The problem of second language acquisition and its true nature is a controversial issue in second language teaching. Different camps propose different methods to approach the very nature of second language acquisition. Among these, Stephen Krashen and his advocates raised the issue of implicit second language teaching and the prominence of input that are expounded in the present article. In so ...

Some scholars have hypothesized that writing style, the special language of writing, is acquired, or subconsciously absorbed, through reading (Krashen, 1984, 2004; Smith, 1988, 2004). The language of writing, it is argued, is too complex to be consciously learned, and there are compelling case histories of those who developed high levels of competence in the written language through reading alo...

______________________ This study examines the relationship among access to reading materials, print exposure, and vocabulary acquisition among language minority (LM) students in United States. Access to print, print exposure, and English vocabulary knowledge were measured through the use of surveys and signal-detection checklists with a group of Spanish/English bilingual high school students (...

The critics of the Comprehension Hypothesis (as presented e.g. in Krashen, 1985) have long held the belief that comprehension-based methods are inefficient. Even though they have conceded that they are more effective than the traditionally used methods and that comprehensible input is necessary for language acquisition, they still claim that the combination of both traditional and comprehension...

This article discusses Krashen’s Monitor Model and the attendant five hypotheses. Since its 1977 publication, Krashen, through a series of revisions, have tried to explain the way learners acquire a second language. This article closely looks at his basic premises and the criticism they have generated to better understand both the Monitor Model and its various lacunae and biases.

The research literature has already provided us with some of what we need. There is consistent evidence that those who have more access to books read more (Krashen, 1993), and that those students who are provided with more time to do recreational reading (e.g. sustained silent reading programs) show better gains in reading achievement than comparison students. The effect is especially strong wh...

Why don’t language acquirers take advantage of the power reading goes heading Krashen’s 1997 article in which he cites studies that establish with evidence through extensive learners can acquire larger vocabularies, do better spelling, writing skills and tests grammar. In other words, claims serves as powerful means developing one’s competence second because it provides required input. Drawing ...