If you’ve seen some of the early language learning materials, from books to software, you’ll usually notice something very telling – they were based on traditional studies, like secondary school Math and Science. Problem is, language learning is usually very different from conventional classroom subjects, making it a largely ineffective way of acquiring a vernacular.
Acquisition Versus Learning
Truth is, picking up a language is very different from learning other things. If you hang out with native French speakers for an extended period, you are very likely to imbibe some elements of the language almost by default. You can hang out with Mathematicians all day, on the other hand, yet pick up very little from their mastery of numbers.
Language is acquired, wherein conventional “school skills” like Math and Science are learned. As such, the best way to teach them are not necessarily the same (and, in fact, are likely very different).
Grading And Prerequisities
Traditional subjects are huge on prerequisites. You can’t study integrals until you get Algebra 101 out of the way. Language learning isn’t something that “flows” in such a tight sequence. Sure, it might be helpful to learn some things before others. Yet, you can skip entire concepts and still do fine.
It’s also incredibly difficult to put a score on language learning. The traditional way of measuring progress – such as counting errors – cannot be applied in the same strict manner. In fact, the more errors students commit as a result of experimenting with language constructs is usually a sign of progress, rather than failure.
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