Roughly a month ago, during a fun filled evening of playing nails, a friend related to me and others his dissatisfaction with the Russian language course he took on campus. The complaint had to do with the emphasis on grammar. I think it’s a problem that plagues most language courses in general, probably even independent of the countries where they are taught. The number of people who can speak fluently languages they learned in high school and/or college shows that this typical language teaching method is effective, but couldn’t a course emphasizing conversational interactions before getting into grammar rules be more effective? The only reason I think so is because of how everyone learns their native language. I was not confronted with adverbs, past participles, or reflexive pronouns until years after I knew how to communicate with others. Moreover, the fact I don’t have any clue what those three glimpses into grammar I just listed are or how they are used is proof that a technical understanding of grammar isn’t necessary to communicate effectively. Everything you need to know about grammar is learned indirectly through oral communication.