PSYCHOPEDAGOGY CLASS

The Monitor
Hypothesis
Present by: Areli Lainez
Cristian Montoya
Carlos Santander
 01
Definition
 • The monitor hypothesis asserts that a learner’s learned
system acts as a monitor to what they are producing.

• In other words, while only the acquired system is able to

produce spontaneous speech, the learned system is used
to check what is being spoken.
 02
CONDITIONS TO USE
THE MONITOR
HYPOTHESIS
The acquirer/learner must know the rule:

This is a very difficult condition to meet because it means

that the speaker must have had explicit instruction on the
language form that he or she is trying to produce.
 The acquirer must be focused on correctness:

He or she must be thinking about form, and it is

difficult to focus on meaning and form at the same
time.
The acquirer/learner must have time to use the
monitor:

Using the monitor requires the speaker to slow down and

focus on form.
 03
TYPES OF
USERS
 MONITOR OVER-USERS
These language learners are too concerned and focused on correctness that they can’t speak with
any real fluency.

Characteristics:

 They know many of the rules of the English language.

 They are not able to communicate in speech.
 Their written English might be quite accurate.
 They don´t have speaking fluency because they are too concerned with being
grammatically correct.
 When speaking, these language learners make many pauses, repetitions and speech repair.
 MONITOR UNDER-USERS
These language learners are not focused on correctness because they have not consciously learned
the rules or because they have decided not to use their conscious knowledge of the target language.

Characteristics:
 They don´t use the monitor under any conditions even when they have the opportunity.
 They don´t use conscious linguistic knowledge in their speaking performance.
 These learners aren´t able to correct their own errors in written English.
 These students might not like gramar.
 They believe that grammar rules are important but hardly use when they speak.
 These learners tend to rely on instinct to spot errors in their second language performance.
 These students are not embarrased to make mistakes.
 MONITOR OPTIMAL-USERS
These language learner are able to keep a balance between self-correction and fluency so error
correction is not an obstacle in their quest of communication. These learners use their knowledge
appropiately.

Characteristics:

 They have fluency and accuracy when they speak or write.

 These learners can correct errors and mistakes in their language performance.
 They know the rules and use them when they communicate.
 03
DIFICULTIES
USING THE
MONITOR
Difficulty 1
Knowing the rule:

This is a difficult condition to meet, because even the best

students do not learn every rule that is taught, cannot remember
every rule they have learned, and can’t always correctly apply
the rules they do remember. Furthermore, every rule of a
language is not always included in a text nor taught by the
teacher.
Difficulty 2
Having time to use the monitor:

There is a price that is paid for the use of the monitor- the
speaker is then focused on form rather than meaning,
resulting in the production and exchange of less
information, thus slowing the flow of conversation. Some
speakers over-monitor to the point that the conversation is
painfully slow and sometimes difficult to listen to.
Difficulty 3
The rules of language make up only a small portion of our language
competence:

The acquisition does not provide 100% language competence. There is

often a small portion of grammar, punctuation, and spelling that even
the most proficient native speakers may not acquire. While it is
important to learn these aspects of language, since writing is the only
form that requires 100% competence, these aspects of language make
up only a small portion of our language competence.
Conclusions
● Krashen proposes that the formal study of language
leads to the development of an internal grammar editor
or monitor.

● Krashen believes knowing the rules only helps polish a

student´s language learning.

● Krashen argues that the focus of language teaching

should be communication, not rule learning.
THANKS FOR
YOUR
ATTENTION.
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