THE NATURAL APPROACH
# It was developed by Krashen and Terrel.
# Language acquisition doesn’t require extensive use of conscious grammatical rules, and doesn’t require tedious drill.
# Acqustion requires meaningful interaction in the target languge -natural communication- in which speakers are concerned not with the form of their utterances but with the messages they are conveying and understanding.
Adults and L2
# Adults can acquire second languages.
# The abilty to pick up languages don’t dissappear in puberty.
# Adults can follow the same principles of Universal Grammar.
# Adults can acquire all by using their everactive LAD ( but not the phonological aspect )
# Adults have two paths to follow : acquisition and learning : adults have abstract problem solving skills.
# Children have only one : acquisition.
NATURAL
# This term emphasizes that the principles behind that approach are believed to conform to the naturalistic principles found in successful second language acquisition.
# NA focuses on exposure to input instead of grammar practice.
COMMUNICATION
# Communication is the main function of language.
# The focus is on teaching communicative abilities.
# The superiority of ‘meaning’ is emphasized.
# Language is a vehicle for ‘communicating meaning and messages.’
THE ACQUISITION LEARNING HYPOTHESIS
# There are two distinctive ways of developing competence in a second or foreing language :
# Acquisition is the ‘natural’ way, paralleling first language development in children.
# Acquisition refers to an subconscious process that involves the naturalistic development of language proficiency through understanding language and through using language for meaningful communication.
# Learning refers to a process in which conscious rules about a language are developed.
# It results in explicit knowledge about the forms of a language and the ability to verbalize this knowledge.
# Formal teaching is necessary for learning to occur, and correction of errors helps with the development of learned rules.
# Learning, according to theory, cannot lead to acquisition.
# Learning the grammar rules of a second language doesn’t result in subconscious acquisition.
THE MONITOR HYPOTHESIS
# The acquired linguistic system is said to initiate utterances when we communicate in a second or foreing language.
# Conscious learning can function only as a monitor or editor that checks and repairs the output of the acquired system.
# The monitor hypothesis claims that we may call upon learned language to correct ourselves when we communicate, but that conscious learning has only this function.
# Three conditions limit the successful use of monitor :
1. Time : there must be sufficient time for a learner to choose and apply a learned rule.
2. Focus on form : the language user must be focused on correctness or on the form of the output.
3. Knowledge of rules : the performer must know the rules. The monitor does the best with the rules that are simple in two ways. They must be simple to describe and they mustn’t require complex movements and rearrangements.
THE NATURAL ORDER HYPOTHESIS
# According to it, the acquisition of grammatical structures proceeds in a predictable order.
# Certain grammatical structures or morphemes are acquired before others in first language acquisition of English, and a similar natural order is found in second language acquisition.
# Errors are signs of naturalistic developmental precesses.
# During acquisition, similar developmental errors occur in learners no matter what their native language is.
THE INPUT HYPOTHESIS
# The input hypothesis claims to explain the relationship between what the learner is exposed to of a language and language acquisition.
# It involves four main issues :
1. the hypothesis relates to acquisition, and not to learning.
2. people acquire the language best by understanding input that is slightly beyond their current level of competence : *** an acquirer can move from a stage I (where I is the acquirer’s level of competence) to a stage I+1 (where I+1 is the stage immediately following I along some natural order) by understanding language containing I+1.
3. the ability to speak fluently cannot be thought directly; rather, it emerges independently in time, after the acquirer has built up linguistic competence by undersatanding input.
4. if there is a sufficient quantity of comprehensible input, I+1 will usually be provided automatically.
# Comprehensible input refers to utterances that the learner understands based on the context in which they are used as well as the language in which they are phrased.
# Input need not to be finely tuned to learners ‘ current level of linguistic competence, and in fact cannot be so finely tuned in a language class, where learners will be at many different levels of competence.
# Just as childs acquirers of a first language are provided with samples of ‘caretaker speech’, rough-tuned to their present level of understanding, so adult acquirers of a second language are privided with sample codes that facilitate second language comprehension.
# One such code is ‘foreigner talk’ , which refers to the speech native speakers use to simplify communication with foreigners.
# Foreigner talk is characterized by a slower rate of speech, repetition, resatating, use of yesno instead of wh-questions, and other changes that make messages more comprehensible to people of limied language proficiency.
THE AFFECTIVE FILTER HYPOTHESIS
# According to Krashen, the learner’s emotional state or attutudes is an adjustable filter that freely passes, impedes or blocks input necessary to acquisition.
# A low affective filter is desirable, since it impedes or blocks less of this necessary input.
# The hypothesis is built on research in second language acquisition.
# It has identified three kinds of affective or attitudinal variables related to second language acquisition :
1. Motivation : learners with high motivation generally do better.
2. Self-confidence : learners with self confidence and good self-image tend to be more successful.
3. Anxiety : low personal anxiety and low classroom anxiety are more conductive to second language acquisition.
# Acquirers with a low affective filter seek and receive more input, interact with confidence, and are more receptive to the input they receive.
