A Comparative Study Of Krashen's Input Hypothesis And Confucius' Educational Thoughts

The Input Hypothesis, advanced by Stephen Krashen, a famous American applied linguist, in the late 1970s and the early 1980s, is an all-round theory concerning second language acquisition. The theory provides a good theoretical framework for China's foreign language teaching. He argues that only comprehensible input (i+1) is received, the language knowledge can be internalized and absorbed by the learner. The Input Hypothesis claims that in order for second language acquisition to proceed, learners must be exposed to target language data which contains language structure that are beyond their current level, which Krashen calls "i+1". In moving from stage "i" to stage "i+1", it is necessary for the acquirer to understand input that contains "i+1". "I" represents the. learners' current level, and "1" represents the distance between the current stage and the next stage. It is a theory that gets to know the unknown through the known.Confucius (551—479 B.C.) is the greatest and the most influential thinker and educator in Chinese history. For over 2000 years, Confucius has been regarded as "the Chinese Sage". Many of his teachings and sayings have a strong formative influence upon the culture of China and modern education, such as "if a man keeps cherishing his old knowledge, so as continually to be acquiring new, he may be a teacher of others" (温故而知新,可以为师矣 ) (Lunyu 2.11), and " is it not pleasant to learn with a constant perseverance and application?" (学而时习之,不亦说乎?) (Lunyu 1.1). Both of Confucius'...