THE MONITOR MODEL: SOME METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS

TLDR

The Monitor Model proposes that adult second‑language learners internalize rules through subconscious acquisition and conscious learning, with the latter acting as a monitor that adjusts output from the acquired system. This study critically evaluates the Monitor Model’s empirical foundation and proposes a more parsimonious alternative aligned with human information‑processing theory. The authors outline an alternative model that integrates the Monitor concept into a broader information‑processing framework, offering a streamlined explanation of second‑language performance.

Abstract

The Monitor Model has been proposed (Krashen 1975, 1977a) as a general model for adult second‐language performance. The model claims that adult second‐language performers have two means of internalizing the rules of a target language: (1) language acquisition , which is primarily subconscious, is not influenced by overt teaching or error correction, and is very similar to primary language acquisition in children; (2) language learning , which involves the conscious representation of pedagogical rules, and is influenced by teaching and error detection. The model hypothesizes that learning is available to the adult second‐language performer only as a Monitor—that is, people use conscious grammar only to alter the output of the acquired system. This paper examines the Monitor Model and presents a methodological critique of the research on which the model is based. An attempt is made to provide an outline of an alternate model that more parsimoniously accounts for the data and that ties into a theory of human information processing generally.