STEPHEN D. KRASHEN

5 Hypotheses of L2 Acquisition

BACKGROUND

Ph.D. in Linguistics from UCLA

Emeritus professor of Education at University of Southern

California

Research concerns:

1. Second Language Acquisition

2. Bilingual Education

3. Literacy

4. Neurolinguistics

ACQUISIT ION-LEARNING DISTINCTION

Adults have 2 independent ways of developing competency in L2.

1. Acquisition – a subconscious process; adult not usually

aware of acquisition; adult just has a feel for

correctness;

also referred to as implicit learning, informal learning

or

natural learning.

2. Learning – a conscious process; being aware; knowing

the rules; explicit or formal learning

NATURAL ORDER HYPOTHESIS

Acquisition proceeds in a predictable order

In 1973, Brown found that child acquisition of English as

a native language shows some morphemes are acquired

before others.

In 1974, Dulay and Burt found that this is true regardless

of the child’s L1.

NATURAL ORDER HYPOTHESIS MODEL

ING (progressive) / Plural forms / Copula (to be)

Auxiliary ( progressive is ___-ing) / Articles

Irregular Past Tense

Regular Past Tense / 3rd Person singular / Possessive

-s

MONITOR HYPOTHESIS

Acquisition and learning are used in different ways

1. Acquisition – This initiates utterances in

L2 and is

responsible for fluency.

2. Learning – This serves as a monitor, or

editor, and

makes changes in utterances.

THE MONITOR HYPOTHESIS

THE MONITOR HYPOTHESIS

Dulay, Burt and Krashen, point out that there are three

internal factors that operate as people learn L2:

1. Filter (subconscious) – motives, needs, attitudes,

emotion

2. Organizer (subconscious) – organizes new language

system and gradually builds up rules

3. Monitor (conscious) – processes information

(Dulay, Burt and Krashen 45-46)

INPUT HYPOTHESIS

Krashen puts it this way: “a necessary (but not sufficient)

condition to move from i to i + 1 is that the acquirer must

understand input that contains i + 1, where “understand” means

that the acquirer is focused on the meaning and not the form of

the message.” (Krashen 21)

We acquire when we understand language containing structures

beyond what we know.

We “acquire by ‘going for meaning’ first, and as a result, we

acquire structure.” (Krashen 21)

AFFECTIVE FILTER HYPOTHESIS

Proposed by Dulay/Burt in 1977

Affecting variables

1. Motivation – High motivation leads to better L2

acquisition.

2. Self-confidence – High self-confidence leads to

better L2

acquisition.

3. Anxiety – Low anxiety is conducive to L2 acquisition.

COMBINED MODEL OF ACQUISITION AND

PRODUCTION

DOES LANGUAGE TEACHING HELP?

It does when the opportunities to for acquisition

outside the classroom are not plentiful.

It does not when comprehensible input outside of

the classroom is plentiful and when L2 learners are

competent enough to take advantage of it.

KRASHEN ON GRAMMAR INSTRUCTION

“The only instance in which the teaching of grammar

can result in language acquisition (and proficiency)

is when the students are interested in the subject

and the target language is used as a medium of

information.”

-Ricardo Schütz paraphrasing Krashen

KRASHEN SHOWING HIS THEORY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqukbEigUtk

REFERENCES

Cook, V. “Krashen’s Comprehension Hypothesis Model of L2

Learning.” Krashen’s Theory of Second Language Acquisition.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/vivian.c/SLA/Krshen.htm

Dulay, H, Burt, M and Krashen, T (1982). Language Two. New York: Oxford University Press

Krashen, S. (1982). Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. Oxford, Eng:

Pergamon

Press, Ltd.

Schütz, R. (2007). “Stephen Krashen’s Theory of Second

Language Acquisition.” English Made in Brazil.

http://www.sk.com.br/sk-krash.html.

Sole, Y.R. (1994). “The input hypothesis and the bilingual learner.” Bilingual Review 19(2), 99-110.

Bilingual Review Press.