In Krashen's theory of second-language acquisition he claims that there is distinction between language acquisition and language learning, a distinction which other second-language acquisition researchers have called "perhaps the most important conceptualization" in the field and which has made possible the most productive models of SLA.…

I continue here the long-standing discussion on the familiar topic of whether subconscious language acquisition is more powerful than conscious language learning, with a focus on vocabulary, adding recent studies as well as older ones I missed in previous publications on this topic (e.g. Krashen, 2004).

Nobody disagrees that reading is good for students' language development. The more they read texts that they can understand, the more confident and adept they become. However, it can be quite a struggle to get students started on their reading journey. We suggest that this is partly due to a lack of access to comprehensible and compelling reading…

In this article, Huw Jarvis and Stephen Krashen ask "Is CALL Obsolete?" When the term CALL (Computer-Assisted Language Learning) was introduced in the 1960s, the language education profession knew only about language learning, not language acquisition, and assumed the computer's primary contribution to second language acquisition…

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Stephen Krashen developed Monitor Theory--a group of hypotheses explaining second language acquisition with implications for language teaching. As the L2 scholarly community began considering what requirements theories should meet, Monitor Theory was widely criticized and dismissed, along with its teaching…

Providing rich supply of high-interest story books is more feasible policy for literacy education than urgent exhortations to improve teacher quality. Free reading profoundly improves students' reading and writing ability, spelling, grammar, and vocabulary. The quality of a country s or state's school libraries significantly predicts its reading…

Keith Baker's claims in his November 1998 article on Structured English Immersion are based on unpublished data. There are no data showing that all-English structured immersion programs are superior to well-constructed programs that include literacy development and subject-matter teaching in the child's first language. (12 references) (MLH)

Research published in recent years that deals with the Comprehension (Input) Hypothesis is reviewed, and evidence supporting the hypothesis is underlined. The research is from the areas of literacy development, second-language learning, and foreign-language learning and confirms the claim that development of language and literacy operate in much…

Outlines reasons for which bilingualism and bilingual education, when approached correctly, are beneficial to the future of the language, to the individual, and to society and suggests that one major improvement in bilingual education would be improved availability of English-language books for English learners. (MSE)

Critical review of the National Reading Panel report on fluency. Asserts that panel omitted or misinterpreted studies confirming the value of free reading in the classroom to improve student literacy. (Contains 24 references.) (PKP)

A secondary analysis of previously published data shows that high-socioeconomic status (SES) English language learners (ELLs) outperform low-SES fluent English speakers on tests of math, and they do about as well on tests of reading. Thus, for ELLs, SES can offset the effects of language proficiency on standardized tests of math and reading. This…

Hearing stories can result in considerable incidental vocabulary development, for both first and second language acquisition (e.g. Elley 1992; Robbins and Ehri 1994; Senechal, LeFevre, Hudson and Lawson 1996). It has also been claimed, however, that direct instruction is more effective than incidental vocabulary acquisition and that combining both…

Discusses how a mother's efforts to encourage her children to read in English as a foreign language were not successful until she allowed the children to select their own reading. Concludes that self-selected reading resulted in clear improvements in attitudes toward English reading and obvious gains in English competence. (SG)

Describes how a single positive experience in self-selected reading of children's books resulted in a profound change in attitudes toward recreational reading among Korean teachers in English as a foreign language. Concludes that after the experience, nearly all teachers reported they were interested in using sustained silent reading in their…

At the beginning of the second millennium, many university students in Taiwan that are enrolled in Freshman English are still being taught with teacher-centered methods. This study, which was inspired by the author's studies and research in the theoretical arguments of the Natural Approach and Psychological Method put forth by American educator…