语言学英语dissertation写作-Krashen’s Affective Filter Hypothesis

语言学英语dissertation写作-Krashen’s Affective Filter Hypothesis 

 

Krashen, a U.S. linguist, summarized a complete second-language acquisition model in 1985 based on a large number of observation and practice. It is referred to as “Monitor Theory” and comprises of five hypotheses: 1) the Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis, 2) the Monitor Hypothesis, 3) the Input Hypothesis, 4) the Natural Order Hypothesis, and 5) the Affective Filter Hypothesis. Of these hypotheses, the Affective Filter Hypothesis is considered as one of the key factors for second language acquisition. The concept of “Affective Filter” was first proposed by Dulay and Burt as early as in 1977 and defined as “an internal processing system which subconsciously prevents language learners from language intake according to the elements called “affections” by psychologists.” In 1985, Krashen put forward the Affective Filter Hypothesis on that basis. This hypothesis argues that learners’ affective factors will filter the language input, and the filter effect will directly affect the amount of language input the learners can accept. Learners with stronger motivation and confidence can acquire a great deal of language input and convert the input into language competence. Conversely, when language learners are of little learning motivation, low confidence, or strong anxiety, the affective barriers will be reinforced and then the affective filter will get higher accordingly, decreasing the language input acquired by the learners.

 

According to Krashen, the affective filter not only cause differences of language learning among the second language learners, but also the differences between second language acquisition and first language acquisition. It is generally known that there is no affective filter in children’s first language acquisition. That’s why all normal children can acquire their native language. But in the process of second language acquisition the affective factors begin to take effect, which makes the second language acquisition more and more difficult, and learners also show different levels of learning. Language acquisition mechanism plays an important role in language acquisition. Besides, effective and comprehensible language input, moderate affective filter are essential factors for language acquisition.

 

Krashen considers a learner’s affective state as a filter, the true meaning of which is that it works prior to language acquisition mechanism. That is to say, not all the language entering into the learner's head has opportunity to be “acquired” by the learner, and only the unfiltered language materials can play a role in learning. This explains why the differences exist in learners’ foreign language proficiency in the same language learning environment and language acquisition mechanism. It is the “affective filter” that plays a critical role in language learning. Moreover, plenty of effective language input is a contributing factor for language acquisition, while the affective filter is a limiting factor for language acquisition. Therefore, how to reduce the affective filter, enhance learners’ learning motivation, improve their confidences, and reduce their learning anxiety has become the focus of the study.

1985年，美国语言学家克拉申(Krashen)通过大量的观察与实践，总结出一套完整的第二语言习得模型，被称为“语言监控”理论（The Monitor Theory）,由五大假说构成。1)语言习得与学习假说（the Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis）,2)语言控制调节假说（the Monitor Hypothesis),3)语言输入假说（the Input Hypothesis）,4)自然顺序假说（the Natural Order Hypothesis),5)情感过滤假说（the Affective Filter Hypothesis）。其中的情感过滤假说被视为二语习得的关键因素之一。 早在1977年，Dulay和Burt就最先提出了“情感过滤”这个概念。定义为：“一种内在的处理系统，它潜意识地依据心理学家称为‘情感’的因素，阻止学习者对语言的吸收。”1985年，克拉申在此基础上提出了情感过滤假说，该假说认为，学习者的情感因素对语言输入进行过滤，该过滤作用直接影响着学习者接受语言输入的多与少。如果学习者的学习动机强，自信心高，那么情感对语言输入的过滤作用就小，学习者就能获得大量的语言输入，并转化为语言能力。反之，当学习者学习动机缺乏，自信心不高或焦虑感强时，情感屏障就会增强，情感过滤量就增多，学习者获得的语言输入就越少。  

    

按照克拉申的观点，情感过滤不仅可以解释第二语言学习者之间在学习上有差异，也能解释第二语言习得与母语习得之间的差异。 众所周知，儿童在习得母语的过程中，不存在情感过滤，因此正常儿童都能习得母语，但在后天的二语习得过程中，出现了情感过滤，第二语言的学习就变得越来越困难，学习者也表现出不同的学习水平。对语言习得而言，语言习得机制起着主要作用，此外，有效的可理解的语言输入、情感过滤的适度也是习得语言必不可少的因素。