# Anxious acquirers have a high affective filter, which prevents acqusition from taking place.
# It is believed that the affective filter rises in early adolescence, so children may have apparent superiority to older acquirers of a second language.
JJThese five hypothesis have obvious implications for language teaching. In sum, these are :
· As much comprehensible input as possible must be presented.
· Whatever helps comprehension is important. Visual aids are useful, as is exposure to a wide range of vocabulary rather than study of syntactic structure.
· The focus in the classroom should be on listening and reading; speaking should be allowed to ‘emerge.’
· In order to lower the affective filter, student work should center on meaninful communication rather than on form, input should be interesting and so contribute to a relaxed classroom atmosphere.
DESIGN
Objectives
# The natural approach is for beginners and is designed to help them become intermediate.
# It has the expectation that students will be able to function adequately in the target situation.
# An example a possible goal and nongoal statement for a beginner Natural Approach Spanish class :
After 100-150 hours of Natural Aproach Spanish, you will be able to : ‘get around’ in Spanish; you will be able to communicate with a monolingual native speaker of Spanish without difficulty; read most ordinary texts in Spanish with some use of a dictionary; know enough Spanish to to continue to improve on your own. But, you will not be able to : pass for a native speaker, use Spanish as easily as you use English, understand native speakers when they talk to each other, use Spanish on the telephone with great comfort, participate easily in a conversation with several other native speakers on unfamiliar topics.
The Syllabus
# Krashen and Terrel approach course organization from two points of view :
A) They list such goals under four areas :
1. Basic personal communication skills : oral (listening to announcement in public areas)
2. Basic personal communication skills : written (reading and writing personal letters)
3. Academic learning skills : oral (listening to lecture)
4. Academic learning skills : written (taking notes in class)
B) The second point of view holds that ‘the purpose of a language course will vary according to the needs of the students and their particular interests.’
LEARNER ROLES
# Learners’ roles are seen to change according to their stage of linguistic development.
# In the pre-production stage, students participate in the language activity without having to respond in the target language. For example; students can act our physical commands, identifies student collegues from teacher description point to pictures, and so forth.
# In the early-production stage, students respond to either-or questions, use single words and short phrases, fill in charts, and use fixed conversational patterns.
# In the speech-emergent phrase, students involve themselves in the role play and games, contribute personal information and opinions, and participate in group problem solving.
# Learners have four kinds of responsibilities in the Natural Approach classroom :
1. Provide information about their specific goals so that acquisition activities can focus on the topics and situations most relevant to their needs.
2. Take an active role in ensuring comprehensible input. They should learn and use conversational management techniques to regulate input.
3. Decide when to start producing speech and when to upgrade it.
4. When learning exercises are to bea part of the program, decide with the teacher the relative amount of time to be devoted to them and perhaps even complete and correct them independently.
TEACHER ROLES
# The Natural Approach teacher has three central roles :
1. The teacher is the primary source of comprehensible input in teh target language.
· Class time is devoted primarily to providing input for acquisition, and the teacher is the primary generator of that input.
· In this role, the teacher is required to generate a constant flow of language input while providing a multiplicity of nonlinguistic clues to assist students in interpreting the input.
2. The Natural Approach teacher creates a classroom atmosphere that is interesting, friendly, and in which there is a low affective filter for learning.
· Teachers can do this by not demanding speech from the students before they are ready for it, not correcting students, and providing subject matter of high interest to students.
3. Teacher must choose and orchestrate a rich mix of classroom activities, involving a variety of group sizes, content, and contexts.
· The teacher is responsible for collecting materials and designing their use.
· These materials are based not just on teacher perceptions but on elicited student needds and interests.
THE ROLE OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
# Materials come from the world of realia rather than from textbooks.
# The primary aim of materials is to promote comprehension and communication.
# Pictures and other visual aids are essential, because they suppay the content for communication.
# Other recommended materials include schedules, brochures, advertisements, maps, and books at levels appropriate to the students.
# Games are generally seen as useful classroom materials, since they focus the students on what it is they are doing and use the language as a tool for reaching the goal rather than as a goal itself.
PROCEDURE
# Natural approach adopts techniques and activities freely from various method sources.
# The instructor maintains a constant flow of comprehensible input, using key vocabulary items, appropriate gestures, context, repetition, and paraphrase to ensure the comprehensibility of the input.
CONCLUSION
# The Natural Approach is evolutionary rather than revolutionary in its procedures.
# Its greatest claim to originality lies not in the techniques it employs but in their use in a method that emphasizes comprehensible and meaningful practice activities rather than production of grammatically perfect utterances and sentences.
