Chomsky

When we say the goal of language instruction is to "awaken the language learner within each student," what we really mean is "activate the language acquisition device (LAD) within each student's brain."

It is amazing to think about the enormous impact of Chomksky's ideas on modern linguistics. But even more interesting, Chomsky's ideas about education challenge all of us who teach. We all might get so focused on our own subjects and proficiency objectives, that we can forget about the big picture. Our work as teachers makes an enormous impact on the lives of our students, no matter what subject we teach and no matter how briefly we may be working with them. The most important classroom experience can be a momentary breakthrough, a flash of insight, that a person remembers all their lives.

As we are thinking about how games stimulate learning, a nice recap of Noam Chomsky's theory of learning on the New Foundations website caught our attention.

http://www.newfoundations.com/GALLERY/Chomsky.html

One more note about Chomsky's language module

The QTalk method is aimed at using the simplest technique to achieve this "awakening" effect, getting the dormant "language learner within" (Chomsky's language module in the brain) to WAKE UP! So that before you know it, you produce spontaneous speech! That is, you speak in your new language without thinking, just as you do in your native language.

We know that some people simply don't believe in Chomsky's language module, and that's fine.

What about this:
As a world language instructor you are familiar with the student saying, "I cannot do this," so then there is not the will to make the effort. We want to pre-empt this whole dynamic - just never even let the "I cannot do this" thought occur to the student. They must experience instant success, and this gives the incentive to continue to build on success until they are astonished at their own achievement.
 

This is Maurice:
“I believe the success of this discovery is aligned with our society’s need for immediate results.
When I first observed language classes, I was surprised that the most basic principles of short and long term memory where not implemented, what a shame to spend an average of 320 hours in Spanish and walk away with a mere ¿Cómo está? or Gracias.”

We are working on our website - soon you will see the reflection of this discussion in our profile and "About Us" pages. We hope you will let us know what you think about this topic.

Noam Chomsky first identified the innate language-learning skill, this magic part of the brain he calls the language module. This neurological marvel allows children to process an enormous amount of random information and naturally store it in place holders (during their sleep mostly), just as if they had created a vast network of cubicles in their mind. Unfortunately, this module gradually goes dormant from the age of 7 as we acquire the main infrastructure of our language.

The challenges is - how can we wake up this dormant language module?

Have you heard of the QTalk method, or have you tried the QTalk method in your classroom? 
What other instructional methods or techniques are able to accomplish this instant awakening of language learning capacity?