Slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. If you continue browsing the site, you agree to the use of cookies on this website. See our User Agreement and Privacy Policy.

Slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. If you continue browsing the site, you agree to the use of cookies on this website. See our Privacy Policy and User Agreement for details.

14.
PREFACE
This work is intended to persuade teachers to use the Communicative Language
Teaching to favor second and third language learning in classrooms where there
are indigenous students who may have some kind of difficulties when studying
English.
It is divided into six chapters: Chapter I has to do with introductory aspects that
express ideas regarding the problem, the justification, and the objectives for this
work.
Chapter II deals with our Costa Rican ethnic groups, who they are, where they are
located, and what languages they speak. It also refers to some questions and
answers some of our indigenous people were involved in order to know more about
their culture, their behavior, their motivation to study, their difficulties in learning
and their opinions or comments. There are also some important language theories
and approaches mentioned like the Audio Lingual Method, the Natural Approach,
the Total Physical Response, and the Communicative Approach, to be considered
as a base for the main aim of this work that is, to provide and recommend different
communicative learning activities for our aborigens to be more successful in
school.
Chapter III refers to the methods and procedures used to develop this research.
So, it has to do with the gathering of information, the technical instruments used,
the sample that was considered and represented teenager students and adults
from different indigenous groups like Bribri, Cabecar, Guaymi, Huetar, Chorotega,
Boruca, and Maleku.
Chapter IV deals with the analysis of the information gather through a
questionnaire and interviews. It has questions like How do you go to school,? Do
you like English,? Do you understand your teachers’ explanations,? How would
you like English to be taught .?
xiii

15.
Chapter V has to do with conclusions, for example, In regard to the question ―do
you like English ?,‖ it can be concluded that most indigenous students are
motivated to learn English, because almost all the students said they enjoyed
English.
Chapter VI refers to the proposal. These are the specific objectives: to provide
some practical ideas and exercises that will help indigenous students to be more
successful and more motivated in school, to persuade teachers to expand their
ways and techniques of teaching by including more communicative activities in
their lessons, and to motivate teachers to use curricular adjustments with
indigenous students, so that they may be given more attention and more time to
develop the practices or exercises.
xiv

17.
2
1.1 INTRODUCTORY ASPECTS
In Latin America, native populations are located in difficult access sites, where
there are not public services. They have chosen those places to protect
themselves from foreign invasions. Unfortunately, that has prevented most of them
to participate actively in the society they belong to. They have remained almost
isolated, and their living conditions are based on their closest natural environment
and their little cultural demands.
However, non natives have managed the way to get to these far away places in
order to buy their production and take advantage of their naïve condition or lack of
knowledge in terms of trading, for example.
In Costa Rica, as well as in other American countries, the Indian population is
scattered throughout the country, especially in far away places where nature is
their basic context, with no electricity, technology or any other modern
conveniences and influences, (see map 2.) For this reason, our indigenous people
should be given the opportunity to learn how to deal with non natives, with a
different language, in order to sell their products at reasonable prices, as well as to
leave their secure home to get other goods they might want or need for bettering
their conditions or ways of living.
Native Indian languages in America are in danger of extinction due to other
dominant languages like Spanish, English and Portuguese. In Costa Rica, our
indigenous population must study and learn Spanish and English as part of their
survival goals in our society; so that they can participate actively in everything that
helps them improve their living conditions.
Moreover, the Constitution of Costa Rica establishes that all citizens should be
given the free opportunity to study, at least up to the third cycle of basic education.
Education as a universal right, is Intended to improve the living conditions of
human beings. In this respect,
Programa
de
Ricardo Chaves mentions in Diseño de
Capacitación Docente
en
Materia de
Idiomas
un
Indígenas

18.
3
Costarricenses para la Dirección Regional Educativa de Limón del Ministerio de
Educación Pública (2009) that:
“La educación está considerada como uno de los pilares en la
construcción del progreso y bienestar de la humanidad, representa un
derecho fundamental que tienen todas las personas, sin consideración
de edad, condición económica, social, étnica, política, ética, religiosa y
otra cualquiera. Una educación de calidad debe contribuir al éxito
personal y colectivo de quienes aprenden a adaptarse al contexto
socio-cultural, lo que permite a los individuos actuar con mayor
seguridad y eficacia en un mundo de cambios acelerados y profundos.”
(Chaves, 2009)
Chaves states that
Costa Rican education should get to all social groups,
especially the indigenous population, that must develop individual capabilities for
developing an integral human being, with all the necessary tools provided for
modern societies:
“La educación costarricense debe integrar todas las instancias
sociales a fin de organizar y brindar el rendimiento óptimo en la
formación integral de los individuos y en el caso particular debe tomar
como imprescindible la incorporación de la cultura indígena como
elemento curricular importante. Como resultado de esta integración la
sociedad se forma un ideal del hombre, tanto desde el punto de vista
intelectual, físico y moral; así como resultado de una sociedad de
tradición milenaria, que este ideal es, hasta cierto punto el mismo para
todos los ciudadanos.” (Chaves, 2009)
Now, in a world where competencies and abilities are part of an individual’s
success, to learn more than one language is totally necessary. There are still
groups that speak their native language, and this has put them aside from
progress. Therefore, it is necessary for a person to handle two or more languages.
In Costa Rica, for these native people to learn Spanish has become a need to be
part of a demanding society, but the interconnection with other societies makes it
necessary to speak English as well.
According to the Ministry of Education, it is mandatory for all students to take
English in high school, and in many elementary schools. Therefore, all Costa Rican
citizens have the right to learn about the world that surrounds them and to possess
the basic tools to confront the requirements of society. Nearby 1995, the

