When you can speak more than one language, you can experience the natural ability to communicate. Similar to Chomsky's LAD, I've seen that, even in languages I'm only sporadically learning, my brain automatically classifies grammatical structures. When I work in multilingual meetings, I see how everyone understands grammar patterns with ease, but irregular verbs are very difficult to understand.
The biological basis cannot be denied. Yet, most of us, including myself, are unable to pick up accents or nuanced pragmatics despite immersion. So, it's evident that biology alone is insufficient.
Skinner's focus on the environment is in line with my own language development. During my trips to Italy, I picked up some Italian through conversation rather than textbooks. Bonus? Getting a grin or a discount at the market by perfectly enunciating a phrase!
In my experience, corporate language training that consists of vocabulary drills only (pure nurturing) fails, but combined with cultural immersion like asking for a bill and paying for lunch in Portuguese at a Brazilian restaurant, it succeeds. Still, I saw some coworkers freezing and others soaking up languages like sponges. I guess, the nurture-only strategy fails as well.
My work flourishes in the interactionist perspective. I use Bloom & Tinker's "intentionality" and Vygotsky's "scaffolding" a lot.
Facilitating a multilingual conversation is all about creating an environment where:
For me, learning a new language failed miserably until I was left behind in the middle of the night at the airport. The pressure to argue a point forced me to combine my natural sense of grammar with my learned vocabulary to find lodging, change my flight, and even secure a visa required for an overnight stay.
It is impossible to "teach" a multilingual team to communicate. You create interactions (like drafting a contract in a broken language) where language is used as a tool to solve actual problems.
Knowing errors stem from cognitive effort (not laziness) shifts focus from "correction" to "clarification." I prioritize understanding over perfection.
"Not Knowing" is a power: My inexperience as a teacher is a strength. I serve as an example of vulnerability by demonstrating how communication flourishes through collaborative problem-solving (Bruner's joint attention in action) using my own linguistic barriers.