Are Krashen's 5 Hypotheses Relevant for Modern Teachers? Do they even make sense?
The 5 hypothe ses of Krashen are part of a published work by Stephen Krashen, a professor at the University of Southern California. He is linguist who has extensively studied second language acquisition. He has been an activist for the proper treatment and consideration of second language learners in Southern California and is a supporter of bilingual education. The theory he came up with for second language learning is what is referred to as his 5 part Hypotheses and it has been debated for its seemingly contradictory appeals. When taken literally the propositions can range from confusing to downright de-motivational for teachers. However, when the information is sifted through with a goal of understanding within the context of a modern teacher’s reality, these theories can be analyzed to determine several solid principles for teaching. The fi rst of 5 is the “Acquisition-Learning hypothesis” which states that there are two forms of learning. One is through acq