The Natural Approach

Richards & Rodgers argued that the natural approach is one of the, “language teaching
methods based on observation and interpretation of how learners acquire both first and second
languages in nonformal settings.

The natural approach developed by Tracy Terrell and supported by Stephen Krashen is a
language teaching approach that claims that language learning is a reproduction of the way
humans naturally acquire their native language.

Based on Terrell and Stephen Krashen the natural approach is one of the communicative
approaches to language teaching presently in use.

Krashen and Terrell view communication as the primary function of language and adhere to a
communicative approach to language teaching, focusing on teaching communicative abilities
rather than sterile language structures.

What really distinguishes the Natural approach from other methods and approaches are its
premises concerning the use of language and the importance of vocabulary:

Language is viewed as a vehicle for communicating meaning and messages.

Vocabulary is of paramount importance as language is essentially its lexicon!

This means that language acquisition cannot take place unless the acquirer understands
messages in the target language and has developed sufficient vocabulary inventory. In fact, it
should be easier to reconstruct a message containing just vocabulary items than one
containing just the grammatical structures.

Theory of Language Learning

The Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis

-Krashen, in his theory of second language acquisition (SLA) suggested that adults have two
different ways of developing competence in second languages: Acquisition and learning.
“There are two independent ways of developing ability in second languages. ‘Acquisition’ is a
subconscious process identical in all important ways to the process children utilize in
acquiring their first language, … [and] ‘learning’ …, [which is] a conscious process that
results in ‘knowing about’ [the rules of] language”.

Krashen believes that the result of learning, learned competence (LC) functions as a monitor
or editor. That is, while AC is responsible for our fluent production of sentences, LC makes
correction on these sentences either before or after their production. This kind of conscious
grammar correction, ‘monitoring’, occurs most typically in a grammar exam where the learner
has enough time to focus on form and to make use of his conscious knowledge of grammar
rules (LC) as an aid to ‘acquired competence’. The way to develop learned competence is
fairly easy: analyzing the grammar rules consciously and practising them through exercises.
But what Acquisition / Learning Distinction Hypothesis predicts is that learning the grammar
rules of a foreign/second language does not result in subconscious acquisition. In other words,
what you consciously learn does not necessarily become subconsciously acquired through
conscious practice, grammar exercises and the like. Krashen formulates this idea in his well-
known statement that “learning does not become acquisition”. It is at this point where
Krashen receives major criticism.

-Krashen defines acquisition as developing competence by using language for real

communication. It is a natural way of developing the ability to speak a language, paralleling
first language development in children, and refers to an unconscious process that involves the
naturalistic development of language proficiency through understanding language and through
using language for meaningful communication.

Learning, however, refers to formal knowledge of a language. It is the 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 the correction of errors helps with the development of learned
rules.

-The acquisition is the unconscious process of developing linguistic knowledge and skills for
their understanding and use in communicative situations. It is the natural way to develop
proficiency in a language. The best example of acquisition is the process through which
children develop their mother tongue.

Learning is the conscious process of developing rules about the language. For learning to take
place, formal teaching is needed.

The Natural Order Hypothesis

-The acquisition of grammatical structures proceeds in a predictable order. Certain

grammatical structures or morphemes are acquired before others in the first language
acquisition of English, and the Natural Order Hypothesis claims that the same natural order is
found in second language acquisition.

It is also believed that errors are signs of naturalistic developmental processes. Similar
developmental errors occur in learners during acquisition (but not during learning) no matter
what their native language is.

- It maintains that the acquisition of linguistic elements has a predictable order. In other
words, in the acquisition of a language, there are elements or structures that will be acquired
more easily than others.

The Input Hypothesis

-The Input Hypothesis relates to acquisition, not to learning, and states that people acquire
language best by understanding input that is slightly beyond their level of competence.
Krashen refers to this by the formula L +1 (where L+1 is the stage immediately following L
along some natural order.)

Comprehension is achieved through linguistic and extralinguistic context clues including

knowledge about the world, the context of the situation, etc. Comprehension precedes the
emergence of speaking as fluency appears only as a result of the provision of sufficient
comprehensible input.

By comprehensible input, Krashen means the utterances that learners understand based on
linguistic and extralinguistic context and which consist of a sort of simplified code.

He contends that when there is such comprehensible input, language acquisition proceeds
successfully. Krashen also claims that when there is enough of such comprehensible input,
L+1 will usually be provided automatically.

