Looking Out for English

• Main Author: Brian Tomlinson
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kanda University of International Studies 2013-12-01
• Series: Studies in Self-Access Learning Journal
• Subjects: language instruction; language practice; language experience; language discovery; language use
• Online Access: http://sisaljournal.org/archives/dec13/tomlinson

Coursebook activities tend to neglect three vital prerequisites for effective language acquisition i.e. language experience, language discovery and language use. They tend to focus on providing instruction, exemplification and practice in the classroom, and they do very little to encourage learners to achieve language experience, discovery and use outside the classroom. In this article I propose ‘new ideas’ for materials which help learners to gain language experience, language discovery and language use both inside and outside the classroom.