2. NATURAL APPROACH
History and Background
Characteristics
Roles of Teacher and Learner
Strengths and Weaknesses
Conclusion
3. I. HISTORY AND BACKGROUND
It was developed and published as a book by Mr. Stephen Krashen and
Mrs. Tracy Terrell in 1983.
Mr. Stephen Krashen is a famous linguist. He is currently a professor at
University of Southern California.
Mrs. Tracy Terrell is an educational theorist and a professor at University
of California.
4. HISTORY AND BACKGROUND
Natural Approach believes that adults can still acquire second
languages. The ability of language acquisition does not
disappear as we grow up.
5. HISTORY AND BACKGROUND
Adults have the LAD. Adults also acquire language by
following the principles of Universal Grammar.
The different between adult and children acquisition skill is
that adults have two things to follow when they learn foreign
language: Acquisition and learning. But, children only acquire
the languages.
6. HISTORY AND BACKGROUND
In the book, Mr. Krashen and Mrs. Terrell consider their
approach as a traditional method.
7. OBJECTIVES
To help adults in learning the foreign language
naturally.
The learner will be able to pick up the grammar
by themselves when they are ready.
8. THEORIES
The Acquisition-Learning hypothesis –
The most basic steps of all in the Krashen’s theory.
It’s the most well known among linguists and
language practitioners.
The learner has two ways of learning the second
language, which are the acquired system and the
learned system.
The monitor hypothesis
When the learner can check and correct language
output.
9. THEORIES
The Natural Order hypothesis
When people acquire language by using grammatical
structures in a predictable order.
The input hypothesis
The acquisition of languages are in a predictable
order. Everybody have the same steps of learning
acquisition.
10. THEORIES
The Affective Filter hypothesis
When the learner’s emotional state
can act as a filter that can prevent
input from reaching the learner’s
language acquisition device.
Filter is up = Negative emotional
factors and they won’t acquire
language.
Filter is down = Learner will learn
better.
11. II. CHARACTERISTICS
1. The goal of the approach is aimed at the goal of basic
personal communication skills – “conversations,
shopping, listening to the radio,” etc
2. Learners move through three stages: 1) the
preproduction stage is the development of listening
comprehension skills, 2) the early production stage,
marked with errors, 3) the last stage extends the
production into longer stretches of discourse.
3. The teacher needs to focus on meaning, not on form.
4. The teacher does not correct errors.
5. The most noteworthy characteristic is its advocacy of
a “silent period,” where preproduction can begin.
12. 6. The silent period encourages the delay of
oral production until speech “emerges.”
7. The Natural Approach encourages the
teacher not to insist that learners speak right
away.
8. The Natural Approach blends well with
things like TPR, which builds the learner’s
language “ego,” and does not force them into
risk-taking situations which could embarrass
them.
13. III. ROLES OF TEACHER AND
LEARNER
Teacher:
• Act as an authority in the class
• Imitate the first language learning process
• Creatively instruct students to do activities that
benefit the language learning.
Student:
• Responds to the teacher by physical action
• Interact to teacher and other students
14. IN CLASS ACTIVITIES
For beginners:
• Pointing, handing objects, writing or drawing ,
standing, walking, sitting down
For advanced learners:
• Like listening n reading tasks that learners order
pictures, follow written instruction or maps.
15. IV. STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES
Strengths
• This method is very easy.
• Reliable as it’s widely used
• There’s no grammar instruction in this method.
Weaknesses
• It takes long time and learner can do only elementary
things.
• It does not suit for those who do not have much time.
• The method rarely concerns about correctness.
16. TECHNIQUES INVOLVED
Using inputs like pictures, objects
Mime
Body language
Audio-visual aids
Memorizing
17. V. CONCLUSION
The Natural Approach has, like all other methods, certain
strengths and weaknesses. Its strengths seem to be the
avoidance of risk-taking activities that could damage a learner’s
language ego and develop negative mindsets toward the target
language. Therefore, the Natural Approach excels in building a
safe environment for the learner, which may be beneficial in the
end for ultimate language acquisition.
However, the Natural Approach has serious flaws. Because it
focuses on the “emergence” of language, which is a moment that
will differ for each learner, it may be difficult for the teacher to
manage an entire classroom. Furthermore, there is a question
about how exactly the learner will discern the grammatical
structures of the language without direct instruction. As one
critic wrote, “The decision of which structures to use appears to
be left to some mysterious sort of intuition.”