   

克拉申将学习者的情感状态看作一个过滤器，情感过滤器的真正意义在于它是在语言习得机制之前发生作用的，也就是说并不是所有的进入学习者头脑中的语言都有机会被学习者“学习”，只有未被过滤掉的语言材料才能在学习中发挥作用。 这就解释了为什么在相同的语言学习环境和语言习得机制作用下，有的学习者外语水平高，有的外语水平低，“情感过滤器”在其中起着关键作用。另外大量有效的语言输入是习得语言的促进因素，情感过滤则是习得语言的限制因素。因此，如何降低情感过滤，增强学习者学习动机，提高自信心和减少学习焦虑就成为了研究的重点。

Interpretation of Reading Information Processing by Double Structures Theory

Interpretation of Reading Comprehension by Double Structures Theory#p#分页标题#e#

Perfect state

Both Goodman and Smith believe that reading is a process of guessing the textual content for readers. Goodman once said: “reading is a psycholinguistic guessing game. It involves an interaction between thought and language. The author encodes his thought into language, and then the reader decodes the language into thought.”

Grellet also maintains that reading is a constant process of guessing (Grellet, 2000).

 

Zhu Chuan, a Chinese scholar, said: “English reading is a complicated psychological and physiological process, which requires the learners to understand the author's intention between the language symbols by virtue of their own reading abilities to make the symbols meaningful, thus to communicate with the author in thought.” (Zhu Chun, 1994).

 

Words in reading materials are the carriers of information, by which the author convey information to the outside world, and the readers extract the information.

Double structures theory is a language learning theory put forward by Professor Yin Demo of Xihua University through summarizing teaching practice and experience of more than ten years, and combining with his explorations and researches on teaching method theories. The theory indicates that there are both Chinese and English thinking structures in the brains of Chinese English-learners; therefore, there are also both Chinese and English knowledge structures and first language cognitive structures. Knowledge structure is a knowledge framework with open, dynamic, universal and multi-level characteristics, which is constructed by someone for certain purpose and composed of various knowledge in certain combination way and ratio relation. While cognitive structure is a general term of the entire cognition process of a person's psychological activities such as perception, attention, memory, imagination and thinking. It dynamically organizes all the elements of personal cognition and their interrelation, and is established on the base of the linkage with the past experience. Knowledge structure and cognitive structure will accompany English learners all along. The new and old knowledge interact and are reorganized by the cognitive structure, thus creating a system of larger double structures, which includes the original smaller double structures. And the knowledge structure and cognitive structure coexist parallelly, work cooperatively, and exclude, penetrate and transform mutually.

Reading comprehension is a process that the two ways of information processing (from bottom to top and from top to bottom) interact and transform simultaneously, and it is also a process of combining existing background knowledge to get an overall comprehension. In addition to words recognition, the bottom-to top information processing way also includes the analysis of syntax and text. Lexical meaning is the base of the sentence meaning understanding; however, the understanding of sentences is not simply an addition of the lexical meanings. When it comes to English sentences that are abstract and difficult to understand, native language will be used to translate the English sentences for further understanding as well as the English thought. Thought corresponding to the native language will be also used for the comprehension. During the whole process of English reading comprehension, native language and thought as well as English and its thought all involve in the information processing and thinking activities of reading at all levels. However, most English learners in China begin to learn English at the age of 12 when they have had strong native language thought, thus their English thought is in an inferior state and influenced by the strong native language thought at the very beginning of English learning. Most of previous reading theories usually base the researches on native language reading, which neglects the existing strong native language thought possessed by the “late bilinguals”.

