I don't believe that there is one aspect of language that is the most
important. Learning is complex and there is no "one size fits all."  What
happens in the educational experience depends on the student's needs and
meeting those needs.  The most important element for me is finding out what
those needs are.

Sally




On Fri, Oct 24, 2008 at 2:22 PM, Steve Kaufmann <steve at thelinguist.com>wrote:


> As another language learner, and having watched others learn, I do not feel

> that "pronunciation first" is the key to learning the language well. All of

> my experience says that delaying producing the language is beneficial. If

> the learner focuses on trying to understand the spoken and written language,

> accumulating words and phrases, and simply getting used to the language, the

> learner will do better when she starts to speak. I am a strong believer in

> the silent period approach and there is a fair amount of evidence out there

> to support it.

>

> This avoids putting the learner in a situation where she will fail and feel

> stupid. It is very difficult to pronounce what you do not yet hear clearly.

> It is pointless to demand performance early when this performance will be

> easier later.

>

> I would be interested in the views of others.

>

>

>

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