It funny though. People see me as an “input only extremist”, while I pretty much advocate the same as you do. My own experience and subsequent research has shown that taking in massive amount of native speech during a silent period benefits most learners.

However, what many forget to mention (or maybe even think of) is that the ultimate goal is being able to express yourself. Thus, after a silent period (which must not be too long) production is very important. You will never get a perfect accent by only listening, but after a good silent period you at least know what to work towards. Then, when you imitate native speakers and speak as much as you can (while still taking in considerable amounts of native input), you will eventually get a good accent, and will feel comfortable speaking your target language.

Loved your article "Sipping from the Language Hose" by they way. Perfect analogy.

And thanks for the link!

Thanks for the feedback and I will be sure to check in on your blog soon… (Incidentally, I have a link to your site on my sidebar if you hadn't noticed…)

With regard to polyglot blogs I frequent, check ou the "Suggested Sites" in the sidebar. I don't agree with everything that each blogger says, but all of them have a) demonstrated success in learning foreign languages, and b) are able to explain their views in a clear, entertaining way.

I really like the fact that you pointed out the difference between input and output in one's native language. That's actually something I was thinking about this morning, with regard to how many words we can recognize or understand compared to what we actually use.

Good stuff here.

I'd love to see even a partial listing of the polyglot blogs you subscribe to. I'm always on the outlook for more reading material.