THE APPROPRIATE RATION OF A LANGUAGE OUTPUT TO INPUT

 

The Appropriate Ratio of a Language Output to Input

     

There is an existing research regarding the time allocation to reading textbooks and solving relevant problems among undergraduates with a view to identifying how undergraduates prepare to study generally in terms of an input and an output.

 

The result suggests that on average they spend 70% of their time on input activities like reading and 30% on output activities like solving problems. 

Another research for office workers further shows an indistinguishable result that they spend 71% of their time on input activities and 29% of time on output activities.

 

Above all, what does it mean? 

We can deduce that we are likely to deem learning or studying as an input, which is a very interesting fact. 

It is a reality that we are programmed to centre on reading a lot of textbooks and listening to what teachers are saying. 

That is taking place in the education sector. 

I must admit that reading academic papers and understanding them in depth are paramount to write a better research paper. 

However, the question remains whether it is applicable to a language-learning by nature.

 

Arthur I. Gates, Experimental Psychologist, Professor of Educational Psychology, Columbia University, performed an experiment with a view to addressing the most efficient balance between an input and output in terms of to what extent various combinations of them affects memorization. 

In the experiment, the subjects are more than 100 children age from 9 to 14 years old, who were advised to memorize and recite each profile from the national biography. Each subject was allotted 9 minutes for this purpose. 

Depending on the group, the ratio of the allotted time to memorizing (an input) and reciting (an output) varied.

 

The group that showed the best result was allotted 40% of the given time for memorizing and 60% for reciting. 

In addition, when the age gets higher, the group with 30% of the given time for memorizing showed the best result. 

This data may result in a foundation to indicate, not limited to only a language learning, the appropriate ratio of an input to an output, which turned out to be 40% to 60% for beginners and 30% to 70% for intermediate or for adults for memorization.

 

Many language-learning beginners tend to do over-reading and -memorizing to get better at speaking a language by reading, which is the worst enabler of all on the ground because in spite of how much efforts people make, the outcome is not expected to be aligned with what people did. 

Then people are discouraged.

If you cannot keep on getting what you paid for, you are centainly giving up what you are doing continuously.

Based on the former experiment, you can memorize more by not reading. 

Language learners are likely to stop to wonder why they still cannot see progress despites spending a considerable amount of study.

 

It happens that this will dismay language-learning beginners and lose their confidence because they spend so much time on it but there is no progress. 

They are likely to fall into the loop of considering that “I am not good at learning a language. 

I do not want to make mistakes and try to say words in a correct manner” because of the absence of confidence in his own language ability.

In reality, what needs to be done is to speak and write more then correct and adjust errors. However, the discouragement will stop them from trying out. 

It goes in the opposite direction, which contributes to less language outputs. 

It is hard to get better at a language without making mistakes.

 

Eventually they may quit learning at an early stage. 

Therefore, it is crucial to keep in mind that an output practice is a catalyst to make a dynamic change in a language-learning. 

This must be emphasized in studying in terms of a language-learning, especially for people who are discouraged or are likely to think that “they are not good at learning a foreign language by nature”. 

It is not your fault. 

The method is wrong. 

To put it in a nutshell, it would be better to do more language exercises by speaking, writing or summarizing what is written in the textbooks or keep a diary with your own words than reading textbooks bluntly.

Thanks for reading,

Hilano Aquihisa