Unit IV
Second Language
Acquisition
Theory
Presented by:
Dela Roca, Aira Mae
Espeleta, Gilsen
Sarmiento. Mekhaela
Soller, Maya
Velasco, Lushelle
Stephen Krashen
He is an expert in the field of linguistics, specializing in
theories of language acquisition and development. Much of his
recent research has involved the study of non-English and
bilingual language acquisition. Since 1980, he has published
well over 100 books and articles and has been invited to
deliver over 300 lectures at universities throughout the United
States and Canada.
This is a brief description of Krashen's widely known and
well-accepted theory of second language acquisition, which
has had a large impact in all areas of second language research
and teaching.
Krashen’s theories of Second Language
consists of five main hypothesis
1. The Acquisition-learning Hypothesis
2. The Monitor Hypothesis
3. The Input Hypothesis
4. The Natural order Hypothesis
5. The Affective Filter Hypothesis
The Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis
Its distinction is the most fundamental and most
widely known hypothesis among linguists and
language teacher.
There are two independent systems in which we developed our linguistic skills.
The “acquired system” and “learning system.”
Acquisition Learning
• Acquisition of language is a
subconscious language process.
• Once the new knowledge has been • Learning of language involves
acquired, the learner is unaware of formal instruction and is
possessing such knowledge. therefore a conscious process.
• It requires meaningful interaction in • New language forms are
the target language. represented and possibly
• “natural communication” in which contrasted by the learners as
speakers are concentrated in the grammar and rules.
form of their utterances but in the
communicate act.
The Monitor Hypothesis
• Explain the relationship between acquisition and
learning.
• The acquisition is the utterance initiator while the
learning system performs the role of the “monitor”.
Three specific conditions:
• Time
• Focus on form
• Know the rules
Additional note:
According to Krashen, the role of the monitor is minor. It is being used only to
correct deviations from “normal speech” to give a “more polished appearance”.
Individual variation of language
learners in their monitor use:
• Over users – learners that use the monitor all the time.
• Under users – learners who have not learned or who prefer
no to use their conscious knowledge .
• Optimal users – learners who uses monitor appropriately.
Input Hypotheses
1. The input hypothesis relates to acquisition, not learning.
2. We acquire by understanding language that contains structure beyond
our level of competence.
3. When communication is successful, when the input is understood and
there is enough of it, i + 1 will be provided automatically.
4. Production ability emerges. It is not taught directly.
Evidences supporting the hypothesis:
- First language acquisition in children caretaker speech, the modifications that
parents and others make when talking to young children. Caretakers talk ‘simpler’ in
an effort to make themselves understood by the child.
- Caretaker speech is not precisely adjusted to the level of each child but tends to
get more complex as the child progresses. Cross (1977) and Newport, Gleitman, and
Gleitman (1977).
- A third characteristic of caretaker speech that concerns us is known as the
“here and now” principle. It is well established that caretakers talk mostly about
what the child can perceive, what is in the immediate environment.
Comprehensible Input – is a language input that can be understood by
listeners despite them not understanding all the words and structures in it. It is
described as one level above that of the learners if it can only just be understood.
According to Krashen’s theory of language acquisition, giving learners this kind of
input helps them acquire language naturally rather than learn it consciously.
“Stephen Krashen on Language Acquisition” Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vc0xPsSh9oE
The Affective Filter
This embodies Krashen's view that several 'affective variables' play a facilitative, but non-
causal, role in second language acquisition. These variables include motivation, self-
confidence, anxiety and personality traits. Krashen claims that learners with high
motivation, self-confidence, a good self-image, a low level of anxiety and extroversion are
better equipped for success in second language acquisition. Low motivation, low self-esteem,
anxiety, introversion and inhibition can raise the affective filter and form a 'mental block' that
prevents comprehensible input from being used for acquisition. In other words, when the filter
is 'up' it impedes language acquisition. On the other hand, positive affect is necessary, but not
sufficient on its own, for acquisition to take place.
