Natural Approach

Natural Approach

v Background

The natural approach is a method of language teaching developed by Stephen Krashen and Tracy Terrell in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It aims to foster naturalistic language acquisition in a classroom setting, and to this end it emphasises communication, and places decreased importance on conscious grammar study and explicit correction of student errors.

v Definition

Natural Approach is a method for beginners based on observation and interpretation on how a person acquires his first language .It emphasizes on communication rather then on grammar .

v Theory of Language

The Communicative view of language is the view behind the Natural Approach. Particular emphasis is laid on language as a set of messages that can be understood.

v Theory of Learning

The Natural Approach is based on the following tenets:

-         Language acquisition (an unconscious process developed through using language meaningfully) is different from language learning (consciously learning or discovering rules about a language) and language acquisition is the only way competence in a second language occurs. (The acquisition/learning hypothesis)

-         Conscious learning operates only as a monitor or editor that checks or repairs the output of what has been acquired. (The monitor hypothesis)

-         Grammatical structures are acquired in a predictable order and it does little good to try to learn them in another order.(The natural order hypothesis).

-         People acquire language best from messages that are just slightly beyond their current competence. (The input hypothesis)

The learner's emotional state can act as a filter that impedes or blocks input necessary to acquisition. (The affective filter hypothesis)