| Dr. Stephen Krashen's foundational principle | | | | to what we all went through in acquiring our |
| in his theory of Second Language Acquisition | | | | native languages. This process is a natural |
| is called "The Acquisition-Learning | | | | event in which the learner of the language is |
| hypothesis." In this idea, a distinction is | | | | involved with the actual act of communication |
| made in that wonderfully exciting and | | | | and not so much in a formal relationship to |
| gaiety-galore world of linguistics and | | | | grammatical structures (the horse before the |
| language pedagogy between learning a language | | | | cart). "The learned system" is a system in |
| and acquiring it. "The acquired system" is | | | | which the learner comes into a possession of |
| the means through which spoken fluency is | | | | a lot of information about the language. |
| acquired. I can recall scores of students who | | | | Rules of grammar and cold-memorization of |
| come to Guanajuato, Mexico (where we live), | | | | vocabulary are the thrusts of instruction. It |
| who have told me they would pay any amount of | | | | is putting the "cart" before the "horse" and |
| money to have the spoken fluency of a Mexican | | | | expecting, somehow, the cart to pull the |
| child being packed off to his or her first | | | | horse. "Acquisition requires meaningful |
| day of class in primary school. It is, after | | | | interaction in the target language - natural |
| all, what most of those with whom I've spoken | | | | communication - in which speakers are |
| are after-spoken fluency. Sure, they would | | | | concerned not with the form of their |
| love to read and write in Spanish but they | | | | utterances but with the messages they are |
| seem to have an instinctive understanding of | | | | conveying and understanding." Stephen Krashen |
| what comes first. They know the cart does not | | | | If what you seek is how to exegete a text of |
| draw the horse. They are after the horse and | | | | the target language, then go for the cart. If |
| then the cart. To acquire the target language | | | | what you want is communication in the target |
| is the result of a process almost identical | | | | language, then find that horse. |