Foreign Language Input Hypothesis

Learning a foreign language can be a daunting challenge, but can also be one of the most rewarding experiences in one’s life. The journey to fluency is a long and difficult path, in part because foreign language learning is not a single skill. It is the intensive coordination of multiple skill sets. These include memory, cognitive problem solving, internalizing grammar, speech fluidity, listening comprehension, and vocabulary. To the foreign language learner the process is slow and growth is almost imperceptible. However, through exposure to comprehensible input a language learner can improve (Krasten, 1985). The input hypothesis (IH) “assumes that we acquire language by understanding messages” (Krashen 1985). This hypothesis states that language learners only grow when exposed to language that is just out of their level of comfort, but can be understood (Krashen 1985, 1995). The language learner level is “l” and the level needed for growth is “i+l”. This pushes students to stretch their understanding and acquire more language knowledge. The type of input can be any type of language material as long as it is at the correct level. This includes written texts, television programming, or conversation.

Higgs (1985) made a strong case against the Input Hypothesis by comparing the hours of instruction in Spanish at universities in the United States and their language proficiency levels leaving a major in Spanish. He found that most Spanish majors would graduate with 31.62 total days of classroom exposure. However, Spanish majors graduate with a mean proficiency in speaking of ILR 2/2+ (Carroll 1967). This implies there is something other than just acquisition through comprehendible input. De Graaff (1997) also criticized the Input Hypothesis showing that explicit learning of grammar elicited better posttest outcomes than implicitly learning