This document discusses several hypotheses about second language acquisition: 1. The acquisition-learning distinction hypothesizes that adults can acquire a second language naturally through exposure, like children. 2. The natural order hypothesis claims that certain grammatical structures are acquired earlier than others in a predictable pattern. 3. The monitor hypothesis describes editing abilities that allow conscious learning but not natural acquisition. 4. The input hypothesis states that comprehensible input is necessary for acquisition but not sufficient on its own. 5. The affective filter hypothesis proposes that low anxiety and defensiveness allow input to be acquired more easily.

1. UNIVERSIDAD TÉCNICA DE
AMBATOFACULTAD DECIENCIAS HUMANAS Y DE LA EDUCACIÓN
CARRERA DE IDIOMAS
NAMES: Deisy Campaña
Frank Guano
Language teaching strategies
SEXTO “A”
Octubre 2016 - Marzo 2016
AMBATO - ECUADOR

2. Second Language Acquisition
Theory
 Five Hypotheses About Second Language Acquisition
1. THE ACQUISITION-LEARNING DISTINCTION
 The acquisition-learning hypothesis claims, however, that adults also
acquire, that the ability to "pick-up“ languages does not disappear at
puberty. This does not mean that adults will always be able to achieve
native-like levels in a second language.
 It does mean that adults can access the same natural "language
acquisition device" that children use. As we shall see later, acquisition is a
very powerful process in the adult.

3.  2. THE NATURAL ORDER HYPOTHESIS
Stephen Krashen claimed that we acquire the language rules in a predictable or natural order.
He noticedthat language features that are the easiest to state are not always the first be
acquired.
 For example, the progressive marker ing (as in "He is playing baseball".) and the plural
marker /s/ ("two dogs") were among the first morphemes acquired, while the third person
singular marker /s/ (as in "He lives in New York") and the possessive /s/ ("John's hat") were
typically acquired much later,

4. 3. THE MONITOR HYPOTHESIS
 It is a device to monitor or edit the learner`s output. It is supposed to be
responsible for editing, making correction consciously.
 This is why it is found in the learning process not the acquisition.
 Only once fluency established, monitoring and editing should be activated.

5. 4 THE INPUT HYPOTHESIS
 Comprehensible input is the only true cause of second language
acquisition.
 An important condition for language acquisition to occur is that the learners
understand input language that contain structure a bit beyond his current
level of competence.

6. 5. THE AFFECTIVE FILTER
HYPOTHESIS Affect refers to the feelings, motives, needs, attitudes, and emotional
states.
 Affective filter is a metaphorical barrier that prevents learners from
acquiring language even when the appropriate input is available.
 That the best acquisition will occur in environment where anxiety is low
and defensiveness absent. A learner who is tense anxious may filter out
the input, making it unavailable for acquisition.

7. The Causative Variable in
Second Language Acquisition
1. THE CAUSATIVE VARIABLES
 1. Acquisition is more important than learning.
 2. In order to acquire, two conditions are necessary.
 The first is comprehensible input “i + 1”
 The second, a low or weak affective filter to allow the input "in".

8. 2. LANGUAGE TEACHING: DOES IT
HELP?
language teaching helps when it
is the main source of low filter
comprehensible input, that is, for
beginners and for foreign
language students who do not
have a chance to get input outside
the class.
Its primary function is to supply
comprehensible input for those
who can not get it elsewhere, (i.e.
foreign language students who do
not have input sources outside the
class) or by their competence
(those unable to understand the
language of the outside world).

9. 3. EXPOSURE VARIABLES
LENGTH OF RESIDENCE (LOR)
• May reflect simply the amount of comprehensible input the child
obtains.
• Fathman (1975) was discussed above. in addition to her finding on the
non-effects of formal instruction on ESL achievement, Fathman also
reported that LOR did predict proficiency for her sample of children
(ages 6-14, enrolled in public school in Washington, D.C.).

10.  Walberg, Hase, and Rasher (1978) studied Japanese-speaking children who
had been in the United States a range of zero to 12 years.
 They find a significant relationship between LOR and proficiency in English
as a second language, but noted that even higher correlations were found
with a "diminishing returns" model:
 "For children of all ages in the sample, acquisition proceeds at a fast rate initially, but the amounts of
gain diminish with time"

11. 4. AGE
Krashen, Long, and Scarcella (1979) reviewed the available empirical
research on the effect of age and second language acquisition
 1. Adults proceed through the early stages of second language
development faster than children do (where time and exposure are held
constant).
 2. Older children acquire faster than younger children, time and exposure
held constant.
 3. Acquirers who begin natural exposure to second languages during
childhood generally achieve higher second language proficiency than
those beginning as adults.

12. 5. Schumann's Acculturation Hypothesis.
 "Second language acquisition is just one aspect of acculturation, and the
degree to which the learner acculturates to the target language group will
control the degree to which he acquires the target language"

13. Schumann defines two types of
acculturation:
The learner is socially integrated
with the TL group and, as a result,
develops sufficient contact with TL
speakers to enable him to acquire
the TL. In addition, he is
psychologically open to the TL
such that input to which he is
exposed becomes intake.
All the characteristics of type one,
but in this case the learner
regards the TL speakers as a
reference