The document summarizes Stephen Krashen's theory of language acquisition, known as the Natural Approach. It was developed by Krashen and Tracy Terrell in 1983. The theory includes five main hypotheses: 1) acquisition vs learning, 2) natural order, 3) monitor, 4) input, and 5) affective filter. The Natural Approach focuses on providing comprehensible input through activities to help students acquire a language naturally without explicit instruction of grammar rules. The teacher's role is to create a low-anxiety environment and use materials to promote meaningful communication and comprehension.

1. Burak KÖSE
Murat YILDIZ
Mustafa YAHŞİ
Kağan KAYA

3. BACKROUND AND MAIN REPRESENTATIVES
It was developed and published as a book by Mr.
Stephen Krashen and Mrs. Tracy Terrell in 1983.
Mr. Stephen Krashen is a famous linguist. He is
currently a professor at University of Southern
California.
Mrs. Tracy Terrell is an educational theorist and a
professor at University of California.

5. STEPHEN KRASHEN’S THEORY OF LANGUAGE
ACQUISITION

6. 1. The Acquisition vs. Learning Hypothesis

7. ACQUISITION / LEARNING

8. 2.The Natural Order Hypothesis
Grammar structures are acquired in a predictable order.
L2 learning is different from L1 order.
L2 learning adults and children show similar order.

9. 3. Monitor Hypotheses
Learning and acquisition play different roles.
Acquisition allows us to actually speak the languge.
The monitor comes from learning the language and is
like a mental editor, checking our rules in terms of
accuracy.

10. 4. The Input Hypothesis
Explains how succesful ‘acquisition’ occurs.
Concerned with ‘acquisition’ not ‘learning’
‘Comprehensible input’ should be provided.
(Krashen defined the present ‘level’ as i and the
ideal level of input as i +1.)

11. 5.The Effective Filter Hypothesis
There exists a ‘filter’ or ‘mental block’ that impede L2
from ‘getting in’; a low filter is associated with
relaxation, confidence to take risk and a pleasant
learning environment.

13. PRINCIPLES
1. The aim of the Natural Approach is to foster the communicative
competence, not grammatical perfection.
2. At the beginning of class, the emphasis is on listening. The teacher
presents the students with a variety of easy to understand material
(input). This input is always one level above the student’s
communicative competence. This way, the students develop the ability
to speak in the foreign language. Competence in a language cannot be
learned. It has to be acquired. In class, the teacher should try not to use
the students’ mother tongue at all.

14. • 3. The production of speech, as a response to listening, is developing
over several stages:
• a nonverbal answer
• a one-word answer
• a two or three-word answer
• a short-sentence answer
• a compound-structured answer
At the beginning of the process of acquiring the language, the
students speak without grammatical correctness. Slowly, because of
additional reception and production, their ability to communicate
verbally enhances. In class, grammatical mistakes that do not hinder
the process of communicating are not corrected.

15. • 4. Activities that enhance the process of language acquisition are the main part
of the class (input). The main focus is not on grammatical exercises. The
amount depends on both the age and receptiveness of the students. For adults
the ratio is 20 per cent of grammatical exercises to 80 per cent. This part of
conscious learning serves as a monitor. This helps the students to check what
they say or write for grammatical mistakes. In class, the students are not
expected to make use of the monitor function.
• 5. The affective filter is especially useful. The aim is to keep this filter as small
as possible, in order to achieve the best results. In other words, the less
pressure there is on a student, the smaller the affective filter is. This is achieved
by focusing on topics that are interesting to the students; topics they are able
to relate to and are willing to share their opinion on. Another way of keeping
the affective filter small is the fact that no student is forced to speak in the
foreign language. This creates an atmosphere in the class room that is perfect
to acquire a foreign language.

16. THE SYLLABUS
Krashen and Terrell (1983) approach course organization from two
points of view
They list their goals under four areas:
1. Basic personal communication skills: oral (e.g., listening to
announcements in public places)
2. Basic personal communication skills: written (e.g., reading and writing
personal letters)
3. Academic learning skills: oral (e.g., listening to a lecture)
4. Academic learning skills: written (e.g., taking notes in class)

17. TYPES OF LEARNING AND TEACHING ACTIVITIES
From the beginning of a class taught according to the Natural
Approach, emphasis is on presenting comprehensible input in
the target language.
Teacher talk focuses on objects in the classroom and on the
content of pictures, as with the Direct Method. To minimize
stress, learners are not required to say anything until they feel
ready, but they are expected to respond to teacher commands
and questions in other ways.
When learners are ready to begin talking in the new language,
the teacher provides comprehensible language and simple
response opportunities.
The teacher talks slowly and distinctly, asking questions and
eliciting one-word answers.

18.  There is a gradual progression from Yes/ No questions, through
either-or questions, to questions that students can answer using
words they have heard used by the teacher.
 Students are not expected to use a word actively until they have
heard it many times.
 Charts, pictures, advertisements, and other relia serve as the focal
point for questions, and when the students' competence permits,
talk moves to class members.
 "Acquisition activities" - those that focus on meaningful
communication rather than language form - are emphasized.
 Pair or group work may be employed, followed by whole-class
discussion led by the teacher.

19. LEARNER ROLES
 There is a basic assumption in the Natural Approach that learners should
not try to learn a language in the usual sense.
 Learners' roles are seen to change according to their stage of linguistic
development. Central to these changing roles are learner decisions on when
to speak, what to speak about, and what linguistic expressions to use in
speaking.
 In the pre-production stage students "participate in the language activity
without having to respond in the target language" (Krashen and Terrell
1983: 76). For example, students can act out physical commands, identify
student colleagues from teacher description, point to pictures, and so forth.
 In the early-production stage, students respond to either-or questions, use
single words and short phrases, fill in charts, and use fixed conversational
patterns (e.g., How are you? What's your name?).
 In the speech-emergent phase, students involve themselves in role play and
games, contribute personal information and opinions, and participate in
group problem solving.

20.  Learners have four kinds of responsibilities in the Natural Approach
classroom:
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. They should
learn and use conversational management techniques to regulate input.
3. Decide when to start producing speech and when to upgrade it.
4. Where learning exercises (i.e., grammar study) are to be a part of the
program, decide with the teacher the relative amount of time to be
devoted to them and perhaps even complete and correct them
independently.

21.  Learners are expected to participate in communication
activities with other learners. Although communication
activities are seen to provide naturalistic practice and to create
a sense of camaraderie, which lowers the affective filter, they
may fail to provide learners with well-formed and
comprehensible input at the I + 1 level. Krashen and Terrell
warn of these shortcomings but do not suggest means for
their amelioration.

22. TEACHER ROLES
 The Natural Approach teacher has three central roles.
1. The teacher is the primary source of comprehensible input in the
target language.
2. The Natural Approach teacher creates a classroom atmosphere that is
interesting, friendly, and in which there is a low affective filter for
learning.
3. The teacher must choose and orchestrate a rich mix of classroom
activities, involving a variety of group sizes, content, and contexts.

23. THE ROLE OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
 The primary goal of materials in the Natural Approach is to make
classroom activities as meaningful as possible by supplying "the extra-
linguistic context that helps the acquirer to understand and thereby
to acquire" by relating classroom activities to the real world, and by
fostering real communication among the learners.
 Materials come from the world of relia rather than from textbooks.
 The primary aim of materials is to promote comprehension and
communication.
 Pictures and other visual aids are essential, because they supply the
content for communication.
 Other recommended materials include schedules, brochures,
advertisements, maps, and books at levels appropriate to the students,
if a reading component is included in the course, and games, in
general, are seen as useful classroom materials

24. CONCLUSION