- It tries to relate the linguistic information to which the student is exposed with the process of
acquiring it. The input information is the set of statements that are exposed to the student and
the language in which they are expressed. The greater the understanding of them, the greater
the acquisition. When the amount of understandable input is substantial, the acquisition takes
place automatically. Similarly, the theory establishes that a student with a level X of language
proficiency can go to a level X + 1 if he understands input information with structures or
elements of level X + 1.

At the same time, it establishes the importance of the situation, the context, the extralinguistic
information (mimicry, gestures, images, etc.), and the way in which the input information is
presented in its understanding by the second language learner. In this sense, the approach
highlights the importance of also using special codes for people with limited linguistic
competence, such as “speech for foreigners” which consists of using a slower pace, repetition,
reformulation, the use of questions that admit answers. yes/no, among other elements that
maximize compression.

Additionally, the information selected as input must have a level appropriate to the level of
competence to maximize understanding and therefore acquisition. However, it must
necessarily incorporate structures of higher levels of competence so that the progress of the
student is taking place.

Finally, he argues that the ability to speak fluently cannot be taught directly, but rather
emerges naturally when the student has accumulated sufficient linguistic knowledge from
understanding the input material.

The Monitor Hypothesis

-As is mentioned, adult second language learners have two means for internalizing the target
language. The first is ‘acquisition’ which is a subconscious and intuitive process of
constructing the system of a language. The second means is a conscious learning process in
which learners attend to form, figure out rules and are generally aware of their own process.
The ‘monitor’ is an aspect of this second process. It edits and make alterations or corrections
as they are consciously perceived. Krashen believes that ‘fluency’ in second language
performance is due to ‘what we have acquired’, not ‘what we have learned’: Adults should do
as much acquiring as possible for the purpose of achieving communicative fluency.
Therefore, the monitor should have only a minor role in the process of gaining communicative
competence. Similarly, Krashen suggests three conditions for its use: (1) there must be
enough time; (2) the focus must be on form and not on meaning; (3) the learner must know
the rule.

- Conscious learning can function only as a monitor or editor that checks and repairs the
output of the acquired system. The Monitor Hypothesis states that we may use learned
knowledge to correct ourselves when we communicate, but that conscious learning has only
this function. Three conditions limit the successful use of the monitor:

Time. Sufficient time for a learner to choose and apply a learned rule.

Focus on form. Focus on the correctness or on the form of the output.

Knowledge of rules. Knowing the rules is a prerequisite for the use of the monitor.

- According to the above, what has been learned only works as a monitor that corrects or edits
the sentences produced by the acquired linguistic system. It is thought that it is the acquired
linguistic system that initiates the statements of communication, while the learned one check
or corrects those statements.

The Affective Filter Hypothesis

-The learner’s emotional state, according to Krashen, is just like an adjustable filter which
freely passes or hinders input necessary to acquisition. In other words, input must be achieved
in low-anxiety contexts since acquirers with a low affective filter receive more input and
interact with confidence. The filter is ‘affective’ because there are some factors which
regulate its strength. These factors are self-confidence, motivation and anxiety state.

Based on the above explanation of literature review, it is known that language learning a great
function in second language. Therefore, the teachers must do good explanation while the
teachers teaching the students.

- There are three types of emotional attitudinal factors that may affect acquisition and that
may impede, block, or freely pass necessary input for acquisition. These are motivation, self-
confidence, and anxiety. Acquirers with a high affective filter are less likely to develop
competence.

- For Krashen, emotions, and attitudes influence the level of understanding and therefore
acquisition, creating an affective filter that allows, prevents, or blocks the passage of input
information that will generate the acquisition of the language. Determining factors of this
affective filter are student motivation, self-confidence, and anxiety. The level of each of the
above is determined by many variables, both personal and linked to the learning context.

The Purpose of the Natural Approach

Based on Krashen and Terrell the natural approach classroom contains a teacher whose main
purpose is to create a net of speech which will enable students to begin interacting using the
target language and to begin the language acquisition process.

In addition Stephen Krashen and Tracy Terrell in the late 1970s and early 1980s states that the
aims of the natural approach is 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. Efforts are also made to
make the learning environment as stress-free as possible. In the natural approach, language
output is not forced, but allowed to emerge spontaneously after students have attended to
large amounts of comprehensible language input.

Furthermor Krashen and Terrell looking the aim of the natural approach is to develop
communicative skills, and it is primarily intended to be used with beginning learners. It is
presented as a set of principles that can apply to a wide range of learners and teaching
situations, and concrete objectives depend on the specific context in which it is used.

