Second Langauge Acquisition

1. THE MONITOR
MODEL

2. TheMonitor Model…
O introduced by Stephen Krashen
O deductive approach
O Five hypotheses that form the theory:
1) The Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis
2) The Monitor Hypothesis
3) The Natural Order Hypothesis
4) The Input Hypothesis
5) The Affective Filter Hypothesis

3. The Acquisition-Learning
Hypothesis
Adult second language learners develop
competence in a second language in two
distinct and independent ways :
O acquisition: a subconscious process
identical in all important ways to the
process children utilize in acquiring their
first language
O learning: a conscious process that results
in ‘knowing about’ language.

4. Acquisition vs Learning
Subconscious
acquisition Conscious learning
O Needs natural
communication in the
target language.
O Informal situations.
O Depends on attitude.
O Uses grammatical
‘feel’.
O Formal situations.
O Depends on
aptitude.
O Uses grammatical
‘rules’.

5. Conscious learning does not become unconscious
acquisition for three reasons:
O Sometimes there is ‘acquisition’ without ‘learning’-
that is, some individuals have considerable
competence in a second language but do not know
very many rules consciously
O There are cases where ‘learning’ never becomes
‘acquisition’-that is, a person can know the rule and
continues to breaking it
O No one knows anywhere near all the rules

6. For Krashen,
O adult acquirers have access to the same
LAD (Language Acquisition Device)that
children use.
O Chomsky’s distinction between to
‘cognize’ and ‘know’ is quite similar to the
acquisition-learning distinction.

7. Criticism to Acquisition-
Learning Hypothesis
O The acquisition –learning distinction is not
clearly defined.
O The theory ‘Learning cannot become
acquisition’ cannot be empirically tested.
O The theory of acquisition is not consistent
with current linguistic theory.

8. The Monitor Hypothesis
O Learning has only one function, and that is as
a Monitor or editor and that learning comes
into play only to make changes in the form of
our utterance, after it has been produced by
the acquired system. Acquisition initiates the
speaker’s utterances and responsible for
fluency. Thus, the Monitor is thought to alter
the output of the acquired system before or
after the utterance is actually written or
spoken, but the utterance is initiated entirely
by the acquired system.

9. The three conditions for
Monitor use
 Time: In order to think about and use
conscious rules effectively, a second
language performer needs to have sufficient
time.
 Focus on form: To use the Monitor effectively,
the performer must also focus on form or
thinking about correctness.
 Know the rule: This condition is very
formidable as the students are exposed only
to a small part of the total grammar of the
language.

10. O Children are
superior language
learners as they do
not use the Monitor
and are not as
inhibited as older
learners.

11. Monitor over-users are learners who attempt
“monitor” all the time.
Monitor under-users are learners who prefer not to
use their conscious knowledge.
Optimal Monitor users are learners who use the
“monitor” appropriately.
According to Krashen, the role of the monitor is
or should be minor.

12. Criticism to Monitor
Hypothesis
O The Monitor requires such restricted
conditions for its operation that it cannot
be thought to be representative of the
learner’s internal, conscious knowledge of
the target language.
O The argument related to adult children
differences is based on unproven
assumptions.

13. The Natural Order Hypothesis
O We acquire the rules of language in a
predictable order, some rules tending to come
early and others late. The order does not
appear to be determined solely by formal
simplicity and there is evidence that it is
independent of the order in which rules are
taught in language classes.
O Those whose exposure to second language is
nearly all outside of language classes do not
show a different order of acquisition from
those who have had most of their second-language
experience in the classroom.

14. "Average" order of acquisition of grammatical
morphemes for English as a second language
(children and adults)

15. Criticism to Natural Order
Hypothesis
O This hypothesis is based largely on the
morpheme studies, which are of
questionable methodological validity and
which provide little information about
acquisitional process.
O There is no theory provided to show why
some things are learned before others.

16. The Input Hypothesis
O Human acquires language in only one
way-by understanding messages, or by
receiving ‘comprehensible input’ … We
move from i, our current level, to i + 1, the
next level along the natural order, by
understanding input containing i + 1.

