However, in forming their understanding, they may have difficulties, whether internal or external. To overcome the difficulties, they need to practice listening
more frequently, get as much exposure as possible, and familiarize themselves to the spoken English language.
B. Second Language Acquisition Theories and Hypotheses
Humans use language to communicate with each other. Ever since little children are aware of and exposed to a rich language environment, they will begin
to naturally ―absorb‖ the utterances from the people around them. They will begin
to form a language competence and this occurrence is called first language acquisition. When pe
ople ―absorb‖ one more language, it is called second language acquisition SLA.
The following discussion attempts to elaborate five theories and hypotheses regarding Second Language Acquisition, mainly from the views of Stephen
Krashen, one of the pioneers of SLA research.
1. The Acquisition-Learning Distinction
Krashen argued that language acquisition is different from language learning. Language acquisition, according to him, is a subconscious process in which a
person is not aware of the fact that heshe is acquiring a language, and it results in a subconscious skill and competence. It means that acquirers are not generally
aware of the exact rules of the language, like its grammar, for instance. However, they have a sense of
‗correctness‘; they can tell when a sentence feels correct and when it feels incorrect even though they cannot identify the error. In contrast,
language learning involves a conscious process in which someone knows the knowledge and rules of a language and is able to differ and explain the correct and
incorrect sentence by referring to the grammatical structure. Language learning usually takes place in a formal institution.
26
26
Stephen Krashen, Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. New York: Pergamon, 1982, Internet Edition, p.10.
2. The Natural Order Hypothesis
This hypothesis believes that people —whether children or adults—acquire
grammatical structure in a predictable order. They usually begin with simple rules and gradually acquire more complex rules.
27
3. The Monitor Hypothesis
Once the distinction between language acquisition and language learning has been identified, it is important to know how these two interact. Monitor
Hypothesis states that acquisition is respon sible for someone‘s fluency while the
role of learning is limited as a monitor for language competence that is acquired through acquisition. In producing, learners use the language that they acquired.
The language rules that they learned, on the other hand, helps them when they need to edit or correct their produced language. Simply put, acquisition has a more
significant and direct role in someone‘s linguistic performance than learning does. To illustrate, the relationship between the two is shown on Figure 2.1.
28
Figure 2.1 Acquisition and Learning in Second Language Production
It is true that acquisition should be emphasized, but it does not mean learning should be overlooked. By using the monitor, people could use the language that
they have not acquired. Krashen divided monitor users into three categories: monitor over-users who use monitor all the time, which interrupts communication;
27
Ibid., pp. 12 – 13.
28
Ibid., pp. 15 – 16.
Acquired
language competence
Learned language
competence as monitor OUTPUT
monitor under-users, who rarely use the monitor even when it can help; and optimal users, who use the monitor in appropriate times.
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4. The Input Hypothesis
Once it is established that acquisition is the main goal, a question emerges: ―how do people acquire language?‖ This hypothesis seeks to answer that question
and it is perhaps the principal theory on which this study is based. According to Krashen, people acquire language when they receive a
comprehensible input. It means a language input with a structure that is slightly beyond their current competence but still meaningful to them. The inputs can be
received primarily from directly listening to other people ‘s speech. With the
advancement of the mass media and technology, people can also get inputs by listening to a news broadcast, listening to an English song, watching a television
program, or watching an English movie. People can understand this input by using their current competence as well as
context and their background knowledge. A person‘s current competence can be
symbolized as i. In acquiring the language, this person moves from i to the next level which is i+1. To get there, the person needs to understand an utterance, or an
input that contains i+1. It is important to emphasize ―understand‖ as there will be
no acquisition if the input is not comprehensible. It should also be noted that ―understand‖ here means understanding the meaning and not the form. The
process is represented on Figure 2.2.
Figure 2.2 How Comprehensible Input Works in Language Acquisition
29
Ibid., pp. 17 – 19.
i i+1
i+1 i+1
i+1
Comprehensible input Comprehensible input
Comprehensible input Comprehensible input
