What makes the best learning experience for students of Languages, Linguistics or Area Studies?
To answer this question, we need first to ask some further questions. What should a language student be able to do after ‘the best learning experience’? Speak fluently, if inaccurately? Write with perfect style, but be nervous of mistakes while speaking? Or just be able to say, honestly, that they love learning the language? And is it ever fair to say that grammatical accuracy and organic fluency in a language are mutually exclusive? Moreover, in trying to define the ‘best’ learning experience, should we focus on the most enjoyable one, or the one where most vocabulary or grammatical structures are learnt? The central factor governing language learning is learner motivation, and the best language learning will arise only when teachers and students dedicate time and interest. No matter how talented the teacher, or how wonderful the facilities, if learners don’t want to learn a language, they won’t! But while it is difficult to motivate uninterested students, I suggest that the initial r
