Stephen Krashen on Language Acquisition
Why Hacker News recommends it
Cited as the source for comprehensible input, the principle behind immersion-based language learning methods and apps.
What it is
A 15-minute clip of linguist Stephen Krashen discussing language acquisition, drawn from the 1980s. It presents his input hypothesis and the distinction between acquisition and learning.
Recommended by 1 HN commenters across 1 different months, 2018 to 2025.
What Hacker News said
Recommends risos · 2018-11 · on “How to Almost Learn Italian”
I think Duolingo is great for forming habits. Ultimately, if you want to learn something new you need to work on that skill over a decent period of time, and this becomes hard to do without a regular habit. Duolingo is also great at exposing yourself to the language gradually, but unless your goal is to simply be able to hold a conversation or say a few phrases, I don't think it will get you anywhere in the long run. As I'm getting more into language learning (specifically Japanese), Krashen's input hypothesis seems to be an important part of the process. [this video] Essentially he makes the distinction between "learning" that word A in language X has some meaning Y, and acquiring an unconscious
Cites jacobolus · 2019-07 · on “How I Taught My Kid to Read”
> We seem to just pick up our native language so easily as we're growing up, but it seems difficult to pick up a new language with the same ease later on. Easily? It takes many thousands of hours to learn our native language in the first few years of life. > I started with learning the sounds of the language first (and how to pronounce the written language) which set up the framework for learning words and phrases later on. That’s not how language acquisition works. [this video] [LINK]
Cites wst_ · 2020-08 · on “Show HN: Japanese Language Learning Forum”
I don't want to discourage the author but, to be honest, what I see is nowhere close to what I figure would help me to learn Japanese. Questions I see on home page have nothing to do with learning - some about traveling around the country, some about translating "good morning", etc. True - I haven't registered. TBH though I don't see why should I. When it comes to learning any language, but Japanese in particular, I can't thank enough to the guys who created Mass Immersion Approach web page[0]. Their method is based on Stephen Krashen's "language acquisition through comprehensible input"[1] and... it just works. I've been learning Japanese in the classroom for around 2 years. I've been livin
Cites jkoff · 2025-05 · on “Ask HN: What are you working on? (May 2025)”
Link: [LINK] I'm building Infinite Pod, a web app that generates language learning podcasts tuned to your individual learning goals and level. It's based on the principle of language acquisition through comprehensible input, as described here: [this video] It's still a bit rough, but feels magical in my own testing so I wanted to make it available to others.