by focusing on form, and I think that it depends on the age and the level. It is because nowadays to acquire a second language is necessary to interact with other people especially native speakers. Thus, many people pick up (language) to learn language without studying it, just by hearing and/or reading and then using it. However, we also need to focus our attention on the form of the foreign language like in the pronunciation, on vocabulary, writing and how its grammar is formed.

Also, teachers and students can focus on interaction using interactive strategies in the class especially in speaking, to keep people involved and interested in what is said .Teachers should take into account eye contact, use of gestures, functions such as repeating, asking for clarification because those strategies will help students learning. Furthermore, there are some learning style which an individual learner naturally prefers to learn something such as auditory learner (a learner who remembers things more easily when they hear them spoken), kinesthetic learner (a learner who learns more easily by doing things physically) and visual learner (a learner who finds it easier to learn when they can see things written down or in a picture).

Finally, Communicative approaches is important because it is a way of teaching and practicing language which is based on the principle that learning a language successfully involves communication instead of memorizing. That is way teachers try to focus on meaningful communication, rather than accuracy and correcting mistakes.

Here you have extra information:

Resources:

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/forum-topic/what-does-focus-form-mean-you

http://books.google.com.ec/books?id=xmLoVScagwYC&pg=PA267&lpg=PA267&dq=what+are+exposure+and+focus+on+forms&source=bl&ots=jkBFLfbUh9&sig=ExSZ9mKYvttKqwMFqrG_YtYsPjg&hl=es-419&sa=X&ei=YHh2VPWhPIHdggTguoC4Bg&ved=0CGsQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=what%20are%20exposure%20and%20focus%20on%20forms&f=false