Teaching according to the Natural Approach involves the following principles:

Teaching according to the Natural approach focuses on communicative abilities.

One of its objectives is to help beginners become intermediate.

Vocabulary is considered prior to syntactic structures.

A lot of comprehensible input must be provided.

Use of visual aids to help comprehension.

The focus is on listening and reading. Speaking emerges later.

Reducing the high affective filter by

focusing on meaningful communication rather than on form.

providing interesting comprehensible input

The techniques used in this approach are often borrowed from other methods and adapted to
meet the requirement of the approach. These include:

Total Physical Response command drills

The Direct Method activities mime, gestures, and context are used to elicit questions and
answers.

Communicative Language Teaching, group work activities where learners share information
to complete a task.
The natural approach characteristics are:

The goal of the approach is aimed at the goal of basic personal communication skills.

Learners move through three stages:

The preproduction stage is the development of listening comprehension skills.

The early production stage, marked with errors.

The last stage extends the production into longer stretches of discourse.

The teacher needs to focus on meaning, not on form.

The teacher does not correct errors.

The most noteworthy characteristic is its advocacy of a “silent period”, where preproduction
can begin.

The silent period encourages the delay of oral production until speech “emerges”.

The Natural Approach encourages the teacher not to insist that learners speak right away.

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.

The approach focuses on input, comprehension, and meaningful communication and puts less
emphasis on grammar, teacher monologues, direct repetition and accuracy.

Procedure of the Natural Approach

Start with TPR [Total Physical Response] commands. At first the commands are quite simple:
“Stand up. Turn around. Raise your right hand.”

Use TPR to teach names of body parts and to introduce numbers and sequence. “Lay your
right hand on your head, put both hands on your shoulder, first touch your nose, then stand up
and turn to the right three times” and so forth.

Introduce classroom terms and props into commands. “Pick up a pencil and put it under the
book, touch a wall, go to the door and knock three times.” Any item which can be brought to
the class can be incorporated. “Pick up the record and place it in the tray. Take the green
blanket to Larry. Pick up the soap and take it to the woman wearing the green blouse.”

Use names of physical characteristics and clothing to identify members of the class by name.
The instructor uses context and the items themselves to make the meanings of the key words
clear: hair, long, short, etc. Then a student is described. “What is your name?” (selecting a
student). “Class. Look at Barbara. She has long brown hair. Her hair is long and brown. Her
hair is not short. It is long.” (Using mime, pointing and context to ensure comprehension).
“What’s the name of the student with long brown hair?” (Barbara). Questions such as “What
is the name of the woman with the short blond hair?” or “What is the name of the student
sitting next to the man with short brown hair and glasses?” are very simple to understand by
attending to key words, gestures and context. And they require the students only to remember
and produce the name of a fellow student. The same can be done with articles of clothing and
colors. “Who is wearing a yellow shirt? Who is wearing a brown dress?”

Use visuals, typically magazine pictures, to introduce new vocabulary and to continue with
activities requiring only student names as response, The instructor introduces the pictures to
the entire class one at a time focusing usually on one single item or activity in the picture. He
may introduce one to five new words while talking about the picture. He then passes the pic-
ture to a particular student in the class. The students’ task is to remember the name of the
student with a particular picture. For example, “Tom has the picture of the sailboat. Joan has
the picture of the family watching television” and so forth. The instructor will ask questions
like “Who has the picture with the sailboat? Does Susan or Tom have the picture of the people
on the beach?” Again the students need only produce a name in response.

Combine use of pictures with TPR. “Jim, find the picture of the little girl with her dog and
give it to the woman with the pink blouse.”

Combine observations about the pictures with commands and conditionals. “If there is a
woman in your picture, stand up. If there is something blue in your picture, touch your right
shoulder.”

Using several pictures, ask students to point to the picture being described. Picture 1. “There
are several people in this picture. One appears to be a father, the other a daughter. What are
they doing? Cooking. They are cooking a hamburger.” Picture 2. “There are two men in this
picture. They are young. They are boxing.” Picture 3 …

Applying the Natural Approach In Practice

1.Emphasize Communication

Incorporate activities that encourage communication in the language, such as role-playing,

discussions, and storytelling.

2. Use Authentic Materials

Incorporate authentic materials, such as books, podcasts, and videos, that are interesting and
relevant to the learners.

3. Provide Input At The Right Level

Provide input that is just above the learner’s current level of comprehension, and gradually
adjust to their understanding.

4. Use Visuals And Gestures

Incorporate visuals and gestures to aid in understanding, especially for beginners.