17. O Speaking is a result of acquisition and not its
cause. Speech cannot be taught directly but
emerges on its own as a result of building
competence via comprehensible input.
O If input is understood, and there is enough of it,
the necessary grammar is automatically
provided. The language teacher needs not
attempt deliberately to teach next structure along
the natural order – it will be provided in just the
right quantities and automatically reviewed if the
student receives a sufficient amount of
comprehensible input.

18. Lines of evidence for the Input
Hypothesis
O The silent period
O Age differences
O The effect of exposure
O Lack of access to comprehensible input
O Immersion and sheltered language
teaching
O The success of bilingual programs
O The reading hypothesis

19. O Silent period: Some children who come to a new
country where they are exposed to a new
language are silent for a long period of time.
During this time, they are making use of
‘comprehensible input’.
O Age Differences: Older acquirers progress more
quickly in the early stages because they obtain
more comprehensible input than do younger
learners.
O The effect of exposure: The longer people live in
a country, the more proficient their language.
O Lack of access to comprehensible input: Hearing
children of deaf parents with little exposure to
comprehensible input are severely delayed in
language acquisition.

20. O Immersion and sheltered language teaching:
These methods are effective because they
provide learners with comprehensible input
through the use of subject-matter instruction they
can understand.
O The success of bilingual programmes: These
programmes provide children with
comprehensible input that leads to second-language
learning.
O The reading hypothesis: The Input Hypothesis
may apply to the acquisition of writing style. And
writing competence comes only from large
amounts of self-motivated reading for pleasure
and/or interest.

21. Criticism to Input Hypothesis
O This hypothesis is untestable as the key
concept «comprehensible input» is not
defined.
O It fails to account for the elimination of
incorrect intermediate forms, and provides
no way of distinguishing between different
instructional methods.

22. The Affective Filter Hypothesis
Comprehensible input
may not be utilized by
second-language
acquirers if there is a
mental block that prevents
them from fully profiting
from it. The affective filter
acts as a barrier to
acquisition: if the filter is
down, the input reaches
the LAD and becomes
acquired competence; if
the filter is up, the input is
blocked and does not
reach the LAD.

23. The filter is … The filter determines…
The filter is that part of
the internal processing
system that
subconsciously screens
incoming language
based on what
psychologists call
‘affect’: the learner’ s
motives, need, attitudes,
and emotional states.
O Which language
models the learner will
select
O which part of language
will be attended to first
O when the language
acquisition efforts
should cease
O how fast a learner can
acquire a language

24. O Learners with a low affective filter: high
motivation, self-confidence, a good image,
and a low level of anxiety
Are better equipped for success in SLA
O Learners with a high affective filter: low self-esteem
and a high level of anxiety
Form a mental block
O When the filter is high, it blocks language
acquisition.
O The low affective filter is desirable.

25. For Krashen,
O Children have an advantage in language
development because their affective filter
is low.
O Adult learners are likely to have higher
affective filters because of events that
occur in adolescence.

26. Criticism to Affective Filter
Hypothesis
O There is no coherent explanation for the
development of the affective filter and no
basis for relating the affective filter to
individual differences in language learning
O The hypothesis is incapable of predicting
with any precision the course of linguistic
development and its outcome.

27. To summarize, Krashen's Theories of
Second Language Acquisition consist of five
main hypotheses:
1) Language acquisition is different from language
learning and language acquisition is the only way
competence in a second language occurs. (The
Acquisition/Learning Hypothesis)

28. 2) Grammatical structures are acquired in a
predictable order and it does little good to try to
learn them in another order. (The natural order
hypothesis)
3) People acquire language best from
messages that are just slightly beyond their
current competence: i+1 (The input
hypothesis)

29. 4) Conscious learning operates only as a monitor or
editor that checks or repairs the output of what has
been acquired. (The Monitor Hypothesis)
5) The learner's emotional state can act as a
filter that impedes or blocks input necessary
for language acquisition. (The Affective Filter
Hypothesis)

30. Prepared based on the book ‘ Theories of
Second-Language Learning’ by Barry
McLaughlin
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