Lecture-7-The-Natural-Approach

Lecture7TheNaturalApproachTheNaturalApproachisanapproachproposedbyKrashenandTerrelltodevelopteachingprincipleswhichemphasizenaturalcommunicationratherthanformalgrammarstudyandaretolerantoflearners’errors.Itpaysparticularattentiontotheinformalacquisitionoflanguagerules.ThecoreoftheNaturalApproachislanguageacquisitionwhichisconsideredasubconsciousprocess,dependentontwofactors:theamountofcomprehensibleinputthestudentsget,andthestrengthoftheiraffectivefilters,thatis,theamountofinputthestudents“allowin.”Background1)Developedin1977byTracyTerrellintheUSA2)StephenKrashenandhistheoryofSLA3)TheNaturalApproachbyKrashenandTerrell4)AreactiontoGrammar-TranslationMethodTheoreticalBasisTheoryoflanguage1)Communicationastheprimaryfunctionoflanguage2)Notnecessarytoanalyzegrammaticalstructure3)Rulesautomaticallyprovidedintheinput4)Emphasisonmeaning5)ImportanceofvocabularyTheoryoflearning1)Krashen’sMonitorModelofSecondlanguagedevelopment2)Twodistinctprocesses3)Thefivehypothesesofthismodel(1)Theacquisition-learninghypotheses(2)Themonitorhypothesis(3)Thenaturalorderhypothesis(4)Theinputhypothesis—4mainissues:①Theinputhypothesisrelatestoacquisition,nottolearning②Peopleacquirelanguagebestbyunderstandinginputi+1③Theabilitytospeakfluentlycannotbetaught,it“merges”.④Enoughcomprehensioninputprovidesi+1automatically(5)Theaffectivefilterhypothesis—3affectivevariables:①motivation②self-confidence③anxietyBasicPrinciplesMainfeatures1)Languageisbesttaughtwhenitisbeingusedtotransmitmessages.2)Implicationsforclassroompractice:(1)Whateverhelpscomprehensionisimportant.(2)Morevocabularymeansmorecomprehensionandmoreacquisition.(3)Studentsmustunderstandthemassage.(4)ClassroomwithinterestinginputmaybeagoodplaceforSLA.3)Guidelinesforclassroompractice:(1)Thegoaliscommunicationskills.(2)Comprehensionprecedesproduction.(3)Productionemerges.(4)Acqusitionactivitiesareessential.(5)Lowertheaffectivefilter.4)Characteristicsofclassroomteaching:(1)Classtimeisdevotedprimarilytoprovidinginputforacquisition..(2)Theteacherspeaksonlythetargetlanguage.(3)Studentsmayuseeitherfirstorsecondlanguage.(4)Errorsshouldnotbecorrectedintheprocessofcommunication.(5)Homeworkmayincludegrammarworkanderrorsshouldbecorrected.(6)Thegoalsaretoenablestudentstotalkaboutideasandtoperformtasks.5)Theroleoflearners:(1)aprocessorofcomprehensibleinput(2)decidingwhen,whatandhowtospeak(3)differentrolesatdifferentstagesoftheirlinguisticdevelopment6)Theroleofteacher(1)theprimarysourceofcomprehensibleinput(2)tocreateaclassroomatmospheresuitableforlearning(3)tochooseanduseavarietyofclassroomactivities7)Theroleoftesting(1)tomotivatestudentstopreparefortestsbyobtainingmorecomprehensibleinput(2)tomotivateteacherstosupplymorecomprehensibleinputObjectivesTheobjectivesoflanguageteachingare:(1)todevelopcommunicativeskills,bothoralandwritten,forstudents;(2)toenablestudentstofunctionadequatelyinthetargetlanguage;(3)toenablestudentstomaketheirmeaningclear;(4)toenablestudentstouse“contextualinferencing”strategies;(5)tohelpstudentstounderstandgoalsintermsofsituations,functionsandtopics.Techniques1)Acquisitionactivities:(1)affective-humanistic:①open-dialogue②interviews③personalinformation(2)problem-solving:①tasks②charts③graphics,maps,etc.(3)games:①discussion②action③contest④guesses(4)content:①slideshows②panels③reports④presentations⑤lectures(5)learningexercises:①randomvolunteeredgroupresponses②directcorrectionoferrorsofmeaning③expansionandreformationtoerrorsofform④commandstodirectbehavior⑤providingappropriatetextsandreasonsforreading.Procedures1)Pre-productionstage:(1)Theteachergivescommandstostudents.(2)Studentsrespondphysically.2)Productionstage:(1)Theteachertalksonpictures.(2)Studentsrespondusingsimpleanswers(todevelopproduction).(3)Studentsfillslotsof:①open-endedsentences;②opendialogues(4)Studentsdoconversationalreview.SummaryandCommentsAdvantages:1)Classroomconsistingacquisitionactivitiescanbeanexcellentenvironmentforbeginners.2)Theteachercreatesspeecheswhichenablestudentstointeractusingthetargetlanguage.3)Studentsarenotforcedtorespondinthetargetlanguageimmediately.4)Studentsinteractinmeaningfulsituationsattheirownlevel.5)Theteacherknowsstudents’needsandconcentratesonappropriateandusefulareas.6)Comprehensibleandmeaningfulpracticeactivitiesareemphasizes.Disadvantages:1)Itignoresmanyfactorsessentialinsecondlanguagecoursedesign.2)Itsimplyborrowstechniquesfromothermethods.3)Thereisnothingnovelaboutitsproceduresandtechniques.4)Therearestillmanyproblemsintheresearchmethod.Discussion1)WhatarethebasicassumptionsofKrashen’sMonitorModel?2)Doyouthinkthatitisnecessarytodrawadistinctionbetweenacquisitionandlearning?Whyorwhynot?