Six Dimensions of language acquisition by Wolfgang Klein

Propensity: (Inner force):

The learner feels the need, the urge of acquiring a language. Propensity has four components: Social Integration, Communicative Needs, Attitude and Education.

a.- Social Integration: Need of a learner to be integrated to others. Then they can communicate. It has a negative aspect; students stop talking when they think they are losing their culture (that is why we have to be careful to the children’s background).

b. - Communicative Needs: It is related to the context. In other words, it has to do with where or when I’m going to say something.

c. - Attitude: Children learn because language is there to be learned, adults are in will. Attitude can be conscious or unconscious.

d. - Education: This factor is the weakest of all because it depends on the outside and not on the inside of the learner. It may be effective only if it is combined with the other three propensity factors.

2.- Language Faculty

It is a natural capacity of communicate and the functioning of the language processor (in terms of Biological Determinants of Language Processor and the Knowledge Available to the speaker at any one time).

a. - Biological Determinants of Language Processor: This represents only a fraction of our language skills. It deals with process in some parts of the central system (brain) according to perception, memory and higher cognitive functions.

b. - Available Knowledge: It deals with conscious knowledge acquired from books, school, others; and tacit knowledge which is unconscious.

3. - Access (to Language):

The processor previously mentioned cannot work if it is not exposed to raw material. Access covers some components which are: Input and the Range of Opportunities of Communication

1. - Input: It is the social interaction. The information we receive while we are in contact with others

2. - Opportunities of Communication: This range talks about the amount of exposure to language. The acquisition process comes to an end as soon as the learner stop being aware of the differences between his/her speech production and the one of his/her environment.

4.- The Structure of the process:

The text talks about two important aspects: Synchronization among various skills and elements of knowledge that make up a language, and Variations observed across learners and learners categories in the acquisition process.

1. - Synchronization of Elements in a Language: It refers to the acquisition of all linguistically knowledge. If a speaker wants to know a language, he/she must be able to make a proper use of several types of information, such as phonetically knowledge, inflection and so on.

2. - Variability (in learners): The structure and the way of acquisition varies depending on the learners. This variability is caused by many factors which include propensity components, the biological aspects of the learner his/her knowledge, a good input and so on.

5. - Tempo of Acquisition: According to three groups of factors; Heading propensity, language processor and Access.

6. - End State: Dealing with Fossilization and Backsliding.

Principles and practice in second Language Acquisition. Stephen Krashen

The Acquisition - Learning distinction.

There are two independent ways of developing the second language acquisition process.

a) Acquisition: Is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive, produce and use words to understand and communicate.

b) Learning: Is a conscious process; is acquiring new or modifying existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types of information.

The Natural Order Hypothesis.

Claims that the acquisition of grammar takes place in a predictable order. This order seemed to be independent of the learners' age, L1 background, conditions of exposure. The child second language order was different from the first language order, but different groups of second language acquires showed striking similarities.

The Monitor Hypothesis.

This hypothesis shows how acquisition and learning are two different processes. The ability to produce utterances in a second language comes from the acquired competence. On the other hand, learning serves only as an editor, or monitor. The learned knowledge helps us to make corrections or change the output of the acquired system.

Krashen has stated three conditions to be met to access the learned system. The three conditions for Monitor are:

1. Time. Second language learners need enough time to think consciously about the rules they learned.
2. Focus on form. Besides time, the learner needs to focus not only on what to say but also how to say it, the form.
3. Know the rule. Second language learners should know the rules of the language in order to use them.

Krashen has divided second language learners when using the Monitor process into three types due to their individual differences. These three types are:
a) Monitor overusers.
b) Monitor underusers.
c) Optimal users.

The Input Hypothesis.
Krashen's attempt to explain how the learner acquires a second language. So, the Input hypothesis is only concerned with 'acquisition', not 'learning'.
Conditions:
The acquire must understand input that contains i+1. The teacher must provide comprehensible input.
According to our traditional assumption we first learn structures, but the input hypothesis claims the opposite, we acquire by "going for meaning" first, and as a result we acquire strucute.
According to this hypothesis is simply to provide comprensible input.