GUIDED SELF-SELECTED READING

Scholarly Works

Story-Listening and Guided Self-Selected Reading: Short-Term Results from Indonesia

The Immersion Assumption

by Beniko Mason and Stephen Krashen

Abstract: The public, as well as many language professionals, think that immersion is the best way to acquire a language. People assume that the chance for acquirers to interact with native speakers is the major factor conferring immersion its value. The immersion assumption can be tested by comparing immersion and immersion-type experiences to other treatments. In this study we report a case of a Japanese college student, Kenta, to explain that reading might be a better choice than immersion. He gained significantly on the TOEIC after engaging in periods of pleasure reading but gained little after periods in essentially immersive situations. This matches the experience of Sawako, a Japanese woman whose case we’ve previously reported (Mason & Krashen, 2019). The results are surprisingly consistent: Reading for pleasure, a form of optimal input, appears to be a better option for second language acquisition than immersion.

The Promise of Optimal Input

by Beniko Mason and Stephen Krashen

Abstract: For the last 40+ years, teachers have been advised to avoid following one specific methodology and use techniques and activities from different language teaching approaches and methodologies. This approach is called the “Eclectic Approach,” and almost all the modern course books support mixing methodologies. (British Council). (1) After 40+ years, however, the Eclectic Approach has not been shown to be the most effective…