Stephen Krashen is one of my teacher heroes. His ideas about language have changed my life as a teacher and student of French, Spanish, and Japanese. His five main ideas have changed how I teach and how I learn.
Dr. Krashen’s five ideas are surprisingly easy to understand. The names of the ideas may sound confusing at first, but please read the explanations—this is simpler to understand than you might think.
For students learning English:
The Acquisition-Learning hypothesis:
“Acquiring English” and “Learning language” may be the same in the dictionary but for students, they are very different. Acquiring is better.
The Monitor hypothesis:
There is a little English dictionary growing in your head.
The Natural Order hypothesis:
The grammar your textbook teaches you is probably different from the grammar your brain needs.
The Input hypothesis:
Simple and easy to understand English is better for you than complicated high level study books.
The Affective Filter hypothesis:
When we are happy and comfortable, we all learn better.
1. The Acquisition-Learning hypothesis is the idea that “learning” and “acquisition” are very different ideas. “Learning” language in school in a classroom may not work very well for most students. If students must study for tests or do boring grammar homework, they may not improve their language ability. “Acquisition” is different. Acquisition is what happens when students really and truly want to get a foreign language deep in their hearts and minds. Students in this second case are highly motivated to ask questions, read independently, and speak well. Acquisition is better.
The word, “acquisition” in a dictionary can mean the same thing as “learning,” but Krashen is the first person to use these two words to describe different kinds of language study.
2. The Monitor hypothesis is the idea that as students acquire a language and understand what is correct and what is incorrect, a special part in the brain is turned on to monitor (filter) new words, sentences and conversations. If you are an English student, this is like a little person sitting on your shoulder telling you what is correct English and what sounds strange. Of course, people will use this monitor differently. Some may use it too much, thinking too much and taking too much time before they talk, and be very hesitant. Others may ignore it and make lots of grammar mistakes. The goal and challenge for a good English student is to find a balance: read a lot and listen to a lot of correct English but to not be afraid to make language mistakes.
3. The Natural Order hypothesis is the idea that there is an order that our brains will naturally remember grammar. Unfortunately, most grammar textbooks present lessons that do not follow the natural order. Most grammar textbooks teach “a” and “some” count and non-count nouns near the beginning of the book. Students often struggle too much trying to remember rules and special cases. This is actually a very challenging grammar point to master.
Even though the words, “a” and “some” are short and the meaning is easy to understand, they are actually difficult to use correctly. Students must read a lot and observe the usage of “a” and “some” in many different examples before they can use these words in a natural way. Krashen recommends NOT teaching a foreign language using grammar order as the basis for a textbook. It is just not a natural comfortable way to learn.
4. The Input hypothesis is the idea that students should listen and read A LOT before being able to speak or write well. In many English language classrooms, students are asked to speak before they are comfortable and before they have much experience listening to REAL English. This is not good for acquiring English. To best acquire English, students should listen and read English that is just one small step above their current level. Krashen calls this i + 1. The student’s individual level is “i” and the “+1” is the level that is just a little above the student’s level. If the teacher tries to present material that is over the students’ heads, for example at an i + 5 or even an i +2 level, many students may be lost and confused. The advice here for English students is to start slowly reading and listening to English that is comprehensible (understandable) and get very comfortable with this level before trying more advanced material.
5. The Affective Filter hypothesis is the obvious idea that a low-stress learning environment makes students comfortable. If students are comfortable and relaxed, language acquisition will be faster and students will remember better.
“Affective” is another way to say “emotional.” So if the emotional “filter” is too high, this means students are too uncomfortable to learn well. A low affective filter means that students feel comfortable, so they will learn quickly and remember what they have learned.
In a high-stress classroom English environment where, the level is too difficult, the teacher gets angry and the students are frustrated and uncooperative, language acquisition will be much slower than in a classroom where students work well together and the teacher and students interact well together.
Krashen Ideas About Grammar
Teaching grammar may not help students speak or write better. Teaching grammar is in the academic field of Linguistics, not Language Acquisition. To really and truly get English deep in the hearts of students, students should listen and read a lot. This will make a better monitor and build confidence naturally.
The only time when studying grammar can help English students speak better is when students are really and truly motivated and interested in English AND the grammar lessons are taught in English. If the lessons are taught to Japanese students in Japanese, Krashen believes that students will not learn English well in this style of classroom.