The tests made me do it.

Most language tests are based on the skill-building hypothesis; they test grammar, vocabulary, spelling, etc. It seems obvious to many people that the best way to study for these tests is to study grammar, vocabulary, spelling, etc. The research, however, tells us differently: Students in classes with more comprehensible input do better on such tests than those in traditional classes.

The best way to help students prepare is to provide massive amounts of comprehensible input in class, and provide the means for them to obtain comprehensible input outside of class (see below). It is quite possible that some direct instruction (e.g. test-taking strategies) may be helpful, but it remains an empirical question just how much and what kind of instruction is best.

The lack of real-world input made me do it.

As many have commented, there is a profound difference between second and foreign language education; in the former, there is plenty of input outside the classroom but in the latter there typically is not. For this reason, some teachers have opted for skill-building over comprehensible input, claiming that there is not enough time for "the real thing." But comprehensible input is more efficient, according to method-comparison studies mentioned earlier.

Also, note that for the beginner the situation is identical: outside world input is not comprehensible anyway. The real difference between the foreign and second language situation is at the intermediate level.

We can't reproduce the second language informal environment, but we can do much better, and the Comprehension Hypothesis gives us a clear idea of what to do: Foreign language students need better libraries, libraries filled with books, magazines, comics, as well as audiotapes and videotapes. It should be possible for second language acquirers to spend a great deal of time reading books and magazines, watching TV shows and films they are really interested in, and that are comprehensible. Such a facility should be open to the public, to make it possible for anyone to get comprehensible input in the second language of their choice whenever necessary or desired.

Even if rich sources of comprehensible input are unavailable for the EFL student, this is still not a valid reason for employing a method that is incorrect. Presenting and reinforcing a false view of how language is acquired will only make language acquisition unlikely (or extremely inefficient) when input is available.

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