The Natural Approach

A brief Introduction to the Natural Approach (A Precursor to the Scaffolded Language Emergence Approach)

The Natural Approach was developed by Tracy Terrell and Stephen Krashen and was introduced in the book The Natural Approach in 1983. This method is based on observations of how children acquire their native language. It attempts to adapt this process of language acquisition to an adult learning environment. From this perspective, it is necessary to emphasize the importance of communicative skills instead of focusing on grammar-based language learning. This method highlights comprehensible and meaningful practice activities and introduces the language learner to a great deal of vocabulary at the beginning rather than the production of grammatically perfect sentences. Basic rules for implementing this method include not using the learners' native language and not referring to grammatical explanations. The language is viewed as a vehicle for communicating meanings and messages.

This approach is just one of several approaches that underlie Dr. Donald Kiraly's Scaffolded Language Emergence approach.

You can find further information on the Natural Approach here:

The Natural Approach (Video)

The Natural Approach: Language Acquisition in the Classroom (by Steven D. Krashen & Tracy D. Terrell)