The Comprehension Hypothesis: comprehensible input as the crucial ingredient of second language acquisition¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · 6 claims (6 for) · 1 study (1 review), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 6 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The Comprehension Hypothesis (CH) states that language is acquired when learners understand messages, i.e. when they receive comprehensible input while reading and listening. If the learner's current competence is (i), input should be (i+1), containing aspects of language the learner is developmentally ready to acquire. The article positions CH as "the most powerful hypothesis in the field of Second Language Acquisition" against rivals (skill-building, output, interaction hypotheses) that claim consciously learned knowledge is necessary. It also holds that conscious knowledge can only monitor (edit) the output of acquired language, not drive acquisition itself.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Input must be comprehensible — well within the learner's current competence — and contain a developmental step (i+1) beyond what is already acquired

Constraints¶

• The hypothesis does not give a detailed account of the internal process by which input turns into acquisition; the article acknowledges critics raise this but dismisses the criticism as a misinterpretation

Target Learners¶

• Second language (L2) learners, including EFL and ESL students

Target Learning Objectives¶

• Second language acquisition broadly: vocabulary, grammar, syntax, and spelling acquired subconsciously from comprehensible input

Claims¶

• Single exposures yield partial word knowledge, and repeated encounters in varied contexts build complete word meaning (fast mapping then full mapping) [+W]
• Adult ESL students who read a short story could use incidentally acquired words in sentences, while students who learned word meanings in isolation could not [+W]
• Incidental vocabulary acquisition through comprehensible input is more powerful than intentional vocabulary learning [+W]
• Incidentally acquired vocabulary is retained over time while intentionally learned (focus-on-form) words are rapidly forgotten [+W]
• Reading proficiency level moderates incidental vocabulary gains: higher-proficiency readers gained more, consistent with i+1 [+W]
• Reading a single authentic novel yields incidental vocabulary gains, with more gains for words occurring more than five times [+W]

Related Theories¶

• Krashen's input hypothesis and Monitor Model of second language acquisition — the canonical page for this theory

• Krashen's input hypothesis and Monitor Model of second language acquisition

• Krashen's Monitor Model: acquisition versus learning as separate internal rule systems
• Krashen's five hypotheses of second language acquisition as principles for bilingual program design
• Long's interaction hypothesis
• Swain's Comprehensible Output Hypothesis with a circular input-output-intake model
• Swain's output hypothesis
• Krashen's five hypotheses (acquisition-learning, natural order, monitor, input, affective filter) serve as the principles for second language acquisition in bilingual programs

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Ponniah, R. J. (2011). The Effectiveness of the Comprehension Hypothesis: A Review on the Current Research on Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition. i-manager's Journal on English Language Teaching, 1(2), April-June 2011. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1071042. doi:10.26634/jelt.1.2.1452