Let´s call it a reflection.

I used to think that languages had to be learnt completely by instruction, but in this moment of my career I have realized that there are many important factors present at the moment of acquiring a L2. Thus, peolpe have to see language learning from different points of view where a L2 can be learnt both by the exposure to it getting the right input and  by direct instruction where forms are the axis of this kind of learning.
There was something that called my attention about something that I read and it was a passage which talks about how language takes care of itself. Illich (1972) says that learners can be exposed to the right and meaningful activities where they have to use the knowledge for solving problems of their L2, so language will take care of itself. It seems that we as teachers should think more about those variables and try to find new ways of teaching a L2 in order to make more meaningful and realistic what we teach.
 I think that teachers have focused their energy on doing many things that sometimes students find boring and even unrealistic. The world has changed and education too, that is why teachers have to be aware that is time to design new activities that can engage students and encourage them to use their target language in order to create environments in which the knowledge can be used in a more natural way, so the input will be internalized thoroughly and learners will be more competent.
Finally, there is one thing that remains in my mind; education always has something new to teach us and we never stop learning because it is renewing itself day by day.


Javier Rodríguez.

Notes:
Illich, I (1972). De-Schooling Society. Harrow books.