Question

List chief characteristics of Krashen's natural approach to language teaching in detail. Explain each chief characteristic

Answer 1

Natural approach is a method of language teaching developed by Stephen Krashen and Tracy Terrell. The chief characteristics are given below,

• The goal is to develop basic personal communication skills;

there is not much importance to grammar. The learning will be in an affective environment and learner will learn language naturally by being in the class room environmet. It helps to improve speaking skills in daily life.

• Offers opportunities to acquire language rather than learn language;

It's a process of 3 stages. The preproduction stage helps to develop listening and comprehension skill. During early production stage learners will start to speak with possible errors. The last stage extends the production into longer stretches of discourse.

• Focus on meaning not on form;

Teacher will focus on the meaning only. There is not much importance to gramnar. Here the teacher does not correct errors

• Advocacy of a silent period

Speech emergence after silent period. So during silent period the learner can develop listening as well as comprehension skills.