Stages of Second Language Acquisition by Stephen Krashen

Stages of Second Language Acquisition by Stephen Krashen 1. Stage one: The Receptive Or Preproduction Stage Stage duration: 10 hours to 6 months depending on the person’s ability. - Students have around 500 "receptive" words (understood but not used). - Learning occurs through listening to others talk and digesting the content. - Passive vocabulary develops based on their exposure to speech. - New words are understood when presented understandably. - A "silent period" is common: communication occurs through gestures, pointing, nods, or simple responses. - Teachers should avoid pressuring students to speak until they're ready. 2. Stage two: The Early Production Stage Stage duration: Early production stage can extend up to 6 months from the initial stage. - Students acquire around 1,000 receptive/active words. - Communication in short phrases and words - Demonstrates comprehension through short answers (yes/no, either/or, who/what/where) - Starts speaking using memorized and heard words from the "silent period.” - Frequent errors during this stage 3. Stage three: The Speech Emergence Stage Stage duration can extend up to another year. - Students typically acquire around 3,000 words. - Communication involves short phrases and basic sentences. - Students initiate dialogues and ask simple questions. - Ability to answer straightforward questions. - Longer sentences are possible but might contain grammatical errors affecting communication. - Speech becomes smoother with more extended word and sentence production. - Error tendency diminishes over time. 4. Stage four: The Intermediate Language Proficiency Stage Intermediate proficiency duration: up to another year after speech emergence. - Students usually acquire about 6,000 words. - Progress toward making complex statements, stating opinions, seeking - clarification, sharing thoughts, and speaking more extensively. Speech fluency improves. Comfortable conversation in various social contexts. Decrease in errors. Mastery of complex sentence usage. Display of higher-order thinking skills: expressing opinions and solving 5. Stage five: The Advanced Language Proficiency Stage Advanced proficiency takes around 5 to 7 years. - Students acquire specialized content-area vocabulary. - Full participation in grade-level classroom tasks with occasional extra assistance. - English speaking and grammar comparable to that of same-age native speakers. - Comfortable usage of the second language in academic and everyday contexts. - Potential challenges with accent and idiomatic expressions persist occasionally. The 5 Hypotheses of Krashen’s Theory of Second Language Acquisition 1. Acquisition-Learning Acquired System - Subconscious process Meaningful interaction in the target language Natural communication Concentrate not on the form but in the communicative act Learned System - Formal instruction Conscious process conscious knowledge Deductive approach Teacher-centered which Summary of Differences results in i (stage of the learner) ‘i + 1’ = comprehensible input where learners are exposed to acquisition Krashen suggests that natural communicative input. 2. Monitor Hypothesis - Relationship between learning acquisition and Monitor System - Practical result of the learned grammar Acquisition System = utterance behavior Learning System = monitor or editor - Each learner will receive some ‘i+1’ that is appropriate for his/her current stage 5. Affective Filter Hypothesis - Affective factors affect SLA process - Acquirers vary with respect to the strength or level of their affective filter - Pedagogical goals should not only include supplying comprehension input but also creating a situation that encourages low filter The ‘monitor’ acts in planning, editing and correcting functions when three specific conditions are met: a. Second Language learner has sufficient time at their disposal. b. They focus on form or think about corrections. c. They know the rule. Language Acquisition Theories - Types of Learners under Monitor Hypothesis 1. Over-users 2. Under-users 3. Optimal users 3. Natural Order Hypothesis - Acquisition of grammatical structure follows a ‘natural order’ which is predictable. - Independent of the learners’ age, L1 background, and conditions of exposure. However, Krashen points out that the implication of the natural order hypothesis is not that language program syllabus should be based on the order found in the studies. Krashen rejects grammatical sequencing when goal is acquisition. 4. Input Hypothesis Learner improves and progresses along the natural order when he/she receives second language input that is one step beyond with his/her current stage of linguistic competence. - - - 1. The Nativist Theory We are born with genes that allow us to learn language. There is a theoretical device known as the language acquisition device (LAD) that is somewhere in our brain. proposed by Noam Chomsky, suggests that humans are born with an innate ability to learn language. we have a special brain mechanism called the Language Acquisition Device (LAD), which helps us pick up grammar and language rules naturally, without needing to be explicitly taught. emphasizes that children can learn language quickly and effectively because they are "wired" to do so from birth. There is a universal grammar (a theory by Noam Chomsky) - part of our genetic makeup 2. The Sociocultural Theory and Interactionist Approach - Takes ideas from both biology and sociology - - Children are able to learn language out of a desire to communicate with their surrounding environment and world. Language thus is dependent upon and emerges from social interaction. Language is dependent upon whom we hang around and with whom we want to communicate. Jerome Bruner's interactionist theory combines elements of both the nativist and behaviorist perspectives. It posits that social interaction plays a crucial role in language development. Children learn language through meaningful interactions with caregivers and peers, who provide the necessary support and context for language use. 3. Behaviorist Theory - Children learn language by imitating their caregivers and receiving reinforcement for correct usage. - For instance, when a child correctly names an object and receives praise, they are more likely to repeat that behavior. - mainly proposed by B.F. Skinner, suggests that children learn language through imitation, reinforcement, and repetition. - when a child says something correctly, they are rewarded (such as with praise), which encourages them to keep using that language. - Over time, by mimicking others and receiving positive feedback, they gradually learn the structure and use of the language. - emphasizes that language is learned from the environment, not something innate. 4. Cognitive Theory - Language development is linked to cognitive development. According to this view, children must understand certain concepts before they can express them linguistically. - Jean Piaget identified stages of cognitive development that correspond to language acquisition, suggesting that cognitive growth is essential for language learning. The Stages of Cognitive Development a. Sensorimotor Stage (0-2 years) - Babies learn about the world through their senses (seeing, touching) and actions. - They don't yet understand that objects exist when they can't see them (object permanence). b. Preoperational Stage (2-7 years) - Kids start to use language and think symbolically, but their thinking is still very basic and self-centered. - They struggle to see things from others' perspectives. c. Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 years) - Children begin to think more logically about concrete (real) things. - They can do basic math, understand the concept of time, and can see things from other viewpoints. d. Formal Operational Stage (12 years and up) - Teens and adults develop the ability to think abstractly and reason about hypothetical situations. - They can plan for the future, solve complex problems, and think scientifically. The perfect tenses in English grammar refer to a category of verb tenses that are used to describe completed actions. 1. Present Perfect: This tense is formed by using the auxiliary verb "have/has" followed by the past participle of the main verb. It expresses an action that was completed in the past but has relevance to the present. For example, "I have finished my work." 2. Past Perfect: This tense is formed by using the auxiliary verb "had" followed by the past participle of the main verb. It expresses an action that was completed before another past action. For example, "I had finished my work before she arrived." 3. Future Perfect: This tense is formed by using the auxiliary verb "will have" followed by the past participle of the main verb. It expresses an action that will be completed by a certain time in the future. For example, "I will have finished my work by tomorrow." The perfect tenses are used to show the relationship between different actions or events in time. They help indicate which actions were completed before others, or will be completed by a certain time.The specific use of each perfect tense depends on the context and the time frame being referenced.