zkouška - otázky

g for help, at the doctor)
work in small groups to maximize the amount of communicative practise they receive
oportunity to express thein own ideas and opinions
errors are tolerated – it is natural
cooperation between the students through communication
teacher acts as a supervisor
students are communicators
learn about cohension and coherence in language

Techniques:
authentic materials
scrambled sentences ( students learn about cohension and coherence)
role-play
picture strip story ( we show the students one picture of the story and they predict what the second picture would look like)


What we want:
students are able to use the language appropriate to a given social context

Motto:
learn to communicate by communicating


Tereza Homolková
Lucie Hnízdová
The Natural Approach

1977 – Tracy Terrell outlined a “new” philosophy of language teaching – The Natural Approach
Terrell worked with Stephen Krashen and they published a book “The Natural Approach” in 1983
They indentified the NA with “traditional” approaches to language teaching (based on the use of language in communicative situations without recourse of the native language)

Differences between the NA and the older Natural Method:
The Natural Method became known as the Direct Method
The NA – confirms to the naturalistic principles found in the successful second language acquisition
- less emphasis on teacher’s monologues, direct repetition and formal questions and answers
- emphasis on exposure (input) rather than practice, central role of comprehension


Terrell and Krashen refer to the NA as an example of a communicative approach
They gave little attention to a theory of language; the importance of vocabulary is stressed
Acquisition can take place only when people understand messages in the target language – I+1 (input that contains structures slightly above the learner’s present level)

Theory of learning

Principals tenets of the theory

The acquisition/learning hypothesis
Claims two distinctive ways of developing competence in a second or foreign language
Acquisition – unconscious process that involves the naturalistic development of language proficiency through understanding language and using language for meaningful communication
Learning – process in which conscious rules about a language are developed, formal teaching is necessary for “learning” to occur and correction of errors helps with the development of learned rules
Learning cannot lead to acquisition

The monitor hypothesis
Conscious learning can function only as a monitor that checks the output
Three conditions limit the successful use of monitor:
Time – must be sufficient for a learner to choose and apply a learned rule
Focus on form – the language user must be focused on correctness or on the form of the output
Knowledge of rules – the performer must know the rules, they must be simple to describe

The natural order hypothesis
The acquisition of grammar proceeds in predictable order
Certain grammatical structures are acquired before others in first language acquisition and similar natural order is found in second language acquisition



The input hypothesis
Explains the relationship between what the learner is exposed to of language (the input) and language acquisition
The hypothesis relates to the acquisition, not to learning
People acquire language best by understanding – based on situations, context, extralinguistic information and knowledge of the world make comprehension possible
The ability to speak fluently cannot be taught directly
If there is a sufficient quantity of comprehensible input, I + 1 will usually be provided automatically
Comprehension – understanding of context, just as child has its speech that is taken from his/her caretaker, the adults can acquire the second language provided with samples codes (foreigner talk – the speech native speakers use to simplify communication with foreigners, slow rate of speech, repetition, use of Yes/No question…)

The affective filter hypothesis
Emotional state of students is an adjustable filter that freely blocks input necessary to acquisition
The hypothesis is built on research in second language acquisition, which has identified three kinds of affective or attitudinal variables related to second language acquisition:
Motivation (learners with high motivation generally do better)
Self-confidence (learners with self-confidence and good self-image tend to e more successful)
Anxiety (low personal anxiety and low classroom anxiety are more conductive to second language acquisition)
The acquirers with low affective filter seek and receive more input
Affective filter (fear or embarrassment) – rises in early adolescence


Summary of the hypothesis
As much comprehensible input as possible must be presented
Whatever helps comprehension is important
The focus in the classroom should be on listening and reading, speaking should be allowed to “emerge”
In order to lower the affective filter, student work should center on meanful communication than on form


Objectives:
The Natural Approach “is for beginners and is designed to help them become intermediates“
The students will understand the speaker of the target language and will be able to convey their requests and ideas
The Natural Approach is offered as a general set of principles applicable to a wide variety of situations [specific objectives depend upon learner needs and skil and level beány taught]

