Emmanuel Samudio

4-804-1065

The Natural Approach

By Uinise T. Langi

The natural approach and how it affects and is related to the development of student's second

language acquisition. The natural approach, unlike other approaches, does not have a pre-

established linguistic theory by its creator, but it can be understood that it is based on a

structural model which, as its name indicates, dictates that language is made up of structures

and forms that must be internalized (Langi, n.d.). So based on that, teaching a language

means allowing students to assimilate and use the structures in order to acquire the language.

The learning theory of this method aims to develop communicative competence in students,

this is based on Krashen's five hypotheses which are, the acquisition-learning hypothesis, the

natural order hypothesis, the monitor hypothesis, the input hypothesis and the affective filter

hypothesis. As for the design, the objectives of the courses must be identified by the teacher

based on the needs of the students, but all the courses have certain criteria to follow in

common, such as. First, communication skills dictates that all the courses have to be taught

with the primary goal of teaching students to use the target language communicatively

(Langi, n.d.), second, comprehension precedes production proposes that the ability to use the

target language communicatively rests on the form in which input is understood, third,

production emerges dictates that what students produce should not be forced, but should arise

by itself as the acquisition process progresses. , fourth, acquisition activities are central

dictates that the classroom is a place that positively encourages the acquisition of a language,

therefore it should focus on providing activities related to acquisition during classes, fifth,

lower the affective filter proposes that the teacher should put activities that help to lower the

filter of the person since the acquisition of a language does not occur if the filter is too high.

Now the syllabus in the natural approach is based on the need analysis in order to know what
Emmanuel Samudio
4-804-1065

the students need to learn in the classroom, in addition, the syllabus is communicatively

oriented so the situations in which the students will use their target language will be in

games, role plays, dialogs, etc. Also, Terrell identified 3 different types of acquisition activity

levels which should be used in syllabus designs which are, the personal-identification stage,

provision is made for the generation of input according to experiences and the stating opinion

stage. Next, the role of the students depends on the stage of acquisition in which they are,

during the initial stage the students will be more passive, they will keep absorbing and

digesting input, also during this stage the construction and expansion of the vocabulary is

very important since the comprehension depends on the Recognition of vocabulary, this is

seen in the activities that take place in the classroom, since students must respond to the

teacher's commands and recognize or identify images or objects. Also, students have some

control over the topics and activities given in class because the course is based on their needs

and the progress of the students in the acquisition of the target language is valued by them

since they are responsible for both monitor their production, acquire vocabulary and

constructions. The role of the teacher is varied since he is in charge of providing adequate

input for students, providing materials and monitoring activities that help students in the

acquisition of the target language. The role of the teacher can also vary depending on the

level of the students in terms of acquisition, since if the students are in the pre-production

stage, the teacher will need to provide them with input so that later they are able to

understand future topics and activities, another role of the teacher is to build little by little the

knowledge of the students as well as their vocabulary. Finally, the activities are related to the

topic and the situations that have to do with the needs of the students; however, the activities

may vary depending on the acquisition stage in which the students are, then, if the student is

in Preproduction : Developing Listening Comprehension stage there are activities like the use

of Asher's Total Physical Response basically the teacher says commands and the student is in
Emmanuel Samudio
4-804-1065

charge of following them and the elicitation of responses through the use of pictures.

Following this in the Early Production stage the type of activities that there are are to use

images and ask yes or no questions and also the use of activities such as charts and graphs

with the purpose of solving problems, and finally in the Extending Production stage there are

activities such as Open-ended sentences, Open dialogs, Prefabricated patterns with the

purpose of promoting communicative competence and fluency.