Teacher role
The Natural Approach demands a central role from the teacher, much greater than in other
communication methods. In your classes, you must generate a constant flow of linguistic
information and provide a wide variety of extralinguistic supports that facilitate interpretation;
It must also create an interesting and relaxed classroom environment, which guarantees a low
affective filter for learning; is responsible for selecting and organizing varied activities
adapted to the contents and contexts, choosing the most appropriate material for the needs and
interests of the students. Now, as it seeks to encourage fluency, the correction of errors by the
teacher must be measured.

Role of the student

Within this approach it is commented that the responsibility of the students consists mainly of
providing information about their needs and objectives so that the acquisition activities are
adapted to them; learn and use conversation control techniques to regulate input; decide when
to start producing in the target language; agree with the teacher the amount of time that will
be devoted to the different learning activities. Consequently, the role of learners changes
according to their stage of language development, their decisions about when to speak, what
to say, and what language expressions to use.

Presence of grammar it is established that, although Krashen and Terrell recognize the
grammatical structure of the lexical elements in the messages, they come to consider that this
element (grammar) does not need an explicit analysis or attention from the teacher, the
student, or teaching materials.

It is important to mention that the greatest contribution of the Natural Approach does not lie
in the techniques it uses but in the use it makes of them in practical activities focused more on
understanding and meaning than on the production of grammatically correct sentences and
sentences.

The Benefits Of The Natural Approach

Focus on Communication

The natural approach emphasizes communication over accuracy. The focus on

communication encourages learners to use the language in a way that is meaningful and
relevant to them. This leads to increased motivation and engagement in the learning process.

Immersion in the Language

Immersing learners in the language exposes them to the language in a natural setting. This
leads to a more authentic and meaningful learning experience. Learners are able to pick up on
the nuances of the language (e.g., tone, rhythm, and intonation) that are difficult to learn
through traditional methods.

Reduced Anxiety
The natural approach to language teaching can reduce anxiety in learners. By focusing on
communication and understanding, rather than on grammatical correctness, learners feel less
pressure to be perfect. This creates a more relaxed and enjoyable learning environment.

Improved Pronunciation

The natural approach places a strong emphasis on pronunciation. By listening and repeating
the language, learners are able to develop a more natural accent and pronunciation.

Drawbacks Of The Natural Approach

It may not provide enough focus on grammar and syntax, which can be important for some
languages.

Learners may struggle to stay motivated and focused without a more structured approach.

It may not be suitable for learners who prefer explicit instruction and clear guidelines.

It may be challenging to practice speaking and receive feedback without a teacher.

It may be difficult to assess progress and measure language proficiency without standardized
assessments.

Conclusion

The Natural Approach belongs to a tradition of language acquisition where the naturalistic
features of L1 acquisition are utilized in the L2 acquisition. It is an approach that draws a
variety of techniques from other methods and approaches to reach this goal which is one of its
advantages. But the originality of this approach does not lie in these techniques but in the
emphasis on activities based on comprehensible input and meaningful communication rather
than on only grammatical mastery of language.

# 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 ever active 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.

These 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.

The Natural Approach is method of second language learning that focuses on communication
skills and language exposure before rules and grammar, similar to how you learn your first
language.

You’re not forced to utter words or phrases, much less pronounce them correctly. There are
no endless drills on correct usage, no mentions of grammar rules or long lists of vocabulary to
memorize. There’s no hurry or worry in your learning.

By continuously exposing you to the language, to how it’s used in different situations and by
giving you meaningful and memorable inputs (like a child’s experiences with his or her
parents), a spontaneous emergence of speech happens.

What are the four basic principles of the Natural Approach?

Pre-production

The first stage in the Natural Approach is known as pre-production and is essentially a silent
phase, where nothing seems to be happening.

Children have this stage when they’re not really talking at all. It seems nothing is going on.
You’re essentially getting nada. No utterance, just a blank stare.
Actually, so many things are happening. They’re listening. Picking up on meanings. Reading
context clues. Interpreting and making guesses on what is being said. Making mistakes and
honing their guesses.

Early production

The next stage, early production, is when babies start uttering their first words, phrases and
simple sentences.

The focus is still on comprehension. But this time, the crux of the issue is “Are you being
understood by the other person?” (Again, you don’t need perfect grammar for this.)

Bothering with correct grammar comes late in the acquisition stage. In the Natural Approach,
the early stages are replete with grammatically incorrect communication that aren’t really
implicitly corrected.