The Natural Order
• This states the order in which learners acquire the grammar
skills of a language.
Additionally, it is based on research findings (Dulay & Burt, 1974; Fathman, 1975;
Makino, 1980 cited in Krashen, 1987) which suggested that the acquisition of grammatical
structures follows a 'natural order' which is predictable. For a given language, some
grammatical structures tend to be acquired early while others late.
The Ways of Developing
Confidence in Second
Language
One of these was Dr. Jeffery W. Overby, a professor of business at Belmont University in
Nashville, who said, “The lack of language education for American students before high school
inhibits their ability to master a language and to appreciate other cultures through language
learning. We wouldn’t consider sending students to college with only 2 years of math or history.
Language should be treated the same — as a core subject beginning in elementary school.”
Many Americans today don’t study a foreign language, and those who do often move from
one to the next in the hopes of finding one that’s easier to learn (I did this: Spanish to French to
Italian to Polish to Mandarin), and others just give up because it takes a lot of time and effort. But
it doesn’t have to be this way.
What does Language Proficiency Means?
Requiring foreign language as part of the K-12 core curriculum will help more Americans
become what so many others are around the world: proficient in a second language.
The term “proficiency” is used a great deal in the modern global world. We use it to describe
our children’s competency in a foreign language both in the classroom and in a foreign country as
they are able to read and interpret signs and menus in a language other than English. According to
the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Performance Descriptors
for Language Learners, designed to reflect how language learners perform whether learning in
classrooms, online, through independent project-based learning, or in blended environment:
Proficiency is the ability to use language in real world situations in a spontaneous
interaction and non-rehearsed context and in a manner acceptable and appropriate to native
speakers of the language. Proficiency demonstrates what a language user is able to do regardless
of where, when or how the language was acquired. The demonstration is independent of how the
language was learned; the context may or may not be familiar; the evaluation of proficiency is not
limited to the content of a particular curriculum that has been taught or learned.
An assessment of proficiency determines if the language user provides
sufficient evidence of all of the assessment criteria of a particular level
according to the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines. The individual must do
everything expected at a level in a sustained fashion, that is, all of the time, in
order to be rated at that level.
Levels of Language Proficiency
0 – No Proficiency.
1 – Elementary Proficiency.
2 – Limited Working Proficiency.
3 – Professional Working Proficiency.
4 – Full Professional Proficiency.
5 – Native / Bilingual Proficiency.
The Advantages of Rough-
Tuning in Child’s First
Language Acquisition
What is Rough-Tuning?
- In English teaching, it is when a teacher adjusts his or her
level of Language to make sure the students can comprehend his
or her speech. eg. a teacher of Elementary learners of English
must speak to students slowly and very clearly, using easy
vocabulary and sentence structures.
What are the advantages of Rough-Tuning in
child’s first language acquisition?
1. It ensures that i + 1 is covered, with no guesswork as to just what i + 1 is for
a child.
2. Roughly-tuned input will provide i + 1 for more than one child at a time, as
long as they understand what is said.
3. Roughly-tuned input provides built-in review.
THANK YOU!
References
https://www.sk.com.br/sk-krash-english.html
https://teflpedia.com/Acquisition-learning_hypothesis
https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/comprehensible-input#:~:text=Comprehensible%20input%20is%20language
%20input,can%20only%20just%20be%
20understood
https://stacieberdan.com/what-does-language-proficiency-mean/
https://www.englishforums.com/English/RoughTuning/cjwbg/post.htm
https://prezi.com/02tysthlv--v/the-input-hypothesis/?frame=8fd492f6485b2e532c94b3c98410623226bed245
https://prezi.com/02tysthlv--v/the-input-hypothesis/?frame=8fd492f6485b2e532c94b3c98410623226bed245
https://www.sk.com.br/sk-krash-english.html
https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/comprehensible-input
