In language learning there are a lot
of techniques that many agree upon but there is one debate that still doesn’t
have a definitive answer – the importance of language input versus the
importance of language output.
Language input refers to listening
and reading while language output is speaking and writing. Simple enough,
right?
The problem occurs when people try to
say one is better than the other. The thing is, these activities are not
mutually exclusive. They work together to the goal of learning a new language.
We all need both.
There are those out there who
advocate input only or output only. I don’t think either is a good idea -
Problems with input only
If you’re only getting input, you’ll
probably understand most of what’s going on around you but chances are you
won’t be able to add much.
Your pronunciation won’t be very good
as you haven’t practiced making the sounds of the language.
You probably won’t realise how much
you don’t know – it’s much easier to gloss over words you don’t know when
reading or listening as the context can help you out quite a bit. When speaking
and writing what you don’t know becomes painfully obvious.
Problems with output only
Your pronunciation is probably not
the best either. It might sound great to you, because as you haven’t been
listening to native speakers you don’t know any better. You’re making the
sounds the way you think they’re made but chances are you’re way off.
You know what you’re saying but
others may not – due to your bad pronunciation, or you could be speaking in a
very English way, not taking into account the flow or tones of the language.
What do I think?
Input before output
This is the most important thing.
When first starting a new language you need to listen as much as possible, just
like babies do for a year or so before they begin to speak. Listening gets you
used to the different sounds of the language, which may not be present in your
native language. You’ll get to know the flow of the language, which will help
you immensely when it’s time to speak. You’ll start off with a better accent
and more natural, native sounding speech. You’ll still make mistakes, of
course, and you won’t start off perfect. But you will start much better.
But it’s not enough to rely solely on
listening, reading will help you get ahead as well. Reading is one thing that
gives adult language learners an advantage over children. Doing both together
(with a book in text as well as audio, or a transcript of a recorded speech,
for example) will get you used to what letter combinations represent which
sounds. This will improve the ease with which you can read and will help get
you ready to speak.
There are so many reasons why input
should come before output. Here are just a few:
You need to understand before you can
speak. Understanding comes from input.
When you do get to speaking, you’re
going to want to understand what people are responding with – which, once
again, comes from input.
You don’t want to solidify mistakes,
either in grammar or pronunciation, as it is so much harder to fix these
problems later than it is to get it right from the start. Trust me.
What does this all mean?
It means we all need exposure to both
input and output to achieve a high proficiency level in the language. Although
my method is input first, it doesn’t totally neglect output. I just prefer to
get to know the sounds and structures of the language before I try to produce
it. It works for me, and I do think it’s the best way. I know others think
differently and that’s fine.
The main thing to take away from this
is not to neglect one or the other. Work on both and you’ll have a well rounded
knowledge of you language. You won’t get frustrated when you realise you can
understand everything you hear but can’t respond or you think you can speak
well but others can’t understand you.
Work on each aspect of the language
and you’ll do well. What are your thoughts on input and output? Do you prefer
one over the other?
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