Krashen – Who Exactly Is Stephen Krashen? (Answers)

Answers To The Question: Who Is Stephen Krashen?

STEPHEN KRASHEN – In this article, we will learn and discover more about Stephen Krashen and his contributions to linguistics.

Krashen - Who Exactly Is Stephen Krashen? (Answers)
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He was a professor at the University of Southern California. In 1972, he got his PhD. in linguistics from the University of California.

One of his most notable works or studies is his Second language learning. He believes that there is no fundamental difference between the way we acquire our first language and our subsequent ones.

The former professor believed that human beings have an innate ability that processes and guides language learning. He emphasized that infants learn their mother tongue just by listening attentively to spoken language.

For him, learning a foreign language is acquired in the same way or process. He synthesizes his theories of second/foreign language learning in what is usually referred to as the Monitor Model.

According to an article from ESl.FIS, this model has five components:

  • The Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis
  • The Natural Order Hypothesis
  • The Monitor Hypothesis
  • The Input Hypothesis
  • The Affective Filter Hypothesis

The Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis – He believed that there are two ways to develop your language ability. Learning and Aquisition.

Aquisition is a sub-conscious process. An example of this is a child learning his/her mother tongue. Meanwhile, learning is a conscious process of developing another language.

The Natural Order Hypothesis – Language is acquired in a predictable order by all learners. This order does not depend on the apparent simplicity or complexity of the grammatical features involved.

The Monitor Hypothesis – We are able to use what we have learned about the rules of a language in monitoring (or self-correcting) our language output.

The Input Hypothesis – We acquire language in one way only: when we are exposed to input (written or spoken language) that is comprehensible to us.

The Affective Filter Hypothesis – Comprehensible input will not result in language acquisition if that input is filtered out before it can reach the brain’s language processing faculties.

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