Stephen Krashen facts for kids

Stephen D. Krashen, born on May 14, 1941, is an American expert in languages and education. He is a retired professor from the University of Southern California. He used to teach about languages, but then he moved to teach about education in 1994.

Understanding How We Learn Languages

Stephen Krashen earned his Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1972. Linguistics is the study of language.

Krashen has written many articles and books, over 486 in total. His work focuses on how people learn a second language, how bilingual education works, and how reading helps.

Krashen's Ideas on Language Learning

He came up with several important ideas, called hypotheses, about learning a second language:

• The acquisition-learning hypothesis says there are two ways to learn a language. Acquisition is like how babies learn their first language, naturally and without thinking. Learning is when you study rules, like in a classroom.
• The input hypothesis suggests that we learn best when we get language that is a little bit harder than what we already know. He calls this "comprehensible input."
• The monitor hypothesis explains that our "learned" knowledge acts like a monitor or editor. It helps us correct mistakes after we speak or write.
• The affective filter is like a mental barrier. If you feel stressed or nervous, this filter goes up, making it harder to learn. If you feel relaxed and confident, the filter is down, and learning is easier.
• The natural order hypothesis suggests that we learn language rules in a certain order, no matter how they are taught.

Most recently, Krashen strongly supports free voluntary reading. This means reading for fun in your second language. He believes it is the most powerful way to learn any language.

Awards and Recognition

Stephen Krashen has received several awards for his work:

• 1985: He won the Pimsleur Award for the best published article. This award is given by the American Council of Foreign Language Teachers.
• 1986: His paper about language learning and the brain was chosen as a "Citation Class" by Current Contents. This means it was very important and often referenced.
• 1993: He received an award for a great presentation related to school libraries.
• 1982: He won the Mildenberger Award for his book, Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning.
• 2005: Krashen was added to the International Reading Association's Reading Hall of Fame. This honors people who have made big contributions to reading.
• 2005: He was also elected to the National Association for Bilingual Education Executive Board.

Working for Bilingual Education

Stephen Krashen is also an activist for education policy. This means he works to change rules and laws about education.

Fighting for Language Programs

In his home state of California, some new laws were not friendly to bilingualism. Bilingualism means being able to speak two languages. One of these laws was called Proposition 227 in 1998. This law aimed to limit bilingual education.

Krashen strongly disagreed with these new policies. He did a lot of research to show why they were not good. He also spoke in public, went on talk shows, and gave many interviews to journalists. He wrote over 1,000 letters to newspaper editors to share his views.

Researchers' Role in Public Debate

Krashen believes that researchers should do more to help people understand bilingual education. He thinks the public sometimes has wrong ideas about it. He asked if this was because newspapers spread wrong information, or if experts just didn't explain their side well enough.

He believes that experts need to work together to explain and defend bilingual education. He said that without a strong effort, there might be nothing left to defend.