Coucou les French learners,
I frequently emphasize the importance of comprehensible input in acquiring French (or any other language).
But, today I want to introduce you to an even more powerful concept: optimal input.
Optimal input is definitely more effective and you can harness its potential to accelerate your French journey.
What is Optimal Input
Optimal input is a concept developed by Dr. Beniko Mason. It consists of 3 key elements: comprehensible, rich, and abundant input.
Let’s break these down in the context of French acquisition:
Comprehensible input ensures that the French content you’re exposed to is understandable. Even if you don’t know every word, you understand the message of what your hearing or reading.
Rich input provides a diverse range of vocabulary, expressions, and grammatical structures in French. Instead of just acquiring the most common French words, you also encounter less common words and structures like literary or more academic words in various contexts.
In fact, literary words are essential for enriching texts and enhancing reader engagement. By understanding these terms, you can hear and read more compelling stories that resonate with you on multiple levels.
Abundant input refers to the sheer volume of French language exposure. This means engaging with the language frequently and for extended periods, whether through listening, reading, or both.
Why Optimal Input Surpasses Comprehensible Input Alone
Dr. Beniko Mason developed her approach to optimal input out of her own struggles to effectively teach English to her Japanese students. As a professor emerita at Shitennoji University in Osaka, Japan, she observed that traditional methods often fell short in engaging students and fostering real language acquisition.
She started to explore alternative strategies that would better meet the needs of her learners. She didn’t want to limit her teaching to grammar rules and rote memorization. She wanted to focus on meaningful language exposure.
Click here to watch, read & listen about Dr. Beniko Mason.
It is FREE!
Dr. Beniko Mason began implementing methods that emphasized extensive reading and listening. This shift led to the development of Story-Listening and Guided Self-Selected Reading, which provide comprehensible, rich and abundant input.
How to Implement Optimal Input
Our online French program incorporates the 3 key elements of optimal input. By joining us, you gain access to:
- A vast library of French audio content, including stories, podcasts, and videos (I do Story-Listening in them!) that provide rich and abundant listening.
- An extensive collection of reading materials at various levels, from beginner to advanced, ensuring you always have comprehensible yet challenging content.
Our program is designed to surround you with optimal French input, creating an immersive environment that accelerates your path to fluency.
Your path to French fluency begins here, let’s make it an extraordinary one!
CLARITY: progress step by step through stages and make French become clear to you. Understand French with ease.
COMMUNITY: meet weekly and keep yourself accountable through the most caring and invested community. Think French naturally.
TRANSFORMATION: feel empowered. Be fluent in French. Transform yourself and get a new soul. Speak French freely.
P.S. Got friends, family, colleagues and clients who want to become fluent in French? Share this with them, they’ll thank you for it!
This week, John shared on Trustpilot:
Alice Ayel’s program of acquiring French is the core of my learning the French language. She leads you through stages during which you are exposed to many many stories in French – and the great majority have French-language explanation of words and phrases. Also, grammar is presented tangentially to the stories; you learn vocabulary in context. She projects her love of teaching with great warmth. I have been with the program for 9 months. It is a great investment!