In viewing the basic theoretical and practical-use background of the Natural Approach of Language Teaching and Learning, one can understand that basic functions that allow students the ability to hone new skills in a non-threatening environment. However, despite significant praise in the teaching community regarding the success of the Natural Approach, the method's critics still exist. Due to this, it is crucial to understand the advantages as well as the disadvantages that exist when the Natural Approach is employed in a language learning environment, especially in dealing with English as a second language.
Advantages and Disadvantages
In beginning to understand the overall value of the Natural Approach, one must assess its advantages and disadvantages, both of which have been cited by researchers and scholars since the method first came into use in the late 1970s. Many of the cited advantages of this method stem from the one-on-one nature of the learning that takes place between teacher and student. Additionally, this learning is fostered through the maintaining of an environment which is conducive to an individual's natural learning process. In this sense, instructors seek to teach a new language in much the same way that an individual's first language is learned and experienced. The method at hand involves a dissection into three separate stages, but unlike other more stringent approaches, allows freedom from strict structure and time constraints. It is with this advantage that learners have the ability to pace themselves in a way that supports their own learning, and not merely the overall success of the class. The Natural Approach offers a learning environment where language is adapted by a teacher to the level of the student's understanding, and not the other way around.
So often in a learning environment, pace and progress are placed before the value of true knowledge and understanding. In many classes, instructors work towards an end-point that often is measured by the amount of content covered and not the amount of content that is actually absorbed by the students. It is in this capacity that the Natural Approach goes above and beyond these more stringent classroom settings, allowing a free space to learn at one's own pace and not be faulted for it. Within a Natural Approach, input and discussion are utilized to maximize a student's understanding, which allows them to progress in a natural and fully-understood manner. In this capacity, a student's learning rarely backtracks due to forgetting a concept. Rather, these concepts are fully drilled into a student's mind before they are expanded upon, which benefits both the instructor and the students not only within the classroom setting, but in the long-run.
While the free sense of learning is one of the most widely-cited advantages of the Natural Approach, it is also the most widely-cited disadvantage in terms of critic's beliefs. Critics argue that the free structure can make it exceedingly difficult to measure progress, especially with the lack of a clear syllabus which would often offer time constraints on the coverage of certain topics or concepts. Additionally, critics note that with students interacting and learning at different levels, it can go against the acquisition of language, especially if instructors don't give students enough restricted practice (Scrivener 31). In other words, critics note that students may not absorb language as effectively through the Natural Approach as they would if they had more structured classroom time to reflect and process input in a class where an instructor would facilitate more formal lesson formats (Clandfield and Meldrum 1). However, despite arguments from critics, the Natural Approach continues to be one of the most widely-utilized approaches in the field of language instruction especially in the area of foreign language instruction.
Elements and Structure: The Notion of "Method"
In beginning to understand the basic elements and structure that should be present within the study of learning and teaching languages, especially in English as a foreign language, one must understand that no definitive approach to learning has been proven to be the go-to within the field, regardless of scholarly debates that continue to take place. As Gebhard et al. (1990) argue that there is no convincing evidence that exists from pedagogic research, including research into second language instruction, that there is any universally or "best" way to teach (Gebhard 16). While particular approaches are likely to be more effective in certain situations, language...
Traditional Methods of Language Teaching The paper discuses the various traditional methods of language teaching, namely: Grammar Translation Method The Audio-lingual Method The Direct Method The Silent Way The Communicative Approach Cognitive code learning The Natural Approach Behaviorist approach Functional-Notional Approach and The task-based approach The paper discusses each approach in details and describes its various chief principles and how it helps both teachers and students to teach, understand, learn, and practice all the skills they learn through these approaches. Grammar Translation
As an analytic method it varies from the syntactic syllabus in simliar way as the practical and procedure syllabi, particularly in the supposition that the learner learns best when using language to converse about something. TBLT also is different from the two other logical curricula in a lot of ways. It differs from the procedural syllabus in that it stresses the importance of carrying out a needs analysis prior to
" "Realia" refers to the use of bona fide materials such as magazines, newspapers, signs and advertisements; they can also include maps, graphs, pictures, charts and symbols. Classroom activities are mostly planned to finish tasks that engage students in sharing of information and communicative processes, interaction and negotiation of meaning argues Akerlind 322() Social Cultural As much as the social cultural factors within a society cannot be easily changed, there is a
This then helps the teacher to appropriately adjust their approach and teaching skills to address the particular weak points that the students or particular student might have. There is need to incorporate computers in class as well particularly in some particular topics in teaching second language. This applies especially when it comes to the use of language in creating formal documents or such like formal types of writing which can
Communicative Language Teaching the Best Methodology to Prepare Students for the Cambridge First Certificate Exam? Based on its emphasis on authenticity and relevancy to students' lives, it has been argued that the communicative language teaching approach may represent the best methodology to prepare students to take the Cambridge English: First for Schools (also known as First Certificate in English or FCE for Schools), which demonstrates student progress in second language
The primary focus is therefore on hearing and speaking, while reading forms a part of the advanced stages of this approach. While the direct approach might be somewhat daunting for the introductory language student, culture is an aspect that makes language teaching meaningful and enjoyable. This aspect can therefore be included at all stages of the learning process. The Reading Approach This approach, as its name suggests, focuses mainly on reading, grammar
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