Exposure and focus on form

Exposure
Hearing and/or reading it all around us without studying it.

Ways in which we learn a foreign language:

1. Acquiring the language (pick it up)
To learn a language, we need exposure to lots examples of it.
We learn from the language in our surroundings. Acquisition takes place over a period of time, we listen to and read items of language for a long time before we begin to use them (silent period).

2. Interaction
We need language to express ourselves and make our meanings clear to other people, and to understand them.

3. Focus on form
We need to pay attention to language, e.g. by identifying, working with and practicing the language needed to communicate.

We need to remember that
Some learners may like to learn and/or are used to learning in particular ways.

Important concepts
To acquire language, learners should hear and read a wide variety of language at the right level for them.

Learners need time to acquire language.

Learners need opportunities to focus on forms of language.