I will not get into every aspect of Stephen Krashen's theories here, but there are a few ideas that I have found to be very interesting and relevant. First, Stephen Krashen suggests that language is acquired subconsciously through conprehensible input. In other words, by receiving messages in another language that are understandable, the brain of the learner starts to make connections between the word and the object or idea. According to Krashen, learning grammar rules, memorizing vocabulary lists, and completing work sheets will not help you become fluent in a language. The brain will naturally acquire languagage through repetition and a large volume of comprehensible input.
This concept is clearly an idea that is featured by the Rosetta Stone software. Rosetta Stone presents students with pictures, written, and verbal clues about the meanings of words and phrases. The software constantly feeds the learner with a steady stream of comprehensible input. Rosetta Stone is not asking the student to memorize vocabulary. Using the software, you learn new vocabulary by hearing the word, seeing the written word, and deducing the meaning of the word from photographs presented.
Another aspect of Stephen Krashen's theory is that language learning happens faster when anxiety is low, self-esteem is high, and the student is motivated. Again, Rosetta Stone gives begining students a low anxiety way to learn English. Students are able to practice pronunciation in private using the head set instead in front of a classroom full of other students. Similarly, if a student answers a question incorrectly, it is privately scored at their individual work station instead of getting a wrong answer in front of the teacher or other students.
I have noted this phenomenon many times with the students at PLC. In many cases, students are comfortable and confident using the Rosetta Stone software, but they are not ready to have a real conversation with a native speaker. Applying Krashen's theory to this situation, we can say that the student is in a low anxiety situation using the software. The benefit of this is that they are able to receive and process the comprehensible input fed to them through the Rosetta Stone program. Over time, Krashen would suggest that the student will internalize or take ownership of the comprehensible input and be able to naturally use the language in a conversation. As a teacher, I work hard to create a comfortable classroom environment. I also bring students along at their own pace. If they are not ready to have a conversation with me in English, we start with some basic reading practice. Over time, I will begin to ask simple questions related to what the student just read. From there, I will try to start a simple conversation from time to time. This progression helps keep anxiety at a minimum while expanding the learner's use of English.
I dissagree with one aspect of Stephen Krashen's theories of language acquisition. Krashen suggests that output is the result of learning from comprehensible input and that output does not create learning. In other words, the ability to speak a new language only develops naturally from listening and reading understandable messages presented repeatedly in the new language. He goes on to suggest that new learning does not take place when speaking (output) a new language.
I feel that speaking excersises and simply the act of speaking a new language helps a great deal in making language acquisition occur more rapidly. First of all, by practicing speaking, you improve pronunciation which is vital to acheiving fluency. Second, I think that speaking practice helps to convert memorized words from short term memory to long term memory. I don't have research to back up this claim, but my observations in the classroom suggest that when students use new words and phrases they become less easily forgotten. Krashen suggests that speaking conversationally is valuable to he student in that it elicits more comprehensible input from the conversation partner. I feel that the process of using the new language in a conversation helps make the use of those words and phases more natural in subsequent conversations.
Stephen Krashen clarifies that these theories are vital for the begining stages of learning a language. Once a learner has a baseline of skills, a great deal of learning occurs through conversation. At PLC, we work hard to encourage students to develop their skill level to a point where real conversation can become an major component in the learning process. Our philosophy at PLC is that Rosetta Stone is very effective at providing a low anxiety way to develop some of the basic foundation skills required in learning English. However, it is important that our students progress to a level where they are not simply mastering a computer program but mastering the English language so that they can speak it outside of the classroom.
Learning English is difficult. It takes a long time to acheive a level of fluency, and as Krashen describes, the process of acheiving fluency is subconscious and therefore it can be difficult monitor progress. Stephen Krashen and his ideas are new to me, but they are obviously not new to the developers of Rosetta Stone. I was happy to learn about his ideas and to see that many of his theories are already being actively used at PLC School.
The information described about about Stephen Krashen and his theories came from the videos below:
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