What role does speaking play in second language acquisition? It has

no direct role, since language is acquired by comprehensible input, but in 【M1】__________

fact someone who is not able to speak for physical reasons can still

acquire the full ability to understand language. However, speaking does

indirectly help in two ways: speaking produces conversation, which

produces comprehensible input, and your speaking allows native

speakers to judge what level you are at and then adjust their speaking

downward you, providing you with input that is more easily understood. 【M2】__________

What kind of input is optimal for acquisition? The best input is

comprehensible, which sometimes means that it needs to be slow and 【M3】__________

more carefully articulated, using common vocabulary, more slang, and 【M4】__________

shorter sentences. Optimal input is interesting and/or relevant and

allows the acquirer to focus on the meaning of the message and not on

the form of the message. Optimal input is not grammatically sequenced,

and a grammatical syllabus should not be used in the language classroom,

in a part because all students will not be at exactly the same level and 【M5】__________

because each structure is often only introduced once before moving on to

anything else. Finally, optimal input must focus on quantity, although

most language teachers have to date seriously overestimated how much 【M6】__________

comprehensible input is actually needed for the acquirer to progress. 【M7】__________

In addition to receive the right kind of input, students should have 【M8】__________

their affective filter kept low, meaning that classroom stress should be

minimized and students “should not be put on the defensive”. One result

of this is what students’ errors should not be corrected. Students should 【M9】__________

be taught how to gain more input from the outside world, including

helping them acquire conversational competence, the mean of managing 【M10】_________

conversation.

【M8】