The Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis

0Krashen claimed that adult second language learners have two independent ways of developing competence in a second language. The first and most important is ‘acquisition’ which is a subconscious process similar to the way children acquire their native language. The second and less important process is ‘learning’ which is the conscious study and knowledge of grammatical rules. Krashen believes that fluency in second language performance is a result of what we have acquired, not what we have learned. 0-