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When to start output?

Jack Jordan

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13 Nov 2019
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I've been learning Japanese for almost a year now, first learning Hiragana and Katakana, then accidentally trying to learn Kanji an ineffective way before buying RTK, and right now I have a tutor, I am halfway through RTK, I am using HelloTalk to talk with native speakers and I am also a decent chunk through a core 6k anki deck. I recently found out about AJATT through Matt Vs Japan, and I was really excited to start the AJATT process, but one of the things he says often is that you should try to minimise output in a language until later stages of learning. Do you guys agree with this? I'm kind of torn, because there are loads of people on each side of the argument, and each side has points that make sense to me. I'm definitely going to do the immersion side of AJATT, I just want to find out what people's opinions are about this before I stop taking Tutoring/ stop using HelloTalk.
Thanks!
Below is one of his videos, although it might not make sense without a bit more knowledge of AJATT
 
Hi Jack,

I find the terms 'input' and 'output' to be a bit jarring. It sounds like we are talking about computer programming not language acquisition. I would prefer saying 'listening practice', speaking practice', etc.

I disagree with Matt. Many systems teach a passive knowledge of a foreign language, and I consider passive knowledge of English and Japanese to be a big mistake, even at the beginning level. Unfortunately, the vast majority of students in Japan (and in China) who are learning English only have a passive knowledge of English, this is really bad, their speaking ability is horrible, and it is much worse than it should be for someone who has studied a language for years and years. I have students who have studied English for ten years, and they can barely speak English at all.

But the biggest issue here is, if a person is going to indulge in speaking practice, it needs to be taught and learned in a good, effective manner. I have seen many programs that teach speaking but do a bad job of it. Make sure you have found a good speaking program before you invest time and money in it.
 
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