Comprehensible Input

You probably understood much more in the second video clip.  There were many more clues to meaning, such as objects and gestures. Although you probably did not catch many individual words, you understood that the lesson was about the effects of eating healthy foods vs. eating junk foods.

The second video clip demonstrates comprehensible input.  That is, the language "input" to the learner consists of the new language along with clues as to what the language means.  Without these clues the learner could hear a lot of language without learning to understand it.  It would be like listening to Hungarian on the radio with no way to begin to understand individual words or topics.

Once you got the "message" of the lesson, i.e., that the teacher was comparing junk food to healthy food and the effects of each, you could begin to move on to associating parts of the message with words and phrases. 

A good rule of thumb for teachers working with ESOL students is to concentrate on getting the "message" across early so that the students can use subsequent activities to learn the associated language.

 

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