Krashen

許樂

【Abstract】Krashen's Input Hypothesis assumes that learners will acquire language best when they are given the appropriate input, which puts emphasis on the two necessary conditions of the language learner, i.e. comprehensible input and a low affective filter. The theory also has significant enlightenment to the improvement of our college English teaching.

【Key words】Krashen input hypothesis English teaching comprehensible input

Ⅰ. Introduction

Krashen's input hypothesis is a very important theory in second language acquisition. It assumes that learners will acquire language best when they are given the appropriate input, known as the comprehensible input. The theory is meaningful to formal instruction and can bring some helpful enlightenment to the improvement of the existing formal English teaching.

Ⅱ. Krashens input hypothesis

The input hypothesis is the core of Krashen's theory, better known nowadays as the comprehensible input hypothesis. It claims that L2 acquisition takes place when learners are exposed to comprehensible input, i.e., input whose content is comprehensible to them but whose linguistic forms are slightly in advance of their current level of ability, namely, level i+1. Krashen claims that if the input is at the level of i+1, learners can understand most of the language but are still challenged to make progress. To Krashen, L2 development is a matter of quantitative accumulation: the more comprehensible input one receives, the greater progress one makes in acquisition.

However, comprehensible input hypothesis is not the sufficient condition for second language acquisition. Krashen also claims that optimal acquisition will take place in contexts where the “affective filter” is low. The affective filter prevents or blocks input necessary to acquisition. Anxious, tense, angry or bored acquirers have a high affective filter which prevents acquisition. A low affective filter is desirable. Acquirers who are motivated, relaxed and have a good self'image and self'confidence are more receptive to the input they receive. Therefore, second language acquisition should satisfy two conditions: comprehensible input and low affective filter.

Ⅲ. Application of Krashens input hypothesis in college English teaching

According to Krashens comprehensible input hypothesis, acquisition occurs when learners understand messages that are just beyond their current stage of development. Contemporarily or even currently, however, classroom L2 teaching is now marked by output practice in the form of speaking, writing and grammar exercises. Students are encouraged to speak or write just after they have got minimum amount of listening or reading input. On the basis of minimum input, students are required to produce maximum output, thus the equality between input and output is broken.

The case for comprehensible input is especially compelling in my listening'speaking class. And sometimes I face dilemma when trying to give my students comprehensible input. They attend the listening'speaking class because they cant understand spoken English very well and are afraid to open their mouths to speak English, so how can I make them comprehend a lot of spoken input? Giving them tapes to listen to doesnt seem to be much of an answer. If they dont understand a passage, listening to it for hours just gives them hours of incomprehensible input. Of course, anything that is understood will probably be reinforced to a certain degree, but the rest will remain uncomprehended. Whats worse, without understanding the listening material, how can they open their mouths to talk about related topics given after the material?

So each time we have a listening'speaking class, for the listening part I give them written clues that would elucidate the background and some difficult points of the listening materials, but not all the materials. Some more challenging parts remain unknown to them yet whose contents are closely related to clues given. This method makes the listening materials a lot easier to understand and results in much better comprehension in much of their listening task. And then their interest naturally turns to the remaining difficult part. With the knowledge they have already obtained, they find it a joy to work out the rough meaning and even the exact words in the subsequent repeated listening. For the speaking task, understanding the listening material makes it easier to talk about the related topics.

However, comprehensible input is not enough. As is mentioned in the Input Hypothesis, optimal acquisition will take place in contexts where the “affective filter” is low. That is to say, the best language development occurs in environments where the learner has low anxiety and is not worried about “saving face”. Therefore, I take every effort to lower students' “affective filter” in my class. I communicate with students and acquire after what they are interested in and what kind of teaching methods they are expecting. I try my best to foster the foreign cultural background for students to understand the foreign language environment, such as telling stories about customs, lifestyles, ways of communication, policies and histories of English'speaking countries. If possible, I create some real life settings for students to make conversations. Also, I play videos or films for students to enjoy and get into the language habits, or invite foreign teachers to give lectures about foreign cultures, and so on.

In short, I do my utmost to make every class learnable and every student willing to learn. In this way, students achieve the maximum understanding, which itself proves that Krashen is right in saying L2 acquistion occurs, when learners understand messages that are just one step beyond their current stage of development, in contexts where the “affective filter” is low.

Ⅳ. Conclusion

Krashens input hypothesis is an important theory in second language acquisition. It emphasizes that language acquisition should satisfy two conditions, namely, comprehensible input and low affective filter. The above mentioned work of my own has made it clear that although it is a theory on second language acquisition, it has significant enlightenment to the improvement of our second language teaching.

References：

[1]Krashen, S.D. The Input Hypothesis [M].New York: Longman. Inc. 1985.

[2]王曉玲“輸入假設(shè)”和“輸出假設(shè)”理論對英語教學(xué)的啟示[J]. 南京醫(yī)科大學(xué)學(xué)報（社科版）,2000,（12）;50－51.

[3]Van Patten B. Explicit Instruction and Input Processing [J].Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 1994. (15): 225-41.

[4]S.D.Krashen. Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. [M]. Oxford Pergamon Press Ltd. 1982.