When a child says, “I drinks,” mommy doesn’t give him a firm scolding. She finds it cute and
then hands him a drink. But that child is slowly getting fluent with his first language. He’s
communicating and using language to express what he wants, and all that’s happening
without any direct grammar lessons.

Speech emergence

Over time, the child’s singular words and short phrases will transform into lengthier ones.
Thus enters the speech emergence stage.

The sentences, while longer, are still relatively basic and are likely to contain a lot of mistakes
in grammar, pronunciation or word usage. However, the progress is undeniable as more
content is added to the speech.

Moreover, it would seem that the child is inclined to actually work through and craft
sentences for the sake of communication. At this point, the child’s level of understanding
others’ speech is quite high.

Intermediate fluency

Progress to fluency continues as more exposure to the language happens.

The (meaningful) linguistic experience stacks up so fast so that when that child sits waiting
for his first grammar class, he’s already chatting non-stop with his seatmates, with perfectly
decent grammar, even before the language teacher arrives.

This is the final stage, known as intermediate fluency.

And when the lessons do come, the child is just getting to peek behind the scenes to see the
specific rules (grammar) guiding his own language usage.
All that’s explained to him is the rationale, the nuances of communication, behind the
groupings of words he’s been using naturally all along. It’s all a review of what he already
innately knows.

And that’s what Natural Approach is all about. It’s looking back to first language acquisition
and using the whole bag of tricks there in order to get the same kind of success for second
(and third, fourth, fifth, etc.) language acquisition.

Just because you’re learning another language doesn’t mean you have to reinvent the wheel.
The expectations and the learning curve might be different for adults, but the underlying
human, mental and psychological mechanisms are the same.

What Are the Characteristics of Natural Approach?

Input

Input refers to what’s being relayed to the language learner—the “packages” of language that
are delivered to and received by the listener.

The Natural Approach puts high emphasis on not just the amount but also the nature of the
input received.

Input is also known as “exposure.” For proper, meaningful language acquisition to occur, the
input should also be meaningful and comprehensible.

Comprehension

In the Natural Approach, the initial focus really is on comprehension. The crux of the issue is,
“Do you understand what is being said?”

You don’t need to notice subject-verb agreement for this.

Understanding the meaning of something can be done in a variety of ways besides technical
grammar breakdowns. Comprehension must precede production for true internal learning to
be done.

Communication

When it comes to language acquisition, the Natural Approach places more significance on
communication than grammar.

In order for the child or learner to eventually produce their own sentences, it’s more crucial
that he or she is constantly exposed to meaningful communication than grammar lessons.

Acquisition Learning Hypothesis

There are two distinct ways to learn a language.

One way is via acquisition and is akin to how children acquire their very first language. The
process is not conscious and happens without the learner knowing. The gears are already
turning as the learner processes the second language and uses it almost strictly for
communication.

The second way is learning, the conscious method that involves the learner actively studying
and gaining formal instruction about the language and its rules. Learning focuses more on the
technicalities of the language.

Between the two, acquisition is more significant in enabling language fluency.

Monitor Hypothesis

This hypothesis states that the language learner’s knowledge gained from conscious
learning is largely used to monitor output rather than enabling true communication. In
other words, the “learned” system functions as a language checker.

Meanwhile, the knowledge gained from acquisition does enable spontaneous speech and
language production. The “acquired” system is what grants learners the ability to actually
utilize the language.

Monitoring via the learned system requires the learner to essentially take a mental pause
before saying anything. The phrase-to-be is scanned for any errors and may be corrected
accordingly based on the learned rules and grammar.

Input Hypothesis

In order for proper language acquisition to occur (and be maintained), the learner must be
exposed to input that’s slightly above their current level of understanding.

The basic formula for this kind of input is “i + 1” in which “i” represents the learner’s
language competence.

Essentially, the language exposure must be a step ahead in difficulty in order for the learner to
remain receptive and ready for improvement.

Natural Order Hypothesis

On the acquisition level, learning a language occurs in a natural and predictable order.

The grammatical rules of a language are internalized in a set, predetermined sequence, and
this sequence isn’t affected by actual formal instruction.

The hypothesis also suggests that learners of the same language can expect the same natural
order. For example, most learners who learn English would learn the progressive “—ing” and
plural “—s” before the “—s” endings of third-person singular verbs.

Affective Filter Hypothesis

Language acquisition doesn’t occur in a vacuum. In fact, the learner’s emotions, or affect,
and attitude can either improve or impede the process.
“Affective filters” can thus play a large role in the overall success of language learning.

