Stephen Krashens six hypotheses

Stephen Krashen (University of Southern California) is an expert in the field

of linguistics, specializing in theories of language acquisition and development.
He has pulished many papers and oo!s contriuting to the fields of second
language acquisition, ilingual education and reading. He is the author of the "atural
#pproach, the theory of second language acquisition $hich consists of % hypotheses
$e are going to tal! aout.
&rashen's theory of second language acquisition consists of five main hypotheses(
the #cquisition)*earning hypothesis,
the +onitor hypothesis,
the "atural ,rder hypothesis,
the -nput hypothesis,
the #ffective .ilter hypothesis.
/. The Acquisition-Learning hypothesis
&rashen clearly ma!es a distinction et$een language acquisition and language
learning. Acquisition is the product of a suconscious process very similar to the
process children undergo $hen they acquire their first language. *anguage acquirers
rather develop a 0feel0 for correctness. 1oth adults and children can suconsciously
acquire language, and oth $ritten and oral language can e acquired. #n example are
children and young adults $ho live aroad for a year in an exchange program.
Learning is the product of a conscious process $hich results in conscious !no$ledge
aout the language, for example !no$ledge of grammar rules. -t involves conscious
error correction. -t can e compared to learning aout a language. #ccording to
&rashen 'learning' is less important than 'acquisition'.
2. The Natural Order Hypothesis
'we acquire the rules of language in a predictable order'
3he "atural ,rder Hypothesis suggests that the acquisition of language follo$s a
predictable natural order, for oth children and adults, irrespective of the
language eing learnt. "amely, for any given language, $e tend to learn different
structures at different levels as young children. 3he same pattern occurs for older
learners. 3his is the 4predictale natural order5 of this hypothesis.
6e should ear in mind, ho$ever, that the orders of first and second language
acquisition are similar ut not identical as the circumstances under $hich language
acquisitions occur differ. ,n one hand, there are adolescent or adult learners $ho
have een provided $ith the materials including oth grammatical and vocaulary
content, ut none of $hich is chosen y themselves, due to the lac! of !no$ledge,
oviously. ,n the other hand, there are toddlers $ho use all the real life experiences
at their disposal and ta!e $hat they need. .urthermore toddlers have an
over$helming need to acquire language, since they do not have any other means of
communication, $hereas older learners have other things that equally or even more
than that demand their full attention and concentration (such as school, 7o, friends,
family, etc.).
1ased on this hypothesis, many schools have adapted charts that can help teachers
determine the language stages of their students. #s mentioned aove, for a given
language, some grammatical structures tend to e acquired early, others late.
Students usually first acquire pronouns, then vers and then nouns, in order to
produce complete sentences. #s for tenses, they usually first acquire the present
tense, then past tense, and they acquire other complicated tenses last.
8ach stage is progression, ho$ever, there are numerous factors that contriute to
S*# and the amount of time a student spends in each stage is dependent on various
situations( the student9s access to quality instruction in the 3*, the student9s access
to communicative situations $ith native spea!ers of the 3* inside and outside of the
classroom etc.
#nd that is $hy the teacher9s tas! is to create a natural environment in the
classroom.
:. The Monitor hypothesis
3he +onitor hypothesis explains the relationship et$een acquisition and learning
and defines the influence of the latter on the former. 3he monitoring function is the
practical result of the learned grammar. 3he language that one has suconsciously
acquired 0initiates our utterances in a second language and is responsile for our
fluency,0 $hereas the language that $e have consciously learned acts as an editor in
situations $here the learner has enough time to edit, is focused on form, and !no$s
the rule, such as on a grammar test in a language classroom or $hen carefully $riting
a composition. 3his conscious editor is called the +onitor.
3here are three types of +onitor users(
Over-users ; these users $ho try to al$ays use their +onitor, and end up 0so
concerned $ith correctness that they cannot spea! $ith any real fluency.0
Under-users ; these users either have not consciously learned or choose not to
use their conscious !no$ledge of the language.
Optimal users ; these users use the +onitor $hen it is appropriate and $hen it
does not interfere $ith communication. 3hey do not use their conscious
!no$ledge of grammar in normal conversation, ut $ill use it in $riting and
planned speech. 3eachers should aim to produce this type of +onitor users.
<. The nput hypothesis
3he -nput hypothesis is &rashen's attempt to explain ho$ the learner acquires a
second language. 3he -nput hypothesis is concerned only $ith =acquisition9, not
=learning9. -t states that a language acquirer $ho is at 0level i0 must receive
comprehensile input that is at 0level i>/.0 6e acquire, in other $ords, only $hen $e
understand language $hose structure is 'a little eyond' $here $e are no$. 3he
teacher9s aim is not to teach the grammatical structure 4i>/5 ut to ma!e information
more comprehensile to the learner for him to acquire that structure suconsciously.
3he teacher can achieve this y adding visual aids or y using extra)linguistic context.
&rashen also suggests conversation $ith native spea!ers, ut adds that the learners do
not have to tal! until they are ready.
?. The A!!ecti"e #ilter hypothesis
3his hypothesis is ased on a presumption that here are three factors that play a
ma7or role in the process of acquiring the second language. 3hose are motivation,
self)confidence, and anxiety. #ccording to &rashen, the learners $ho are motivated,
self)confident and less anxious can acquire a language more easily than those $ho are
less confident, less motivated, and prone to anxiety. He claims that he others tend to
create a so called 4#ffective .ilter5, the term that stands for an imaginary arrier hat
prevents learners from acquiring a language from the availale input.
3his hypothesis can explain $hy some students are more successful than the others,
even though they are given the same opportunity. #nd for such reasons the method
such as (@e)suggestopedia is recommended( it enales the students to feel more
relaxed and to gain more self)esteem, and in that $ay the students reduce the
loc!age.
%. The $eading hypothesis
3he last one is quite simple and quite logical( it says that the more $e read in target
language, the greater our vocaulary $ill e. 3herefore, this hypothesis suggests
involving reading in language classrooms, ecause it gives an opportunity to the
students to see ho$ the language is used in real)life contexts.
Auestions(
/) 6hat is the difference et$een language acquisition and learningB
2) 6hat does the natural order hypothesis imply and ho$ does it apply to the
modern language teachingB
:) 6hat is the monitor function and $hen should it e appliedB
<) 6hat is the difference et$een 4i5 and 4i >/5B
?) 6hat is the affective filter hypothesisB
%) 6hy is involving reading in a language classroom very importantB