LANGUAGE ACQUISITION, LANGUAGE LEARNING AND THE SCHOOL CURRICiLUM

Although the constraints of time and environment under which most language learning is done mean thit a natural language situation can never be reproduced in sch',ol, many of the findings from first language acquisition studies apply to seccad language (L2) learning. This would mean therefore that instead of stressing speaking in a beginning L2 class, the curriculum would be firmly based on receptive skills and that adequate meaningful exposure to the langt_7e would precede any attempt to train productive skills. As receptive skills are developed, a more prominent role would be given to developing and testing skills in fluency, appropriateness, and accuracy. The student would be kept continually active in the comprehension of a rich linguistic environment and in the creation of meaningful utterances, which are the primary means of language acquisition. (MSE) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * from the original document