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Validation

I’m sitting at the table in my apartment, looking out the window. I turn back to the papers stacked in front of me. “Interesting”, I say, “very interesting”.

I glance over the test scores again– the pre-test numbers, the post-test numbers, and the amount each student improved.

“Good, good”, I say as I notice that all of the students improved over the course of the semester. All the post-test scores are higher than the pre-test scores.

Most students improved by a couple of points… but my eyes are drawn to two sets of numbers… two names: Kyoung and Jin. These two students improved dramatically more than all of the others. Their post-test scores show a big jump.

“What did they do differently?”, I ask myself.

At the final class, I ask them. Since all of the students had the same inclass experience, I focus on what they did outside of class. Most students followed traditional study methods. They studied textbooks. They used vocabulary books. They went to traditional English (ESL) classes.

But Kyoung and Jin followed a different approach. In fact, they actually followed the method I continually harangued the class about. They focused on repeated listening and reading for fun.

Both students said they took my advice seriously and therefore listened to English podcasts and audio articles 1-2 hours every day. Kyoung joined The Linguist and faithfully uses their system.

Both students also read for fun– mostly “easy” materials such as “National Geographic For Kids”, adolescent novels, etc.

In TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) jargon, these two exceptional students followed an “input-based approach”. The bulk of their study time was spent reading and listening to understandable and interesting English materials.

Most students and schools follow an “analysis-based approach”. The bulk of their time is spent analyzing the language, breaking it apart, memorizing grammar rules, and doing drills.

Plenty of research shows that input-based methods are faster and more effective than analysis-based methods. I knew this, which is why I always nag and cajole my students to focus on comprehensible input. But it was still thrilling to see this knowledge illustrated quantitatively, in such dramatic fashion, by my own students.

The truly interesting part is that the pre and post-test I gave them (The Michigan Test) measures listening, vocabulary, and grammar. I’m not surprised that Kyoung and Jin improved their listening skill. But that section was only 20% of the test. The remaining 80% tested both vocabulary and grammar.

In other words, their vocabulary improved dramatically faster than the students who specifically studied vocabulary books and lists. Their grammar improved dramatically faster than the students who specifically studied grammar textbooks.

This is not an isolated incident. Many research studies replicate these findings (see www.sdkrashen.com for the most thorough summary of these).

In study after study, input-based approaches beat analysis-based approaches, as measured by general English tests, such as the TOEFL, TOEIC, or Michigan Test. These tests measure vocabulary, grammar, listening, and in some cases, speaking and writing.

Though I’m aware of this research, I’ve never seen this phenomenon so starkly illustrated in person in a quantitative way. Mostly because I’ve never had the opportunity to pre and post-test my students.

These results are a small but powerful validation of my own teaching approach; and the methods I continually exhort my students to follow.

I will now carry this plea to you: Do not analyze English. Do not use analysis-based methods. Do not rely on textbooks. Do not focus on grammar rules.

Use an input-based method. Listen to understandable English. Listen repeatedly. Listen one hour every day and listen every day.

And read. Read a lot. But don’t read textbooks. Read easy materials that are fun and interesting to you.

Many students, for some reason, don’t follow my advice. But those who do, such as Kyoung and Jin, improve much more quickly than those who don’t. Follow this method, and you too will improve faster, just like Kyoung and Jin.