Negative emotions can put a noticeable hamper on language acquisition. When a learner is
feeling anxious, embarrassed or upset, his or her receptivity towards language input can be
decreased. This makes it harder to learn or process language features that would otherwise be
readily processed.

Conclusively, it’s important that a learner is relaxed and keen to improve. Having a
comfortable language-learning environment can thus be a great aid.

So in the next section, we’ll look at five powerful first language acquisition strategies that you
can perfectly apply to acquiring that second language and answer the question: “How can I
learn a language effectively?”

The syllabus

Krashen and Terrell they list some typical goals for language courses and suggest which of
these goals are the ones at which the Natural Approach aims. They list such goals under four
areas:

1. Basic personal communication skills: oral (e.g., listening to announcements in public

places)

2. Basic personal communication skills: written (e.g., reading and writing personal letters)

3. Academic learning skills: oral (e.g., listening to a lecture)

4. Academic learning skills: written (e.g., taking notes in class)

Of these, they note that the Natural Approach is primarily “designed to develop basic
communication skills – both oral and written”.

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”.

The goals of a Natural Approach class are based on an assessment of student needs. We
determine the situations in which they will use the target language and the sorts of topics they
will have to communicate information about. In setting communication goals, we do not
expect the students at the end of a particular course to have acquired a certain group of
structures or forms. Instead we expect them to deal with a particular set of topics in a given
situation. We do not organize the activities of the class about a grammatical syllabus.

From this point of view, it is difficult to specify communicative goals that necessarily fit the
needs of all students. Thus, any list of topics and situations must be understood as syllabus
suggestions rather than as specifications.

As well as fitting the needs and interests of students, content selection should aim to create a
low affective filter by being interesting and fostering a friendly, relaxed atmosphere, should
provide a wide exposure to vocabulary that may be useful to basic personal communication,
and should resist any focus on grammatical structures, since if input is provided “over a wider
variety of topics while pursuing communicative goals, the necessary grammatical structures
are automatically provided in the input”.

Learner Roles

1. The Natural Approach posits that learners shouldn't approach language learning
conventionally.

2. Instead, immersion in meaningful communication activities determines the level and type
of language acquisition and fluency.

3. Language acquirers process comprehensible input, challenged by material just above their
current competency level.

4. Learners' roles evolve with linguistic development, focusing on decisions like when to
speak, topics, and linguistic expressions.

1. In the pre-production stage, students engage in language activities without responding in

the target language.

2. Activities may include acting out physical commands, identifying classmates based on
teacher descriptions, and pointing to pictures.

3. During the early-production stage, students respond to either-or questions, use single
words, short phrases, fill in charts, and employ fixed conversational patterns (e.g., greetings
like "How are you?" and "What's your name?").

4. In the speech-emergent phase, students participate in role play, games, share personal
information and opinions, and engage 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. Where learning exercises (i.e., grammar study) are to be a 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

1. The Natural Approach teacher plays three key roles in the classroom.
2. Firstly, they are the primary source of comprehensible input in the target language,
responsible for providing a constant flow of language input.

3. This involves generating language input while providing non-linguistic clues to help
students understand.

4. Secondly, the teacher creates a classroom atmosphere that is interesting, friendly, and
conducive to learning, aiming for a low affective filter.

5. They achieve this by not pressuring students to speak before they are ready, refraining from
correcting errors, and providing high-interest subject matter.

6. Lastly, the teacher selects and organizes a variety of classroom activities, considering group
sizes, content, and contexts.

7. They collect materials and design their use based on student needs and interests, ensuring
clear communication of the method's assumptions and expectations to students.

The role of materials

1. The main purpose of materials in the Natural Approach is to enhance classroom activities
by providing extralinguistic context, aiding in understanding and acquisition.

2. Materials aim to connect classroom activities with the real world and promote genuine
communication among learners.

3. Realia, items from the real world, is preferred over textbooks as the source of materials.

4. The primary focus of materials is to facilitate comprehension and communication, with

pictures and visual aids being essential.

5. Visual aids contribute to vocabulary acquisition and are crucial for effective
communication in the classroom.

6. Other recommended materials include schedules, brochures, advertisements, maps, and

books tailored to the students' proficiency levels if reading is part of the course.

7. Games are viewed as valuable classroom materials because they engage students in
activities and use language as a tool to achieve goals.

8. The Natural Approach places a significant responsibility on the teacher for selecting,
reproducing, and collecting materials, with a likely future publication of material collections
based on suggested topics and situations.