Stephen Krashen's 5th is 1st (for me)

Hmm, I thought there were 5. But it seems, when I look it up, that there are now 7 hypotheses.

In this post I'd like to declare the importance, to me, of Stephen Krashen's hypotheses.

At the outset I'd like to state for the record that I am extremely biased; I agree with over 99% of what Stephen has to say. Oh, go on! 100%.

I'm doing this to weigh up the importance of his 5th hypothesis: the affective filter hypothesis. Off the top of my head I predict that, again in my case, it is the most significant. But let's see . . .

1. Input hypothesis (i+1) Very important. 4th 
2. Acquisition/learning hypothesis. Extremely important. 3rd
3. Monitor hypothesis. Quite Important. 5th
4. Natural order hypothesis. Important 6th
5. Affective filter hypothesis. Most important 1st
6. Reading hypothesis. Hugely important. 2nd
7. Conduit hypothesis. Not so important for me 7th

Feeling negatively disposed toward a language has delayed my learning it by as much as 45 years. What a waste!

Do what you do do well, boy!

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Do in your second language what you do in your first

What do you do with your first language? Do you like to chat, read the newspaper, listen to the lyrics of sings, watch action movies, read self-improvement literature, keep a diary, surf the Internet?

Whatever you enjoy doing,  it’s a fair bet that you’d enjoying doing the same sort of thing in the language that you wish to learn.

By the same token, if there’s something you dislike doing in your own language then it’s a recipe for disaster to try to do that type of activity to learn another language.

Stands to reason, doesn’t it?

Me, I’ve always enjoyed reading, including children’s books, biographies, comics. I don’t like TV as a medium. I surf the web a lot. I don’t like to engage in conversation. Knowing this gives me a good idea about what to try to learn another language.

Identify (and avoid) your off-buttons

What do you personally dislike about learning a language? Work out what it is and avoid it.

Why do I suggest that?

The rationale for this is that there are countless way of acquiring another language. That being so, you may as well choose a method that doesn't rub your fur up the wrong way.

I mean, our goal is not to build moral fibre!

Avoid what you dislike. That way you are in less danger of quitting.

So if you have doing exercises, don't do them!
If grammar ain't your cup of tea, don't drink it!
If the thought of speaking to a native speaker makes you break out in a cold sweat, don't sweat it!
Just stay shtum.

Naturally, if you give into every impulse to flee, then you may need to be a little creative and inventive about filling in the gaps. But that's doable.

The main thing is to avoid those off-buttons.

There are always other ways and means.