The Natural Approach: A Complete Guide
In language learning, immersion-based methods have gained significant traction in recent years, with the natural approach being one of the more popular ones.
If your main goal is to communicate as quickly as possible, this approach might be exactly what you’re looking for.
Here’s all you need to know about the natural approach.
The natural approach
The natural approach is a language learning method that primarily focuses on communication and comprehensible input, rather than grammar drills and rote memorization.
Basically, it’s like learning to ride a bike by hopping on and giving it a go, instead of reading the instruction manual first.
You learn by doing.
The method was developed by Stephen Krashen and Tracy Terrel in the early 1980s. Its sole intention was to mimic the way we naturally pick up our first language as children. The core idea is to acquire language through exposure to plenty of input in a relaxed and engaging environment.
In other words, you’ll learn and understand the language based on context, gestures, and other non-linguistic cues.
For example, imagine you’re learning Spanish, and your teacher points to a picture of a cat while saying, “El gato está durmiendo” (The cat is sleeping). Even if you don’t know the word “durmiendo”, you can understand its meaning from the context of the picture and the teacher’s hand gestures.
This helps you understand the language without requiring direct translation or grammar knowledge. It’s all about language immersion.
Key principles
When Tracy Terrell first came up with the natural approach, it didn’t have a strict theoretical model. However, once he started working with Krashen, the method started to develop more structured outlines. The approach has also grown and taken different paths since its early years.
While the natural approach does not subscribe to any strict theory models, here are its core components.
Acquisition, not learning. Acquisition is the subconscious process of picking up your target language through meaningful interactions – like a child does their mother tongue. Learning, on the other hand, is the conscious and goal-driven study of grammar rules and vocabulary.
The natural approach suggests that acquisition is the most important aspect of developing fluency in a new language.
Comprehensible input. The material should be slightly above your current level, pushing you to learn new words and structures while still being understandable. Krashen refers to this as “i+1”, meaning “input plus a little extra challenge”.
Stress-free. The natural method emphasizes the importance of lowering the “affective filter”, which is a metaphor for your feelings toward studying language. When you are relaxed and engaged, you’re more open to learning. Feelings of self-doubt, anxiety, or boredom can have a negative effect on your language acquisition.
Thus, creating a stress-free, calm, and engaging environment is one key component of the natural approach.
Natural order hypothesis. The idea is that students acquire the grammatical aspects of their target language in a fixed order, which isn’t affected by external instructions. In other words, picking up grammatical rules is a natural progression.
For example, toddlers say “goed” instead of “went”, and adults will make the same mistakes when learning a second language. These errors are seen as signs of progress, not something to be constantly corrected. With enough input from native speakers, the students will gradually self-correct and refine their language. Essentially, hearing and understanding where they made a mistake on their own, instead of being told they made a mistake.
Practical application
The natural approach centers around creating an immersive and engaging environment that mimics how we naturally acquire languages. This can be done in several different ways.
The most standard exercise is where the teacher points at an object and describes it using both language and gestures. But there are a ton of other types of exercises that align with the natural approach – let’s look at some of them.
1. Storytelling
One powerful and universal exercise is storytelling. The teacher can use simple, repetitive stories with plenty of visual aids, gestures, and facial expressions to convey meaning.
For example, when telling the story of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” the teacher might use pictures of the characters, act out the different scenes, and use exaggerated intonation to make the language easier to understand. Students can be involved by answering questions, predicting what happens next in the story – or even acting out parts of the story themselves, if they feel comfortable with that.
2. Role-playing
Role-playing relevant and realistic scenarios is another way to engage the students in a meaningful context.
For example, the scene could portray a restaurant where the students take on roles like customers, waiters, and chefs. The teacher provides the necessary vocabulary and structures but allows the students to use the language freely to navigate the scenario.
This not only prepares the students for situations that might appear in real life, but it is also engaging and lets the student acquire language, rather than consciously learning it.
3. Show and tell
This is a classic exercise you might remember from middle school. The students are encouraged to bring in objects or pictures that are meaningful to them. They will then describe the objects in the target language.
This activity allows for a personalized and relevant language experience, giving the students a chance to express themselves. While letting the students speak freely is important, the teacher can offer support by providing sentence starters and key vocabulary.
