Revisiting the Foundations of Language Acquisition with Dr. Bill VanPatten

Between our students, curriculum demands, and everything happening in our communities, it’s easy to lose sight of the core principles that truly drive language acquisition. That’s why I’m excited to revisit my powerful conversation with Dr. Bill VanPatten.

In this episode of Growing with Proficiency, the Podcast, Dr. VanPatten challenges many of the traditional ideas we’ve been taught about language teaching. If you’ve ever felt frustrated by the gap between what you teach and what students actually acquire, this conversation will bring clarity and validation to your approach.

Language Acquisition Is Driven by Input, Not Instruction

“The role of communicatively embedded and comprehensible input is not a hypothesis in L2 acquisition… it’s a fact.” — Dr. Bill VanPatten

For decades, SLA research has consistently demonstrated that input—specifically, comprehensible input—is the primary driver of language acquisition. Learners acquire language when they are exposed to messages they can understand, not through explicit grammar instruction or memorized vocabulary lists.

Dr. VanPatten emphasizes that this is not just a theory but an established fact in the field of language acquisition. This aligns with Stephen Krashen’s Input Hypothesis (1985), which states that learners acquire language when they receive input slightly beyond their current level of comprehension (i+1) (Krashen, 1985).

Language Is More Complex Than We Think

“What you think you see in language is what you think you see, but that’s not what language is.” — Dr. Bill VanPatten

One of the biggest misconceptions in language teaching is that language is a set of rules that can be systematically taught and mastered. But according to Dr. VanPatten, language is far more abstract and complex than the neatly structured grammar charts found in textbooks.

Research in linguistic theory suggests that language is not a set of prescriptive rules, but an emergent system shaped by cognitive processes and social interaction (Ellis, 2008). This explains why learners often struggle to apply grammar rules they have been explicitly taught but successfully acquire structures they have been repeatedly exposed to in meaningful communication.

Dr. Bill VanPatten mentions four fundamental properties of language:

1. Language is mental representation.
2. Language is abstract.
3. Language complex.
4. Language is implicit.

In his book The Nature of Language, Dr. VanPatten makes an important distinction between language and communication.  He said “Communication is the expression and interpretation of meaning in a given context for a given purpose. But communication is not language, and language is not communication, Communication may make use of language (among humans), but it is not the same think as language”.

There is so much more to language than what we see. Therefore, the idea of “teaching explicitly” all the rules and patters so students can acquire the language is just not possible.   

Why Measuring Progress Through Output Can Be Misleading

Even though, at this point most of the research on Second Language Acquisition agrees about the vital role of input in language acquisition, many teachers express frustration when students seem to “plateau” or fail to produce accurate language after weeks or months of receiving comprehensible input. 

However, Dr. VanPatten believes that this frustration often stems from unrealistic expectations.

“Language acquisition is slow, piecemeal, and stage-like and follows a path not dictated by instruction or external forces.” — Dr. Bill VanPatten

VanPatten explains that language development follows a predictable path, much like first-language acquisition. Also, we need to remember the process itself is slow. Studies on developmental sequences in SLA (Pienemann) demonstrate that learners acquire grammatical structures in a fixed order, regardless of explicit instruction. 

And there is more, “learners follow universal stages of development. However, this does not mean that for a given stage of acquisition all learners use identical grammatical systems. Instead, there is a degree of variability in the ue of interlangauge systems”. (Penemann, 2021 pg. 22, Research Talks Motivating-Centered Classrooms, Eric Herman)

This means that drilling verb conjugations does not accelerate acquisition—students will internalize them only when they are developmentally ready.

In addition, we need to remember that developing that linguistic system in our heads take years so expecting students to be able to produce language without error after one or two years of instruction is not realistic. Plus, receptive skills (listening and reading) develop before productive skills (speaking and writing). 

Rethinking the Role of Grammar in Language Teaching

One of the most controversial topics in SLA is the role of grammar. Traditionally, grammar has been treated as the foundation of language learning, but research suggests a different reality.

In many language classes, we drill rules, practice verb endings, and expect students to apply them correctly on tests. But as Dr. VanPatten explains, language learners do not acquire language in this way.

Instead of focusing on teaching grammar, we should provide abundant exposure to language in context. Students will internalize patterns naturally over time, just as they do in their first language.

Final Thoughts: Shifting Our Mindset for True Language Acquisition

“Teachers need to stop thinking of themselves as language teachers and start thinking of themselves as facilitators of language acquisition.” — Dr. Bill VanPatten

This shift in mindset is crucial. Our job isn’t to “teach” students to conjugate verbs or memorize vocabulary—it’s to immerse them in meaningful, compelling language experiences that allow acquisition to happen naturally.

If this conversation resonated with you, make sure to listen to the full episode and stay tuned for part two, where we dive deeper into the role of grammar and output in language acquisition.

🎧 Listen now: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2051875/episodes/16611301

And if you found this valuable, share it with a fellow language teacher who might need this reminder right now! 💛