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The natural approach

Hi. I'm searching for information on teaching approaches and I would appreciate a brief explanation of 'The Natural Approach'. Could you help me with that? Thanks, Cláudio.

This question is from Cláudio Painhas, Brazil

Comments

Submitted on 18 March, 2008 - 05:23

Christian, Germany
Hello Claudio.
The language learning theory on which the Natural Approach is based assumes that foreign languages are learned the way the mother tongue is learned: by being exposed to the language (listening, reading) and by using it in a natural way (i.e. by trying to communicate in a meaningful way). Implications for your teaching then are, that you should make your students talk about things they want to talk about, that you enable them to communicate with others and to get across a message to others. Explicit grammar teaching and pattern drills are considered to be less successful and may only be used if they support the process of communicating the intended meaning.

Seyda Dogan, Turkey
Hi Claudia! I may be able to help you with the question of yours. I can summerize the natural approach:
1) Learners are rarely corrected. If their interlocutors can understand what they are saying, they do not remark on the correctness of their speech.
2) Language is not presented in order, step by step. In natural communicative interactions, the learner will be exposed to a wide variety of vocabulary and structures.
3) The learner should be surrounded by the language for many hours each day. Some of that language is addressed to the learner; much of it is simply overheard.
4) The learner usually encounters a number of different people who use the target language proficiently.
5) The learners should observe or participate in many types of language events: brief greetings, commercial transactions, exchanges of information, arguments, instructions at school or in the workplace.
6) Learners must often use their limited second language ability to respond to questions, get information..in these situations they focus on the meaning and the more proficiant peer or speaker should be tolerant of errors that don't interfere with meaning.
I hope this information may help you to understand the natural approach better. Good luck!!
Submitted on 20 April, 2008 - 10:11

There are two methods that sometimes go by similar names:  The Natural Approach, and The Natural Method (more commonly known as The Direct Method).

The Natural Approach is most commonly associated with Krashen and Terrel.  At the risk of oversimplifying, it treats reading and listening to material at a level just above the learners current level as being all a learner needs, while placing heavy emphasis on reducing learner stress levels and making them comfortable and motivated.

The Natural Method (aka. The Direct Method) is most commonly associated with Berlitz.  Again, at the risk of oversimplifying, it was a reaction against the Grammar Translation method, and for that reason didn't focus on grammar and disallowed the first language. 

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