The Role of Input in Second Language Acquisition: An Overview of Four Theories

Abstract

Various theories of second language acquisition (SLA) attribute significant importance to the role of input in second language (L2) learning. The current paper attempts to explore the role of input through an overview of four theories of SLA. These theories highlight different views on the value of second language input to learners' linguistic abilities. These theories are:

Second Language Acquisition and Learning: Rethinking the Pedagogical Applicability of Stephen Krashen’s Monitor Model

“…Abukhattala (2013) avers that the issue of silent period further complicates the situation because teachers work under strict conditions where they are supposed to cover an entire syllabus before learners sit for final examination. More importantly, input alone cannot sufficiently help learners acquire L2 as they are supposed to process and practice the transmitted information through practice (Alahmadi, 2019). The situation is worse in countries such as South Africa and Zimbabwe where students only speak the L2 (English) in class where it is used as the medium of instruction and spend most of their time conversing in their L1.…”

An Analysis and Evaluation of Krashen's Monitor Model in the Context of Second Language Learning.

“…The input hypothesis also posits that there will be a natural "silent period" while one is learning and acquiring a language but not yet creating any language because the learner is seeking to feel fluent in their newly acquired language before deploying it. In addition, Krashen's paradigm emphasizes the significance of diverse linguistic features for comprehensible input (Alahmadi, 2019). Though the Monitor Model has had a significant impact on the study of second language acquisition, its fourth hypothesis, that of input, has not been without criticism from other linguists and educators in the area.…”