This makes sense. I majored in Japanese in college. There were 3 kinds of students in our language classes:
1. Students for whom it came naturally
2. Students who could be competent if they worked really hard
3. Students who, no matter how hard they tried, weren't going to learn to speak Japanese. Wasn't gonna happen.
Bad teaching methods might result in some #2 types being mischaracterized as hopeless #3's, but I think no amount of pedagogical innovation can overcome the fact that some people just can't do certain things. (Of course, it could be a function of age and brain wiring, since all citizens of Japan, even the stupid ones, have no trouble learning Japanese.)
1. Students for whom it came naturally 2. Students who could be competent if they worked really hard 3. Students who, no matter how hard they tried, weren't going to learn to speak Japanese. Wasn't gonna happen.
Bad teaching methods might result in some #2 types being mischaracterized as hopeless #3's, but I think no amount of pedagogical innovation can overcome the fact that some people just can't do certain things. (Of course, it could be a function of age and brain wiring, since all citizens of Japan, even the stupid ones, have no trouble learning Japanese.)