TEFL Webb Alabama

In 1977, Tracy Terrell, a teacher of spanish in California, outlined "a proposal for a 'new' philosophy of language teaching which was called the Natural Approach" (Terrell 1977; 1982: 121). This was an attempt to develop a language teaching proposal that incorporated the "naturalistic" principles researchers had identified in studies of second language acquisition. The Natural Approach grew out of Terrell's experiences teaching spanish classes. Since that time Terrell and others have exper¬imented with implementing the Natural Approach in elementary- to advanced-level classes and with several other languages. At the same time he has joined forces with Stephen Krashen, an applied linguist at the University of Southern California, in elaborating a theoretical ra¬tionale for the Natural Approach, drawing on Krashen's influential theory of second language acquisition. Krashen and Terrell's combined statement of the principles and practices of the Natural Approach appeared in their book, The Natural Approach, published in 1983. (2009. The Natural Approach. July 9, 2012). The natural approach, a method of language teaching primarily aims to foster a naturalistic language acquisition in the classroom setting by emphasizing communication through the decreased importance of conscious grammar study and overt corrections. The goal of this methodology, which shares some foundational similarities with the direct method, aims to create and a stress free environment for learning. In the natural approach, the general theoretical approach places less emphasis on producing language, but allows for the natural progression of growth through general exposure. There is a basic assumption in the Natural Approach that learners should not try to learn a language in the usual sense. Students can lose themselves in activities involving meaningful communication which will determine the amount and kind of acquisition they will experience and the fluency they will ultimately demonstrate. In the natural approach the teacher is the primary source of comprehensible language acquisition and is tasked with creating an enjoyable friendly and stress free classroom environment. In this role, the teacher is required to generate a constant flow of language. This methodology of teaching lends itself to the communicative language method of teaching, where greater emphasis is placed on the importance of language function, such as agreeing, inviting, and suggesting, as opposed to grammar and vocabulary. The principal belief of this teaching method emphasizes the idea that exposure to the language coupled with continued use will naturally lead to language learning. The natural approach encourages a teacher centered teaching plan which revolves around a rich mix of class¬room activities, involving a variety of group sizes, content, and contexts. The natural approach rejects the notion of formal grammatical and structural teaching, and places greater emphasis on an observational and interpretational method of study. Bibliography 1. Dhority, Lynn (1991). The ACT Approach: The Use of Suggestion for Integrative Learning. Philadelphia, PA: Gordon and Breach Science Publishers. ISBN 978-2881245565. 2. Hall, Graham (2011). Exploring english Language Teaching: Language in Action. london, New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-58415-9. 3. Markee, Numa (1997). Managing Curricular Innovation. Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-555241. 4. Ohmaye, Ehio (1998). "Simulation-Based Language Learning: An Architecture and a Multi-Media Authoring Tool". In Schrank, Roger. Inside Multi-Media Case Based Instruction. Mahwah, New Jersey: Routledge. pp. 1–102. ISBN 978-0-8058-2538-1. 5. Richards, Jack; Rodgers, Theodore (2001). Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching (2nd ed.). Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521008433. 6. Richards, Jack C.; Schmidt, Richard, eds. (2010). Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics. New York: Longman. ISBN 978-1-4082-0460-3.