Unit 10 

Exposure and focus on form

 In this article we are going to mention some useful ways of how to achieve it. For instance we have exposure according to some experts they say that we can learn a language by hearing or reading it all around us and without studying it. In fact, the persons who learn their first language in this way are children since they learn it unconsciously by imitating sounds patterns or repeating words articulated by their exposures such as: parents, relatives or environment

On the other hand, experts say that to learn a foreign language as adults, exposure to language is not enough since we need to focus on the form of the foreign language it means that we need to know or get familiar with its correct pronunciation, the use of grammar, spelling and the correct use of vocabulary as well as we need to know that an effective an useful way of learning a language is to use it to interact.

Let’s tackle three main ways in which we learn a foreign language. Firstly, language acquisition in this way the learner concentrates on the communicative act and not on the form or correctness of the language it means that acquisition of a language is very similar to the way children learn their first language and constitutes a simple but natural way of language acquisition.

Secondly, another way to learn a foreign language is interaction this is one of the most relevant aspect since we can learn from others for example we may start a conversation with a native speaker once we finish our conversation we could notice if he/ she understood what we were saying but if they have not understood us we may use other language in this case paraphrasing it can be helpful until we can achieve a successful conversation and also we can use chunks or structures to be direct or understood.

Thirdly, as we know learning a language is not an easy job since we have to take into account its formal features such as: pronunciation, word order, and grammatical structures due to it helps us to use the language appropriately.

What are some tips that can help us to acquire a foreign language?  In fact, there are many tips but we are going to mention the most useful ones for instance; we need to hear or read a wide variety of language since it can help us to increase our vocabulary. Another tip to acquire language is to do project works since they let us investigate new terms, as well as develop our reading and writing skills. While if teachers want their students focus on the form they may ask them to highlight conjunctions in a text which make them think in what is a conjunction , how does it work in a text.

Finally, acquiring a foreign language is difficult but if we have a good exposure with it we could learn without many problems and also is significant to point out that we can learn a language by focusing on form of it, it means that we need to pay attention not just to the meaning of language but also to its formal features.