The Input Hypothesis
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1. In accordance with Stephen Krashen's (1994) discussion of the Input Hypothesis that emphasizes the use of comprehensible input to enable second language acquirers to move from state i to the next stage, i + 1, his suggestion of the ideal instructional program for minority students offers the best approach for helping them succeed in schools. Many researchers such as Tharp and Gilmore (1988), along with Speidel (1987), have criticized the conventional language teaching approach that exposes students to the acquisition of decontextualized structures and repetitions in a sequential order. According to these researchers, these instructional approaches not only undermine the language acquisition process, but also hamper their general cognitive development, by ignoring the importance of providing these students with meaningful and interesting input (cited in Gersten & Woodward, 1994). In contrast, the concept of the comprehensible input highlights the use of meaningful contextualized messages. By continuously exposing these students to comprehensible messages and speech, which contain proper grammatical structures, teachers can help the former acquire the ability to understand and produce the English language with accuracy (pp. 54-6). My own experiences with acquaintances who learned English as a second language also validates Krashen's (1994) theory on comprehensible input. Those who acquire the language through access to interesting and meaningful input such as daily
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should not be expected to understand other content areas such as science and geography in the second language. Krashen's (1994) suggestion of providing instruction for these subjects in the primary language will be important in ensuring the minority students' continuous cognitive development, while they develop their English language proficiency through exposure to comprehensible output.
2. Jim Cummins' (1994) theory of the "Common Underlying Proficiency Model" (CUP) offers theoretical support for bilingual education by refuting the belief that the minority language students' learning of content classes in the primary language will undermine their acquisition of the English language. Rather, the CUP model posits that individuals' development of the primary language will also contribute to their acquisition of the second language because they possess a cognitive capacity that allows them to transfer their knowledge of their language skills from one language to another (pp. 18-9). Based on my interpretation of the CUP model, the CUP is highly similarly to Chomsky's (1979) concept of the universal grammar. Essentially, human beings possess an innate mechanism for language learning capacity that enables them to acquire any la
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Gersten Woodward, Jiang Kuehn, Model CUP, Natural Approach, English Spanish, According Cummins, Saunders Goldenberg, Tharp Gilmore, Input Hypothesis, Ed Schooling, primary language, minority students, english language, bilingual education, language minority students, language minority, comprehensible input, kuehn 2001, language learning, los angeles, krashen's 1994, calp primary language, jiang kuehn 2001, gersten woodward 1994, bilingual education programs,
Approximate Word count = 1496
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)
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