First semester 1432-1433H.

The Natural Approach

Krashen & Terrell, 1983

How do we acquire language?

The Natural Order Hypothesis

Grammatical structures are acquired in predictable order and it does little good to try to learn them in another Order.

Input Hypothesis

This hypothesis claims to explain the relationship between what the learner is exposed to of a language (input) and language acquisition …..

1- it relates to acquisition2-People acquire language best from

messages that are just slightly beyond their current competence

3- the ability to speak fluently can not be taught directly

The Monitor Hypothesis

*Conscious learning operates only as a monitor or editor that checks or repairs the output of what has been acquired

*it claims that we may call upon learned knowledge to correct our selves when communicate but

conscious learning has only this function .*Three conditions limit the successful use of the

monitor.1 -time 2- focus on form 3- Knowledge the

rules( the monitor does best with the rules that are simple in two ways. To describe &they must not to require complex movement.

The Affective Filter Hypothesis

*The learner's emotional state can act as a filter that impedes or blocks input necessary for language acquisition.

•There are three kinds of effective variables related to second language acquisition:

1 -motivation 2- self-confidence 3-anxiety*Also, this theory states that the students

who has a low affective filter seek and receive more input, interact with confidence

& more receptive to the input they receive .

THE ACQUISITION- LEARNING HYPOTHESIS There are two distinctive ways for developing competence in a second language:

*Acquisition1- is the ´natural way, 2-understanding and using language for meaning full communication. 3-No grammatical rules

4- it is unconscious process *learning:1- conscious process 2- it results in explicit knowledge about the forms of lang.3- formal teaching is necessary for learning to occur4- correction of errors help with development of learned rules

*Communicative view of language is the focus behind the Natural Approach .

*Particular emphasis is laid on language as a set of messages that can be understood.

*The focus on meaning not form .

*Vocabulary is stressed (Lexicon)

*Reflect the cognitive psychology and humanistic approach prominent in the field of education.

*This Approach shift the culture of the language classroom 180 degrees and brought a sense of community to the students by their sharing of the experience of learning the same language together.

Theory of Learning

1 -The monitor model is the centre of Krishen's second language learning theory, late 1970s.

2 -Distinguish between acquisition --a natural subconscious process, and learning- conscious process.

Theory of LearningTheory of Learning

Krashen·s Theory Five Hypotheses

The acquisition learning Hypothesis

The monitor HypothesisNatural order Hypothesis

Input HypothesisThe effective filter

Hypothesis

Acquisition vs. Learning

Implicit

Subconscious

Informal situations

Uses grammatical feel

Depends on attitude

Stable order of acquisition

Explicit

Conscious

Formal situations

Uses grammatical rules

Depends on aptitude

Simple to complex

Acquisitionleads to spontaneous, unplanned communication.

Providing Input for Acquisition

In classrooms we can provide input that is optimal for language acquisition

Focus on the message / not the form

Interesting topic (Intake)

Process of Second Language Acquisition (SLA)

The process of second

language acquisition

involves three

components:Sender: The person giving the

message

Receiver: The person interpreting the message

Affective Filter: The experiences of the receiver

Natural Approach Techniques

a) Affective-Humanistic activities *dialogues – short and useful - 'open'

dialogues *interviews – pair work on personal

information *personal charts and tables

* preference ranking – opinion polls on favorite activities

* revealing information about yourself – e.g. what I had for breakfast

*activating the imagination – e.g. give a historical figure advice

Natural Approach Techniques

b) Problem-solving activities *task and series – e.g. components of an activity

such as washing the car *charts, graphs, maps – e.g. bus fares, finding the

way *developing speech for particular occasion e.g. What

do you say if..…

*advertisementsc) Games, e.g. What is strange about … a bird swimming'?

d) Content activities, e.g. academic subject matter such as math

Procedure “inside classroom”

1 -Start with TPR commands.2 -Use TPR to teach names of body of parts and to

introduce numbers & sequence. “Lay your right hand on your head.”

3 -Introduce classroom terms & props into commands." Pick up a pencil and put it under the book, touch a wall, go to the door and knock three

times.”4 -Use names of physical characteristics and clothing

to identify members of the class by name. “what is your name “. “look at Fatimah. She has a long brown hair. Her hair is long & brown. It is not short.

5 -Use visuals, like magazine pictures to in introduce new vocabulary & continue with activities requiring only students names as a response.

Stages of Language Acquisition

PreproductionSometimes called the

“Silent Period” because students tend to listen

and not speak

Can last from 10 hours to 6 months

Students have up to 500 words of receptive

language

Students tend to respond to prompts by

pointing

Teachers should not “force” students to

speak

Stages of Language Acquisition

Early Production Can last an additional

6 months after the Silent period

Students have about 1,000 words that they

can understand and use

Students speak in one or two word sentences

Yes/No questions and either/or questions are

best for students

Stages of Language Acquisition

Speech Emergence

Can last up to another year or so

Students have developed

approximately 3,000 words

Can use short phrases to communicate

Longer sentences are filled with grammatical errors which interfere

with meaning

Stages of Language Acquisition

Intermediate SpeechCan take another year after Speech Emergence stage

Students typically have about 6,000

words from which to choose

Students can ask questions and share

their thoughts

Beginning of “analysis” statements

in L2

Stages of Language Acquisition

Advanced LanguageCan take from 5-7

years or longer dependent on

previous schooling

Specialized vocabulary has

developed

Students can usually participate fully in the

classroom

Approximates grade level fluency

Learner Role

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 .

3 -Decide when to start producing speech & when to upgrade it.

4 -Where learning exercises are to be a part of the programme, decide with the teacher the relative amount of time to be devoted to them and perhaps even complete and correct them independently.

Teacher Role

1 -He/She is the primacy source of comprehensible input in the target language.

2 -Natural Approach teacher creates a classroom atmosphere that is interesting, friendly & in which there is a low affective filter for learning.

3 -the teacher must choose & orchestrate a rich mix of class activities involving a variety of group sizes, content & contexts.

4 -He/she is seen as a responsible for collecting materials & designing their use.

Errors in the target language

Errors are inevitable Errors are plentiful in the early stagesEC puts students immediately on the defensiveEC encourages a strategy in which the student will try to avoid mistakes & difficult constructions and focus less on meaning and more on formErrors are actually “interlanguage”

Error correction is NOT the basic mechanism for improving second language performance.

A safe procedure is simply to eliminate error correction entirely in

communicative-type activities

Conclusion“We can prepare them for the certainty that they will not be able to find the right word, that they will not be able to understand everything, and we can help insure that they will continue to obtain comprehensible input.” -Krashen