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Stephen D. Krashen (born May 14, 1941) is an American linguist, educational researcher and activist known for developing the input hypothesis, a group of five hypotheses of second-language acquisition. He is
Emeritus Professor ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...
of Education at the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
. He moved from the
linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
department to the faculty of the School of Education in 1994.


Work

Stephen Krashen received a Ph.D. in
Linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
from the
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
in 1972. Krashen has among papers (peer-reviewed and not) and books, more than 486 publications, contributing to the fields of second-language acquisition,
bilingual education In bilingual education, students are taught in two (or more) languages. It is distinct from learning a second language as a subject because both languages are used for instruction in different content areas like math, science, and history. The t ...
, and reading. He introduced various hypotheses related to second-language acquisition, including the acquisition-learning hypothesis, the input hypothesis, the monitor hypothesis, the affective filter, and the natural order hypothesis. Most recently, Krashen promotes the use of '' free voluntary reading'' during second-language acquisition, which he says "is the most powerful tool we have in
language education Language education refers to the processes and practices of teaching a second language, second or foreign language. Its study reflects interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary approaches, usually including some applied linguistics. There are f ...
, first and second."


Awards

* 1985: co-winner of the Pimsleur Award, given by the American Council of Foreign Language Teachers for the best published article * 1986: his paper "Lateralisation, language learning and the critical period" was selected as Citation Class by
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* 1993: the Distinguished Presentation related to School Library Media Centers, was awarded to by editors of the School Library Media Annual * 1982: winner of the Mildenberger Award, given for his book, ''Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning'' (Prentice-Hall) * 2005: Krashen was inducted into the
International Reading Association The International Literacy Association (ILA), formerly the International Reading Association (IRA), is an international global advocacy and member professional organization that was created in 1956 to improve reading instruction, facilitate dial ...
's Reading Hall of Fame. * 2005: elected at the National Association for Bilingual Education Executive Board.


Educational policy activism

As education policy in Krashen's home state of
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
became increasingly hostile to bilingualism, he responded with research critical of the new policies, public speaking engagements, and with letters written to newspaper editors. During the campaign to enact an anti-bilingual education law in California in 1998, known as Proposition 227, Krashen campaigned aggressively in public forums, media talk shows, and conducted numerous interviews with journalists writing on the subject. After other anti-bilingual education campaigns and attempts to enact regressive
language education Language education refers to the processes and practices of teaching a second language, second or foreign language. Its study reflects interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary approaches, usually including some applied linguistics. There are f ...
policies surfaced around the country, by 2006 it was estimated that Krashen had submitted well over 1,000 letters to editors. Krashen has been an advocate for a more activist role by researchers in combating what he considers the public's misconceptions about bilingual education. Addressing the question of how to explain public opposition to bilingual education, Krashen queried, "Is it due to a stubborn disinformation campaign on the part of newspapers and other news media to deliberately destroy bilingual education? Or is it due to the failure of the profession to present its side of the story to reporters? There is a great deal of anecdotal evidence in support of the latter." Continuing, Krashen wrote, "Without a serious, dedicated and organized campaign to explain and defend bilingual education at the national level, in a very short time we will have nothing left to defend."


Writing

* * * * * * * * * * * *


References


External links


Response to criticism
by Ron Unz
NPR Talk of the Nation episode featuring Stephen Krashen


Applied linguist Vivian Cook's page on Krashen's hypotheses. * YouTube talk in 2015 by Krashen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3pipsG_dQk * YouTube talk in 2020 by Krashen on SLA, reading and research https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0WfMgH_qPs * Researchgate profile : https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Stephen-Krashen {{DEFAULTSORT:Krashen, Stephen 1941 births Linguists from the United States People from Chicago American educational theorists American educational psychologists University of Southern California faculty Living people Bilingualism and second-language acquisition researchers