The Dialogue Approach
To communicate rapidly and effectively in a foreign language

Owning the Language

1. Communicating Based on Automatic Response is Fun

In order to communicate without too much fatigue, without translating, and in a manner that is enjoyable, students must reach the stage in which they proceduralize the structures of the foreign language. It is estimated, in general, that 3000 repetitions are necessary to acquire what Jean-Paul Narcy calls “routine.”

It is important not to confuse automatization with learning by heart. The automization treated here is one of operating capacity. Just like data processing. Richards reminds us; an explanation of the difference between controlled language and spontaneous language was proposed by McLaughlen, Rossman and McLeod (1983) that was inspired by a database model. According to this theory, learning every complex task and every form of behavior requires an integration of a certain number of sub-capacities. In order for it to be possible to accomplish tasks and deal with recurrent situations with maximum effectiveness, a great many of these underlying capacities become routine or automatic and are accomplished without conscious awareness. This is what is called the “automatic treatment.” In the case of a particular task inherent in foreign language learning, sub-capacities that have not been brought into the realm of the automatic inhibit the ability to accomplish the task.

It is incumbent then to instill in the learner not the memorization of a system (knowledge, grammatical rules, etc.), but a memory capacity that retrieves automatically, when required, the form that fits the meaning that one needs to convey in any given situation.