The syllabus:
-> two points of view:
Typical goals for language courses – the Natural Approach is designed to devepod basic communication skills – both oral & written
The purpose of a language course will vary according to the needs of the students and their particular interests
-> at the end of a particular course we expect the students to deal with a particular set of topics in a given situation
-> content: - should provide a wide exposure to vocabulary
- should resist any focus on grammatical structures [the necessary grammatical
structures are automatically provided in the input]

Types of learning and teaching activities:
To minimalize stress, learners are not required to say anything until they feel ready, but they are expectes to reskond to teaher commands and quetions in other way.
There is a gradual procession from Yes/No questions, through ether-or questions, to questions that studentscan answer using words they have herd used by the teacher.
Charts, Picture, advertisement and other realia serve as the focal point for questions.
“Acquisition activities“ (osvojování) are required – they focus on communication rather than language form
Techniques are often borrowed from other methods and adapted to meet the requirements of Natural Approach theory. They can be regarded as innovative only with respect to the purposes of which they are recommended and the ways they are used.
Command-based activities [from Total Physical Response]
Direct Method activities in which mime, gesture and context are used to elicit questions and answers
Group-work activities [they are often identical to those used in Communicative Learning Teaching] where sharing information in order to complete a task is emphasized

Learner’s roles:
They are seen to change according to their stage of linguistic development:
The pre-production stage -> students participate in the language activity without having to respond in the target language [e.g. they act ou physical commands, point to pictures, etc.]
The early-production stage -> students respond to either-or questions, use single words or short phrases, fill in charts and use fixed conversational patterns [e.g. How are you? What’s your name?]
The speech-emergent phase -> students involve themselves in role play and games, contribute to personal information and opinion, and participate in group problem solving

Teacher’s roles:
The Natural Approach demands a much more center-stage role for teacher than do many contemporary communicative methods.
There are three central roles:
The teacher is required to generate a constant flow of language input and provide a multiplicity of nonlinguistic clues to assist students in interpreting the input
The teacher creates a classroom atmosphere that is interesting and friendly
The teacher must choose and orchestrate a rich mix of classroom activities, involving a variety of groups, content and context
+ the teacher is seen as responsible for collecting materials and designing their use [these materials are based on elicited student needs and interests]

The role of instructional materials:
The primary goal of materials is to make classroom activities as meaningful as possible by supplying the extra-linguistic context that helps the student to understand and to acquire.
Materials come from the world of realia rather than from textbooks.
Pictures and other visual aids are essential.
Other recommended materials include schedules, brochures, advertisements, maps and games.

Conclusion:
The Natural Approach belongs to a tradition of language teaching methods that reject the formal [grammatical] organization of language.
The originality of the Natural Approach lies not in the techniques it employs but in their use in a method that emphasizes comprehensible and meaningful practice activities, rather than production of grammatically perfect utterances and sentences.



The Total Physical Response Method

This Metod is an example of a new general approach to foreign language instruction which has been named ´the comprehension approach.´ It is called this because of the importace it gives to listening comprehension. Methods consistent with the comprehension approach, begin with thelistening skill.
The idea of focusing on listening comprehension dutiny early foreign language instruction dones from observing how children acquire thein mother tongue.
There are several methods being practised today that have in common an attempt to apply these observations to foreign language instruction. Chat the methodologists advocate doing dutiny an initial listening period varies from metod to metod.
In the Total Physical Response Method, students listen and reskond to the spoken target language commands of their teacher.
Example: We will learn about these principles through our usual way of observing a class in which the method is being used. The class is located in Sweden. It is a beginning class for thirty Grade 5 students. They study English for one class period three times a week.