4. Total physical response (TPR)
TPR is a technique on its own, but it aligns perfectly with the natural approach.
The teacher gives commands in the target language, like “stand up”, “touch your hair”, “sit down” or “jump” – and the students respond by following the instructions.
This approach is especially effective for beginners and children, as it allows them to focus solely on understanding without needing to produce language themselves. Not to mention that it’s a fun exercise that creates an engaging, positive and low-stress environment.
5. Materials made by native speakers
In previous exercises, we have focused a lot on communication within the group without any influence from native speakers – unless the teacher is a native, that is.
However, when following the natural approach, it’s crucial to incorporate authentic materials. The learning environment should be as close as possible to the real-life language spoken by native speakers.
This can be done in several ways by introducing:
- Books
- Newspaper articles
- Video clips
- Dialogues
- Restaurant menus
- Brochures
For example, the students can plan a holiday together in smaller groups using brochures, local menus, and magazines in the target language. Their internal discussions and decisions should all be in the language they are trying to learn.
Benefits of the natural approach
There is a reason why the natural approach has gained so much praise recently: It’s a highly engaging and fun way to acquire new languages, especially compared to older, more traditional methods.
Let’s go through some of the main advantages of the natural approach.
Emphasis on comprehension
One of the main features of the natural approach is its focus on comprehension. It tries to mimic the immersive environment in which toddlers learn their first language.
The result is more enjoyable, engaging, practical, and relevant lessons, with minimal focus on grammar studies and rote memorization.
Lowered affective filter
It’s not uncommon for adults to feel anxious, doubtful, and even scared when learning a new language. In language acquisition we often talk about “affective filter”, which describes an imaginary wall that prevents any input.
If you feel anxious, stressed or bored when learning a language, then you might get a high affective filter. In other words, those feelings are hindering your learning abilities. A low affective filter allows you to be more receptive to language input and more likely to absorb the information naturally.
You have most likely felt this at some point in your life. It’s easier to learn and concentrate when something is fun and engaging than if it’s tedious or stressful, right?
One of the core ideas of the natural approach is to create a supportive, low-stress learning environment for the students. When you aren’t constantly worrying about making mistakes or being perfect, you are more likely to take risks and engage with the language productively.
Meaning over form
In traditional methods, there’s often a heavy emphasis on perfect accuracy and grammar rules. Students are often stopped and corrected when they make a mistake.
The natural approach prioritizes things in the reverse order – meaning over form. The importance lies not in pronouncing everything correctly or having perfect grammar but in communicating with others efficiently.
Communication proficiency is the goal, not perfection.
Preparation for real-life communication
This method is great if your main objective is to learn to speak and listen in your target language. Communication is the heart of this method.
If you want to learn Spanish before moving to Spain, then the natural approach could be a great way of achieving that. However, if your goal is to become a grammar expert in linguistic studies, then a more traditional method might be preferable.
Challenges with the natural approach
While the natural approach has many benefits, it’s not without challenges. Let’s take a look at the potential drawbacks and obstacles that you might face when using this method.
Lack of grammar
As described previously, one of the core principles of the natural approach is its focus on meaning over form. That’s beneficial for developing communicative competence and fluency but might leave a deficit in the grammar department.
The idea is that you will learn basic grammar naturally through immersion and not through explicit grammar instructions. More advanced grammar rules and structures can, therefore, be difficult to acknowledge and understand.
If you are looking for a rule-based method to language learning, then you might find the natural approach insufficient or frustrating.
Dependence on input
The natural approach’s success relies on the input’s quality and availability. In a classroom setting, this means that teachers need to be skilled enough to provide input that is both engaging and at the right level for the students.
For self-study, finding suitable input sources can be time-consuming and challenging, since it’s hard for a beginner to judge the quality of the material.
Might not be great for higher levels
Some critics argue that the natural approach may not be as effective in high-level education, as it is for beginners. In the later stages of language acquisition, it can be challenging to progress further without explicit attention to form and error correction.
Getting the right balance between fluency and accuracy (meaning and form) is an ongoing challenge for the natural approach. While it promotes meaning and fluency, it often comes at the cost of accuracy.