# Language acquisition happens through comprehensible input > We acquire language in one way, and only one way: when we receive *comprehensible input* in a *low anxiety environment*. We acquire language through comprehensible input, ie, when we understand messages, and only through it. Therefore, speaking is not necessary to acquire language, although it can be useful if it prompts more comprehensible and ideally engaging input from the interlocutor. Language acquisition can also only occur in an environment where the affective filter is not triggered, ie, an environment without anxiety, self-doubt, or boredom. That is why making students speak by force is counter-productive in a language class. --- ## 📚 References - Krashen, Stephen. [Stephen Krashen on Language Acquisition](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiTsduRreug). YouTube. - [‘Input Hypothesis’](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Input_hypothesis&oldid=1038780078). Wikipedia. - [‘Roadmap’](https://refold.la/roadmap). Refold.