Krashen’s Hypotheses of Second Language Acquisition Essay

Foreign language classes are often put off until high school due to the fact that this is when people believe students are most ready to learn another language. This belief is widely accepted despite the fact children are able to learn to speak like natives in foreign languages, whereas teenagers and adults usually are not able to learn how to do this. Speaking “like a native” entails being able to think in a foreign language without having to translate (Nadia 1). The ability to speak like a native in a foreign language can be easier to obtain when taught the foreign language during elementary school. Once a student passes the prime learning stages, learning a foreign language can be extremely difficult. Adults starting to learn a language have to work through an established first-language

Many popular theories of second language acquisition have been analyzed throughout history. The socialization of L2 learners, their present emotional state that is present at time of acquisition, as well as the comprehensible input and output with the use of scaffolding play a major role in second language acquisition. Let us also not forget the importance of written expression as well as reading comprehension with these L2 learners. Each play a role in language development. However, I believe that in acquiring a language, one must use a variety of techniques that work together to create a balance within the learning environment. Furthermore, all L2 learners learn differently and so a variety of resources will need to be used based on the ability of each student. There are many theories that have been developed by highly qualified experts in the field on linguistics. However, I will address those areas that I agree with as I present my personal theories on second language acquisition.

Judie Haynes’ article, “Stages of Second Language Acquisition”, clearly states five stages that a new learner of English may go through. In Haynes’ theory, there are five stages in total, and they are pre-production, early production, speech emergence, intermediate fluency, and advanced fluency. According to Haynes, new learners of English acquire language by going through the same stages. However, how much time each student spends at a particular stage may be different. Despite the different time length, the stages of people acquiring new language are worth discussing.

Pachler, N., Barnes, A., and Field, K., 2009, Learning to teach Modern Foreign Languages in th

The style and diction assist in describing the uncertainty of the English language, and make it evident that Rodriguez has a certain disdain for the language. The English language is described as calm and easy when he hears native speakers. In contrast, English is viewed as forced when the language is spoken poorly. However, Spanish is never described as forced, but rather as soothing and accepting. The characterization of Spanish as confident sets the tone of the paragraph as comforting. Rodriguez’s attitude towards the languages differs just as his characterization

The students’ linguistic background is 100% Spanish speaking and most of them are considered linguistically proficient in their native language. Although most of them do not present any difficulty speaking conversational Spanish, some of them present some inconsistencies at the time to use academic language.

iii. The Natural Order Hypothesis implies that there is a natural order in which ELL acquire language rules. According to this hypothesis, some grammatical language rules may be acquired earlier while others may be acquired later. In either situation, language rules are acquired as opposed to being learned and is influenced by classroom instruction (Gitsaki, n.d.).

Many second language acquisition theories have been developed over the years. These theories examine the avenues in which second language is acquired and the avenues in which they are

The researchers argue that it is more helpful for these students to continue to communicate in their home language while learning a second language. Everyone obtains the language of their surrounding environment and is comfortable with that form of communication. The success comes, it is said, when the second language is acquired. In effort to put this into action, the solution that researchers Cummins and Kenji Hakuta recommended was to use teachers who were bilingual

Numerous theories try to explain the process of language acquisition. These theories fall into one of two camps. The environmentalist (or connectionist) theory of language acquisition asserts that language is acquired through environmental factors (Halvaei et al. 811). Theorists in this camp believe that a child learns language by gaining information from the outside world and then forming associations between words and objects. The nativist (or rationalist) approach, on the other hand, asserts that it is innate factors that determine language acquisition. Noam Chomsky, often described as “the father of modern linguistics”, falls into this camp as he believes that speech is the result of hidden rules of language that are hidden somewhere in the brain (Rahmani and Abdolmanafi 2111). Steven Pinker, a colleague of Chomsky, is a renowned psychologist, cognitive scientist and linguist who discusses his own theories on language acquisition in his book Words and Rules.

The Affective Filter Hypothesis captures the relationship between affective variables and the process of second language acquisition by positing that acquirers vary with respect to the strength or level of their Affective Filters.

The first area of difference between first (L1) and second (L2) language learning is input – specifically the quality and quantity of input. It is the idea of the "connectionist model that implies... (that the) language learning process depends on the input frequency and regularity" (5).. It is here where one finds the greatest difference between L1 and L2 acquisition. The quantity of exposure to a target language a child gets is immense compared to the amount an adult receives. A child hears the language all day everyday, whereas an adult learner may only hear the target language in the classroom – which could be as little as three hours a week. Even if one looks at an adult in a total submersion situation the quantity is still less because the amount of one on one interaction that a child gets for example with a parent or other caregiver is still much greater then the adult is receiving.

Language acquisition is a piece of the greatest parts of human advancement. However, the process of learning a language faces a lot of difficulty. First language acquisition is the process whereby children acquire their original languages. All humans have an ability to gain a language（or languages, for many learn more than one in the environment in which they are raised.）. All normal humans have the probability to learn extra languages, similarly with other field of study such as math or science, some people are better at learning second languages than others. Rather than obtaining, learning happens effectively and intentionally through explicit instruction and education. As such, older children and adults past the critical period

Krashen used the natural approach to explain the process of second language acquisition. Krashen’s model basically consists of two parts. In the first part, the language acquisition device the comprehensible input triggered and this starts children’s language development. This process is affected by the anxiety factor, which he called affective filter. In the second part, the acquired language combined with the intentional learning result in the language output. In this process, the intentional learning monitors students’ output. Specifically speaking, his model proposes that a low affective filter or a low anxiety is good for children’s acquisition. He further believes that the learned knowledge hinders our acquisition and needs to be avoided (Brown, 2014). This argument indicates that teachers had better avoid such monitoring as correcting students’ responses since it hinders students’ acquisition. Also, Krashen argues that it is good for children to acquire the language subconsciously. Besides, he asserts that children follow a natural order to acquire the rules of the language.

The Chicago Public Schools district, in which I work, offers a program for English Language learners with the goal to help students become proficient in the English language. In Chicago Public School there are about 70, 400 students who in 2015 were identified as being English Language Learners. According to Chicago Public Schools, English Language Learners have a right to participate in an educational program for English Learners.