An Analysis of Input Hypothesis in English Teaching

赖菲菲

【Abstract】Input plays a significant role in the process of foreign language teaching and learning. One of the most important studies about input is Krashens Input Hypothesis， which emphasizes the importance of comprehensive input in foreign language teaching and learning. This paper aims to study the significance of Input Hypothesis and its application to English teaching.

【Key words】Input Hypothesis； comprehensive input； English teaching

1. The Content of Krashens Input Hypothesis

1.1 An Introduction of Krashens Input Hypothesis

The Input Hypothesis is the key part in Krashens language acquisition theory which explains how learners acquire a second language. According to Krashen（1982，20-22）， this hypothesis may be stated in four parts as follows：

（1）The Input Hypothesis relates to acquisition， not learning. It attempts to answer what is perhaps the most important question （How do we acquire a second language？） in teaching field， and gives an answer that has a potential impact on all areas of language teaching.

（2）We acquire language by understanding it and the content is a little bit beyond our current level of competence （i+1）. This is done with the help of content and extra-linguistic information.

（3）If the communication is successful， and the understood input is enough， “i+1” will be provided automatically. Input must contain “i+1” information for language acquisition， but “i+1” information is not the only needed. If the acquirer understands the input， and there is enough of it， “i+1” will be provided automatically. So the best input should not even attempt to aim at “i+1” deliberately （Krashen，1982）.

（4）Production ability is not taught directly. The final part of the Input Hypothesis states that speaking fluency cannot be taught directly. The emergence of production ability is through its own over time.

1.2 The Interpretation of “i+1” Principle

Based on the concept of comprehensible input， Krashen put forward the “i+1” principle. “i” refers to the learners current level of competence， and “i+1” refers to the next level along natural order. To put it in another way， the language that learners are exposed to should be slightly above their existing competence so that they can understand most of it while still be challenged to make progress. If the input is too difficult， the learners will lose confidence and feel anxious. On the contrary， too easy input will make them learn nothing. Only when learners are provided with comprehensible input， their language acquisition takes place automatically.

1.3 Characteristics of Comprehensible Input

“The best methods are therefore those that supply‘comprehensible inputin low anxiety situations， containing messages that learners really want to hear.”Thus comprehensible input has four characteristics：1） comprehensible， 2） interesting and relevant， 3） sufficient “i+1”， 4） ungrammatically-sequenced

2. Some Specific Examples concerning the Influence of Input Hypothesis on English Teaching

2.1 Examples on English Vocabulary Teaching

More and more researches both at home and abroad are doing researches on the relation between reading and vocabulary acquisition. Nowadays， it is very common that English teachers adopt two ways—direct learning and indirect learning， to help students learn a large number of vocabulary. In direct vocabulary learning the students do exercises and activities that focus their attention on vocabulary， while in indirect vocabulary learning their attention is usually paid to message .Therefore， indirect learning is based on Krashens Input Theory. Teachers in middle schools encourage their students to go through large quantities of simplified materials. A case in point is that many English teachers recommend different titles of simplified reading books， such as Robinson Crusoe in different versions in a vocabulary of 750， 1000， or 2000 words. In addition， plenty of periodicals and magazines， for instance， Readers Digest or 21st Century Teens， also enjoy great popularity among teachers and students.

Reading simplified materials after class is a type of indirect vocabulary learning. New words are learned incidentally while reading. Studies show that students could get the main idea of the text without referring to a dictionary and recognize the meanings of most new words， which are slightly beyond their present level. At the same time， simplified reading materials can be used to reinforce familiar vocabulary by repetition in context. Most simplified reading books， for example， the Ladder Series， Longmans Structural Readers， allow the learners to gain further understanding of known and half-known vocabulary and structures. Such materials stretch the meaning of the words already learned.

Whats more， an obvious advantage of simplified reading books is that they bring pleasure and a sense of achievement to the readers. In order to achieve this goal， the content of the texts should be interesting and relevant to the students. So the learners have low affective filters and let in plenty of input in such reading materials.

2.2 Examples on English Listening Teaching

Among the four skills（listening， speaking， reading and writing ）， many Chinese students often complain that listening is one of the most difficult skills to acquire. As a result， in order to cut down their anxiety， teachers tend to provide more cultural information related to the target language. The language is the carrier of the foreign culture， and there is a close relationship between the cultural background knowledge and the listening comprehension. Therefore， the mastery of the background knowledge can play an important part in listening comprehension. In order to improve the listening competence， the teachers ought to make the students familiar with western culture. To understand more cultural information about the target language can promote the understanding ability of the second language sentences and the dialogues （Dong， 2009）. So when learners are asked to fill in the blanks or choose the right answers， although they do not fully grasp the meaning of the materials， context and extra-linguistic information can be used.

In addition， when it comes to the listening materials， in a traditional class， both teachers and students obey the textbook strictly. Consequently， the students always feel it is dull when they have to follows the rules from one task to another. Recently， the teachers pay more attention to the listening topics which vary from students daily life to current affairs. Too much focus on the textbooks will make the students lose interest and motivation.

3. Conclusions

According to Krashens Input Hypothesis， teachers should give sufficient input to the students， which is interesting and relevant to them， and through the explanation of unfamiliar knowledge to the learners， the input could be comprehended by them. In a word， the teachers are supposed to make full use of comprehensible input to facilitate Chinas EFL teaching.