 

Imperfect state

Krashen put forward his creative structural theory in 1982, which has a strong influence on second language teaching practice. He holds that acquisition can result in enough language input on which affective factors play a filtering role. Affective factors, varying with each individual, can hinder or accelerate the language acquisition. Only in the best affective conditions can the true acquisition be achieved. There are two best affective conditions:  the learners have strong learning motivations; the learners are confident and in a great mood with little anxiety. However, most Chinese English-learners have more or less anxiety, less strong learning motivation, or low confidence. Thus, actual language teaching in China still has a long way to go to reach the best affective conditions. The writer believes that affective filter does exist in the process of information input and output, what matters is only that how much information is filtered. The aforementioned Cognition-Knowledge Bilingual Double Structures are all studied in an ideal state; however, English learning practices in China are carried out in non-ideal conditions (affective filter exists). Then, how do the Cognition-Knowledge Bilingual Double Structures operate in the process of reading comprehension in imperfect conditions? Take English-learners at medium-low and high level as target, this paper will make the explanations respectively below.

For medium-low-level English-learners, the process of reading comprehension is as below:

              via potential translation

                                                        

    High affective filter exist in the whole process

 

 (Double Structures in the reading comprehension process of Chinese English-learners (1)) 

 

It can be seen in the figure that reading materials first enter into the “knowledge-cognition structure” of English and “language-thought structure” system of medium-low-level learners. Due to the learner's low English level, the system will enter into the “knowledge-cognition structure” of native language and “language-thought structure” system through potential translation. The two systems work cooperatively, interact and transform mutually, thus forming a larger Double Structures system. Thereafter, the learners will digest and absorb the received information, comprehend the materials and then restore it in the short-term memory. For an English-learner, there are comparatively higher affective filter in the whole process. Weak learning motivation, low confidence or strong anxiety can all impede the information transfer.

 #p#分页标题#e#

For high-level English-learners, information directly enters the “language-thought structure” of English and “knowledge-cognition structure” system without initiating the “thought structure” of native language and “knowledge-cognition structure” system. See the figure below:

                                                                 

 Low affective filter exist in the whole process

(Note: dotted lines represent that the system is not initiated)

(Double Structures in the reading comprehension process of Chinese English-learners (2))

 

“Thought structure” of native language and “knowledge-cognition structure” system is not initiated because high-level English-learners are more familiar with English language and culture, and they often use English in daily life and have proficient English skills. When reading materials stimulate their visual and auditory systems, they can think in English like British and American natives, rather than thinking in native language. Therefore, they can still comprehend the materials and store them in the short-term memory without initiating the “thought structure” of native language and “knowledge-cognition structure” system.

 

Psychological Mechanism of Reading

In general, reading is a process that a reader reads the article, comprehends the author’s intention, decodes the hidden information in the article, combines the new knowledge in the article with existing knowledge and experience and completes the knowledge assimilation, digestion and comprehension. Foreign language reading is not a monolingual affair, because individual cognitions will act and impact on each other between native and foreign languages. Koda (1994) holds that: “second language reading is cross-language in essence, at least between two languages”. For adult Chinese English-learners, English reading comprehension via visual way is completed in the “native language thought” system, while English reading via auditory way is completed in the “language-thought” systems of both native language and English.

 

Input information via visual system

For English reading process in which the information input is completed via visual system, the information is stored in the semantic concept system shared by the native language and English. Because Chinese English-learners have strong native language thought, most information processing is completed in “thought structure” system of native language, and the processed information is also stored in a foreign language visual psychological vocabulary of the “thought structure” system of native language. It is also called as foreign language reading psychological vocabulary, which is the only support of the foreign language semantic concept system. It is found in the study that the representation system function of the weak foreign language visual psychological vocabulary can only be completed in “knowledge-cognition structure” system native language. For English-learners who read primarily via visual channel, “language-thought structure” system of foreign language can not be initiated due to the closure of the auditory channel, thus the processing, storage and extraction of information are almost completed in the related system of native language.#p#分页标题#e#

 

Input information via visual and auditory system

In the process in which the visual and auditory systems are initiated simultaneously, the information is processed in the neural network shared system of native and English languages, and the processed information is stored in the visual and auditory psychological vocabulary in the area of neural network shared system of the native and English languages. If the information processing of one language is blocked and can not be processed in the shared system, the other language will take over the task of information processing and storing the processed information in the visual and auditory psychological vocabulary of the language. For Chinese English-learners, there is much more possibility of information processing blockage than that of native language.