Krashen+and+the+Natural+Approach

=Krashen and the Natural Approach: =

** Stephen Krashen: **
Stephen Krashen was born in 1941 in Chicago, Illiniose. Before pursuing his doctorate, he worked with the Peace Corps. During this time he spend two years teaching 8th grade English and Science in Ethiopia. In 1972 he completed his disertation, ""Language and the Left Hemisphere," and received his Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of California in Los Angeles. In 1994 he "joined the USC School of Education" (S9.com). He is currently "a professor of Linguistics at the CUNY Graduate Center and the Linguistics Department of the University of Southern California" (S9.com). He has been awarded the Milldenberger Award, the Pimsleur Award and been inducted into the International Reading Association's Reading Hall of Fame.

Krashen has published over 350 papers and books regarding second language acquisition, reading and bilingual education. He introduced the Natural Approach and his five hypothesis into the field of second language acquisition.

**The Natural Approach: **
The natural approach focuses on communication. It is based on the idea that communication is the key to acquiring a language and that the grammar and grammatical structures of a language should be learned to fine tune the communication skills. Also, for the learner to acquire the language the communication must be effective, which means the message must be understood by the learner. "Krashen and Terrell suggest that language learning is different from language acquisition. Language learning is knowing rules and having a conscious knowledge of grammar as well as the ability to apply the rules to certain situations. Language acquisition is the ability to speak and understand a second language easily and fluently" (Module 5 Lecture Notes). It is also important to note that this conscious knowledge of grammar and grammatical structures is useful only if the following three conditions are met: Krashen's theory also takes into account affective filters. A high affective filter will block the learning of the new language. This may be some sort of outside stress or duress. A low affective filter is better because the stress or distractions that may block learning the new language are lower or non-existent. The following are five factors that help to create a low affective filter: Number four is important to keep in mind when working with student just beginning in the new language because there is a silent period that must not be mistaken for a learning disorder. This silent period is the time when students are taking time to listen and inspect the new language before using it. This period is usually longer in younger students. Once the student comes out of the silent period he/she will progress through four stages of utilization. So, "language proficiency, therefore, is acquiring through input, practice, and use, interaction and communication" (Module 5 Lecture Notes). Finally, to really understand the Natural Approach to language acquisition, one must keep in mind the four basic principles of this approach:
 * 1) The student must be given time to really listen to and inspect the utterances and sounds of the new language before speaking them.
 * 2) The student "must be consciously concerned about the correctness of the words, grammar and sentences" (Module 5 Lecture Notes).
 * 3) The student must learn, know and be able to apply the rule when having a conversation.
 * 1) "A positive orientation to the second language" (Module 5 Lecture Notes).
 * 2) Low anxiety and a safe environment.
 * 3) "A classroom environment that promotes self-confidence" (Module 5 Lecture Notes).
 * 4) Time, or a slower paced instruction.
 * 5) Positive error correction, or positive feedback rather than a focus on the negative and mistakes.
 * 1) "Comprehension precedes production"
 * 2) "Production is allowed to emerge in stages"
 * 3) "Learning integrates communicative goals" and
 * 4) "Classroom tasks must promote lowering the affective filter" (Module 5 Lecture Notes).

**Krashen's Five Hypotheses: **
There are five main hypotheses that are associated with the Natural Approach to second language acquisition. This hypothesis " states that there are two ways of learning a second language: acquisition, which occurs subconsciously, and learning, which needs to be developed consciously through education" (Thurgood). This hypothesis "states that grammatical structures are acquired, not learned, in predictable, systematic order" (Module 5 Lecture Notes). Therefore, "teachers should not follow any ordered pattern at all when teaching grammatical structures" (Thurgood). This hypothesis also states that all learners acquire certain, easier, grammatical structures before acquiring certain, harder, structures. This hypothesis refers to the difference between language acquisition and language learning. It proposes that "the learning process is only good for correcting or "monitoring" what has been acquired (Thurgood). It is important to note that Krashen states that there are" three difficulties in monitoring: (a) not having enough time, (b) not being focused on what is correct, and (c) simply not knowing the formal rules (Thurgood). This hypothesis "proposes that learners acquire language by understanding input that is a bit beyond the current level of language competence of proficiency" (Module 5 Lecture Notes). This hypothesis also states that "ideal language input has three characteristics: (comprehensible input) (a) The focus is on the meaning, more than on how it is spoken, (b) Speaking emerges on its own when the learner’s understanding is good enough, and (c) The best input is not grammatically sequenced (Thurgood). This hypothesis concerns the affective filter which can impede language acquisition if stress or distress is too high. It states that "low anxiety, high motivation, and self-confidence are ideal" to second language acquisition (Thurgood).
 * The Acquisition/Learning Hypothesis:
 * The Natural Order Hypothesis:
 * The Monitor Hypothesis:
 * The Input Hypothesis:
 * The Affective Filter Hypothesis:

**Helpful and Informative Links: **
[|The Four Stages of Second Language Acquisition] The above link will take you to a PDF file that briefly explains the basic characteristics of the four stages of language acquisition as well as the classroom activities that accompany them. [|Second Language Acquisition Stages and Related Linguistic Patterns] The above link will take you to another PDF file which also has some information about the stages of language acquisition. This file also includes information about recommended interventions for each stage and other linguistic patterns such as language shift, language loss, code mixing, etc.

**Resources: **
//Stephen Krashen.// (2010). Retrieved from http://www.s9.com/Biography/Stephen-Krashen.

Thurgood, G. //Krashen SLA Notions.// Retrieved from http://www.csuchico.edu/~gthurgood/470/014_Krashen.pdf

Ms. Cristina Hudgins cmh3j.mtsu@gmail.com

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