Page 22 - Teaching English at Primary Level: From Theory into the Classroom
P. 22

Key Principles


                       which it is used, our general knowledge of the world, and other ex-
                       tralinguistic cues provided. In addition, the input hypothesis claims
                       that speaking fluency develops over time as more input is provided.
                       One idea related to this claim is that children learning an FL naturally
                       go through a ‘silent period’ during which they build up competence in
                       the FL through listening, while the speaking ability emerges on its own
                       after enough competence has been developed by listening and under-
                       standing. This has important pedagogical considerations especially for
                       YLs who may take several months before they start uttering their first
                       words in an FL (Krashen, 1982).
                    5. The affective filter hypothesis. High motivation and self-confidence on
                       the one hand and low levels of anxiety on the other result in learners
                       having low filters which allow them to acquire a language without too
                       many obstacles. In contrast, low motivation and a high anxiety level are
                       seen as barriers for acquiring a language even with appropriate input.


                    Each of the hypotheses above has important implications for teaching
                  practice. Table 1.3 gives an overview of the five hypotheses with guidelines
                  and recommendations for effective classroom use.
                    Krashen’s theory has been disputed and challenged by several researchers
                  (Ellis, 1994;Hadley&Reiken,1993;Lightbown &Spada,2013) fordifferentrea-
                  sons. One of the most common criticisms is that the distinction between
                  ‘learning’ and ‘acquisition’ is not clearly defined and the claims related to this
                  hypothesis are largely untestable. Next, the nature of comprehensible input
                  is questionable and again difficult to test. In addition, by focusing too much
                  attention on comprehensible input, it disregards interaction and language
                  output.
                    The affective filter hypothesis has been contested for not taking into ac-
                  count individual differences. Despite these criticisms, however, the theory
                  has had a strong influence on second language teaching in the past forty
                  years and the hypotheses in Table 1.3 are still largely relevant today (Loewen,
                  2021). Both researchers and practitioners seem to find Krashen’s claims on the
                  distinction between learning and acquisition, on the importance of compre-
                  hensible input and others useful on an intuitive level.

                       Reflection Point
                        1. In what way are Krashen’s hypotheses useful in teaching YLLs?
                       2. How much do you personally use the ‘monitor system’?
                       3. Discuss different ways of creating a mistake-friendly environment.


                  22
   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27