Second Language Acquisition and Second ... - Stephen Krashen

predict differences in student achievement (S. Sapon, personal communication),
because efficient acquisition is taking place for all students.
Notes
1 The presence of such a filter may explain why some foreign language students behave like
patients with bilateral hippocampal lesions. Stevick (1976) notes that such patients "are
perfectly normal in intelligence, and they can remember the words and language skills that
they had before the operation. Further, they have no difficulty in hearing, understanding, and
repeating new information as long as they keep on repeating it. They are different from other
people in only one respect: if their repetition of the new material is interrupted in any way,
they forget it immediately ..." (pp. 6-7). Moreover, "the behavior of these patients is
embarrassingly similar to the classroom behavior of our students" (p. 7).
2 We might say that the instrumental acquirer or learner "fossilizes" (Selinker, 1972), or ceases
progress when he perceives that communicative needs are met. The integrative
acquirer/learner fossilizes when he perceives that his social needs are met.
3 While attitudinal effects are, it is hypothesized, directly related to acquisition, they may
certainly be indirectly related to conscious learning. For example, the integratively motivated
student might clearly be willing to spend more time and effort in conscious learning,
especially if he has been taught that such an effort is useful. Also, there are conditions under
which high aptitude may lead to acquisition, albeit indirectly. The high-aptitude student
probably feels drawn toward learning; such learning may have very satisfying results in terms
of the rapid sort of progress it seems to give at first. In terms of Monitor Theory, this is not
real progress--it may produce "language-like" behavior, achieved by the use of the first
language as a substitute utterance initiator with Monitor repairs (the L1 + Monitor mode;
Krashen, 1977a). In addition to the affective benefit the use of this mode may have, it may
indirectly encourage acquisition by drawing more intake to the performer. Use of this mode
may allow the performer some degree of interaction with second language speakers. The use
of routines and patterns also does this and may also encourage intake (Fillmore, 1976;
Krashen and Scarcella, 1978). (Part of this input may be the pseudo-language of others. The
mechanism used by the speaker in producing someone else's input, of course, make no
difference to the hearer, however, and it is legitimate input.)
4 For example, one attitudinal test used by Garner and Lambert (1959) asked students to rank
four possible reasons for studying French:
Knowledge of French would
1. be useful in obtaining a job,
2. be helpful in understanding the French-Canadian people and their way of life,
3. permit meeting and conversing with more and varied people,
4. make one a better educated person.
A fifth alternative, "any other personal reason", was also permitted. Gardner and Lambert explain that "S's who
ranked either alternative (2) or (3) as most relevant were classified as 'integratively oriented". Those choosing either
(1) or (4) were classified as 'instrumentally oriented'. Those choosing alternative (5) were not classified" (p. 193)
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