Criticism of the Affective Filter Hypothesis

The final critique of Krashen’s Monitor Model questions the claim of

the affective filter hypothesis that affective factors alone account for
individual variation in second language acquisition. First, Krashen
claims that children lack the affective filter that causes most adult
second language learners to never completely master their second
language. Such a claim fails to withstand scrutiny because children
also experience differences in non-linguistic variables such as
motivation, self-confidence, and anxiety that supposedly account for
child-adult differences in second language learning.

Furthermore, evidence in the form of adult second language learners

who acquire a second language to a native-like competence except
for a single grammatical feature problematizes the claim that an
affective filter prevents comprehensible input from reaching the
language acquisition device. As Manmay Zafar asks, “How does the
filter determine which parts of language are to be screened in/out?” In
other words, the affective filter hypothesis fails to answer the most
important question about affect alone accounting for individual
variation in second language acquisition.

Although the Monitor Model has been influential in the field of second
language acquisition, the fifth and final hypothesis, the affective filter
hypothesis, has not been without criticism as evidenced by the
critiques offered by other linguists and educators in the field.