Experience
In this class the teacher will give them a command to do something in English and they will do the actions along with her/him. She/him needs four volunteers to help her/him with the lesson. Hands go up and the teacher calls on four students to come to the front of the room and sit with her in chairs that are lined up facing the other students.
In English the teacher says, ´Stand up´. As she says it, she stands up and signals for the four volunteers to rise with her. They all stand up. ´Sit down´, she says and they all sit. The teacher and the students stand up and sit down several times according to the teacher´s command. Then other commands appear: ´Turn round´, ´Sit down´, ´Walk´, ´Stop. Jump. Stop. Turn around. Walk. Stop. Sit down.´ The teacher gives the commands and they all perform the actions together.
Finally, the teacher approaches the other students who have been sitting observing her and their four classmates. ´Stand up. Sit down. Stand up. Jump. Stop. Turn around. Turn around. Jupm. Sit down.´ Even though they have not done the actions before (like this), the students are able to perform according to the teacher´s commands.
She begins to introduce some new ones. ´Point to the door. Point to the desk. Point to the chair. Stand up. Walk to the door. Touch the door.´ She continues to perform the actions with the students, but changes the order of the commands.
Nest the teacher turns to the rest of the class and gives the following commands to the students sitting in the back row:´Stand up. Sit down. Stand up. Point to the desk. Touch the chair. Walk. Stop. Jump. Walk´. Although she varies the sequence of commands, the students do not seem to have any trouble following the orders. The teacher then issues two commands in the form of a compound sentence, ´Point to the door and walk to the door.´ Again, the group performs as it has been commanded. As the last step of the lesson, the teacher writes the new commands on the blackboard. The class is over. No one except the teacher has spoken a word.

Thinking about the experience
Now that we have observed the TPRM being used in a class, let´s examine what we have seen. We will list our observations and then try to understand the principles upon which the teacher´s behaviour is based.






ObservationsPrinciples
1. The teacher gives a command
in the target language and performs
it with the students.




2. The students say nothing.



3. The teacher gives the commands
quite quickly.


4. The teacher sits down and issues
commands to the volunteers.

5. The teacher directs students
other than the volunteers.


6. The teacher introduces
new commands after she is
satisfied that the first six have
been mastered.

7. The teacher changes the
order of the commands.

8. The teacher gives the students
commands they have not heard
before.

1. Meaning in the target language can often be conveyed through
Actions. Memory is activated
through learner response. The target
language should be presented in
chunks, not just word by word.

2. The students´ understanding of
the target language should be developed
before speaking.

3. Students can initially learn one
part of the language rapidly by moving
their bodies.

4. The teacher can direct student
behaviour.

5. Students can learn through observing
actions as well as by performing
the actions themselves.

6. It is very important that students
feel successful. Feelings of success
and low anxiety facilitate learning.


7. Students should not be made to
memorize fixed routines.

8. Students need to understand
more than the exact sentences
used in training. Novelty is also
motivating.

Reviewing the Principles

What are the goals of teachers who use the TPRM?
Teachers who use this method believe in the importance of having their students enjoy their experience in learning to communicate in a foreign language. In fact, the TPRM was developed in order to reduce the stress people feel when studying foreign languages and thereby encourage students to persist in their study beyond a beginning level of proficiency.

What is the role of the teacher? What is the role of the students?
The teacher is the director of all students behaviour. The students are imitators of her nonverbal model. At some point some students will be ready to speak. At that point there will be a role reversal with individual students directing the teacher and the other students.

What are some characteristics of the teaching/learning process?
The first phase of a lesson is one of modeling. The instructor issues commands to a few students, then performs the actions with them. In the second phase, these same students demonstrate that they can understand the commands by performing them alone.

How are the feelings of the students dealt with?
One of the main reasons the TPRM was developed was to reduc the stress people feel shen studying foreign languages. One of the primary ways this is accomplished is to allow learners to speak shen they are ready. When students do begin to speak, perfection should not be expected. The use of zany commands and humorous skits are two ways of showing that language learning can be fun.

What areas of language are emphasized? What laguage skills are emphasized?
Grammatical structures and vocabulary are emphasized over other language areas. These are embedded within imperatives. The imperatives are single words and multi-word chunks. Understanding the spoken word should precede its production. The spoken language is emphasized over written language.

What is the role of the students´ native language?
The method is usually introduced in the students´ native language. After the introduction, rarely would the mother tongue be used.



How is evaluation accomplished?
Teacher will know immediately whether or not students understand by observing their students´ action. As students become more advanced, their performance in skits they have created can become the basis for evaluation.

Reviewing the Techniques

Role Reversal
Students command their teacher and classmates to perform some actions. Students should not be encouraged to speak until they are ready.

Action Sequence
As the students learn more and more of the target language, a longer series of connected commands can be given, which together comprise a whole procedure. This series of commands is called an action sequence, or an operation. Many everyday activities, like writing a letter, can be broken down into an action sequence that students can be asked to perform.








Jánská Iveta – AJMET2The Total Physical Response Method