THE NATURAL
APPROACH
Huarte, Aimé
Practice II - 2017 Pérez, Florencia
Yorgovan, Ramiro
Background
“based on the
use of language
in
Krashen and Terrell Natural
communicative
approach
situations
without recourse
to the native
language”
Without
Older natural reference to
method grammatical
analysis
Theory of language
Communication as a Primacy of meaning
primary function
A language is essentially its lexicon and only
inconsequently the grammar that determines
how the lexicon is exploited to produce messages
Acquisition of language only takes place if a
listener understands it
A linguistic hierarchy of structural
complexity
Input
Theory of learning
The acquisition/learning
hypothesis
Two distinctive ways of developing competence in
a second or foreign language
Acquisition ONE WAY
Learning
STREET
Unconscious process
which involves Rules of the language are
development of the developed consciously.
language through Learners get to know forms
understanding the of a language and improve
language and using it the ability to verbalize this
for meaningful knowledge.
communication
Conscious
THE MONITOR learning
HYPOTHESIS Conscious
corrections of
errors by
Applicable when utterances are formed
speakers in order to communicate in a second or
foreign language
Successful
process
1. Time: sufficient time for a student to choose and
apply a 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 needs to
know the rules but these have to be simple to
describe and must not require complex
arrangements.
THE NATURAL
ORDER HYPOTHESIS
Acquisition of
grammatical structures
Predictable order
THE INPUT
HYPOTHESIS
Input
Relationsh
ip Language
acquisitio
n
Four main issues
• The hypothesis relates to acquisition, and not
to learning.
• People acquire language best by
understanding input that is beyond their
current level of competence.
• The ability to speak fluently ‘emerges’
independently in time.
• If there is a sufficient quantity of
comprehensible input, ‘l + 1’ will be provided
THE AFFECTIVE
FILTER HYPOTHESIS
• The learner’s emotional state or attitudes can
pass, impede or block necessary input.
• Three kinds of affective or attitudinal variables:
1. Motivation
2. Self-confidence
3. Anxiety
THE AFFECTIVE
FILTER HYPOTHESIS
•
RECEIVE
MORE INPUT
STUDENTS
INTERACT
WITH A LOW WITH
AFFECTIVE CONFIDENCE
FILTER
ARE MORE
RECEPTIVE
OBJECTIVES
Students will be able to:
• Function appropriately in the target situation
• Understand the speaker of the target language
• Convey their requests and ideas
• Make the meaning clear but not necessarily be
accurate in all details of grammar.
> Specific objectives depend upon learner
needs and the skill and level being taught.
THE SYLLABUS:
• To develop basic communication skills - both oral
and written.
SITUATION
S
COMMUNICATIO
FUNCTIONS
N GOALS
TOPICS
CONTENT
SELECTION
SHOULD:
• Fit the students’ needs
• Aim to create a low affective filter
• Foster a friendly atmosphere
• Provide a wide exposure to vocabulary
• Resist any focus on grammatical structures
Types of Learning and
Teaching Activities
• Emphasis is on presenting comprehensible input
in the target language.
• Teacher talk focuses on objects in the classroom
and on the content of pictures.
• To minimise stress, learners are not required to
say anything until they feel ready, but they are
expected to answer to teacher commands and
questions in other ways.
• When learners are ready to begin talking in the
new language, the teacher provides
comprehensible language and simple response
opportunities.
• The teacher talks slowly and distinctly, asking
questions and eliciting one-word answers.
• There is a gradual progression from yes/no
questions, through either/or questions, to
questions that students can answer using words
they have heard used by the teacher.
• As regards the techniques, they are borrowed
from other methods and adapted to the
requirements of Natural Approach theory.
• These include command-based activities from
TPR; Direct Method activities in which mime,
gesture and context are used to elicit questions
and answers; and even situation-based practice
of structures and patterns.
Learner roles
• The language acquirer is seen as a
processor of comprehensible input.
• The acquirer is challenged by input that is
slightly beyond his or her current level of
competence, and is able to assign meaning
to this input through active use of context
and extralinguistic information.
• Learners’ roles are seen to change
according to their stage of linguistic
development.
Learner roles
• In the pre-production stage students participate
in the language activity without having to
respond in the target language
• 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 (e.g., How are you?
What’s your name?
• In the speech-emergent phase, students involve
themselves in roleplay and games, contribute
personal information and opinions, and
participate in group problema solving.
Four Learners
responsabilities
• Learners have four kinds of responsabilities 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 are to be a part of the
program, decide with the teacher the 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.
• First, the teacher is the primary source of
comprehensible input in the target language.
• Second, the teacher creates a classroom
atmosphere that is interesting, friendly, and in
which there is a low affective filter for learning.
• Finally, the teacher must choose and orchestrate
a rich mix of classroom activities, involving a
variety of group sizes, content, and contexts.
The role of
instructional materials
• The primary goal of materials is to make
classroom activities as meaningful as posible by
supplying the extralinguisstic context that helps
the acquirerer to understand and thereby to
acquire.
• The primary aim is to promote comprehension
and communication.
• Pictures and other visual aids are essential,
because they supply the content for
commmunication and facilitate the acquisition of
a large vocabulary within the classroom.
Conclusion
• A focus on comprehension and meaningful
communication as well as the provision of the
right kinds of comprehensible input, provide the
necessary and sufficient conditions for successful
classroom second and foreign language
acquisition; 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 tan production of
grammatically perfect utterances and sentences.
