Krashen's Monitor Model: five hypotheses distinguishing subconscious acquisition from conscious language learning

Theory · All theories
Evidence · 2 claims (1 for, 1 against) · 2 studies (1 causal, 1 theoretical), q2 · 0 of 2 report an effect size · 2 claims rest on one study

Description

The article presents Krashen's theory of second language acquisition as an explanatory framework built on five hypotheses: the Acquisition-Learning distinction, the Natural Order Hypothesis, the Monitor Hypothesis, the Input Hypothesis, and the Affective Filter Hypothesis. The article states that "Krashen's theory (1983) of L2 acquisition, based on research from applied linguistics, consists of five hypotheses." Learning is conscious rule knowledge, while acquisition is a subconscious process driven by comprehensible input and shaped by motivation, self-confidence, and anxiety.

Design Implications

Context

Requirements

• Acquisition requires comprehensible input occurring in the context of natural language use, per the Input Hypothesis

Constraints

• The article notes current L2 methodologies focused on grammar, error correction, and product have been diverted from this informing research

Target Learners

• second language (L2) students

Target Learning Objectives

• second language acquisition
• writing ability development

Claims

• A 1982 bilingual-education teacher-training packet asserts, citing Krashen, that repetitive drill and grammar-focused instruction are ineffective for second language acquisition [+W]
• The three planning conditions produced different accuracy orders for regular and irregular past, questioning the stability of the natural order [-W]

Related Theories

• Bruner's account: language acquisition as necessity for thinking and the highest levels of cognitive development
• Horning's theory: for basic writers, academic written English is a second language
• Krashen's five hypotheses of second language acquisition as principles for bilingual program design
• Krashen's Monitor Model: acquisition versus learning as separate internal rule systems
• Linguistic Threshold Hypothesis versus Linguistic Interdependence Hypothesis for ELL reading comprehension
• Swain's Comprehensible Output Hypothesis with a circular input-output-intake model
• Similarity account: first and adult second language acquisition are neither wholly identical nor wholly different, but similar
• Ellis's revised interaction hypothesis: noticing, comparison, and integration as the basic acquisitional procedures
• Comparative framework of three SLA theories (Krashen, Complexity, Socio-cognitive) by philosophy and characteristics
• Two-faces framework: language acquisition as distinct mental representation and skill components
• Krashen's input hypothesis and Monitor Model of second language acquisition — the canonical page for this theory
• 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

• Diaz, Diana M. (1988). First Language/Second Language: Acquisition, Writing, and Cognitive Development. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED294203

Page metadata

Field	Value
type	theory
title	Krashen's Monitor Model: five hypotheses distinguishing subconscious acquisition from conscious language learning
description	The article presents Krashen's theory of second language acquisition as an explanatory framework built on five hypotheses: the Acquisition-Learning distinction, the Natural Order Hypothesis, the Monitor Hypothesis, th...
status	review
canonical	True
generated	by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-09-26
trust	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
sources	1 — diaz-1988

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