19.
4
government of Costa Rica declared the necessity of breaking social barriers by
teaching English to children since first grade, so that they would have the same
opportunities that students in private schools had. The idea has been to enlarge
the capacity of the population to confront a world where English is a basic tool.
Since then, many schools include in their curriculum English as a mandatory
subject, in which children are taught the basic skills of listening, speaking, writing
and reading. Teachers have been trained to include in their classes methodologies
that improve communication. The intention has been to expand these programs all
over Costa Rica. Consequently, the indigenous population has also the right to be
included in this program. But how can teachers approach a population that barely
speaks Spanish or confront a situation in which there is no electricity or any
technological means. There are methods in which the teacher can use only the
materials provided by nature, or in which the class becomes active due to the
integral situations of life that the students may learn. Hence, it is the researcher’s
intention to provide a set of techniques and activities for learning English as a
foreign language to be used everywhere in the country, especially, where there is
no electricity to use modern technological methods.
The teaching provided to American indigenous people in the United States, has
been criticized by both, ―Indians and not Indians,‖ said Jon Reyhner. He stated that
―The problem with the all-English immersion teaching methods used in Indian
schools were not the methods per se, but the fact that they were used to replace
the children's Native languages rather than to give children an additional
language.‖ That is to say, the methods and the topics to be developed for teaching
native people must expand what the students already know. He suggests, for
instance, ESL teaching using realia to help comprehensible input, using students
experiences encouraging language practice through talking and writing in wellknown situations. Now, the same situation may as well be practiced in Costa Rica.
The intention is not to replace the native population’s language, or to make them
act or think differently, but to expand their horizon and possibilities, in such a way
that they can defend themselves in a competitive world where English is a
requirement.

20.
5
1.2 JUSTIFICATION
In Costa Rica, thousands of students go to the university to learn English, many of
them have decided to become English teachers. They learn the methodologies and
approaches necessary to motivate students to learn English. They themselves are
interested in learning and acquiring this language, as well. They know that they
need it to survive in a competitive world. In fact, a person who speaks English will
have the opportunity to find a better job, to travel abroad or to enlarge his/her
education by taking courses in another country. English teachers learn how to use
realia, how to induce their students to obtain data from a text, or how to write long
academic essays that can be used later on in broader academic environments or in
special companies. However, few teachers worry about the methodologies that can
be used for special groups that do not have the opportunity to be integrated in the
same society in which they are teaching.
Few English professors worry about the methodologies used to teach people who
live in very isolated places. Most of these teachers think that all Costa Ricans
speak Spanish, that most Costa Ricans live in the Central Valley, or that all Costa
Ricans live in well organized towns with electricity and water services. But there is
another Costa Rica, one that very few imagine, as well. It is a Costa Rica in which
people live in small villages, or completely isolated. A Costa Rica in which there
are no basic services like water or electricity supply. This is a Costa Rica in which
its citizens do not speak Spanish, or even do not know that San José, the capital
exists. Nevertheless, it is a Costa Rica whose citizens deserve the same treatment
and consideration as those who live in the Central Valley, and who also need an
education, in the best possible way, so that they will obtain a new perspective of
life and culture without changing their own.
It has not been a government priority to spend the budget in developing indigenous
programs that will help them improve their status and participation as active
citizens. In Costa Rica, indigenous people need our support in helping them
develop their abilities to actively participate in the social, economical and cultural
spheres. The best way to accomplish this, would be through education. And since

21.
6
they live in far away places with difficult access, where no modern conveniences
reach them, people in charge of teaching them, must provide everything that is
needed for such a teaching-learning experience.
According to González and Hammond, ―second
language teaching must be
integrated with the social, cultural, and political context of language use‖.
Thus, indigenous people should be immersed in an integral type of education that
considers not only the content to be taught, but also their culture, their interests or
objectives for learning, and their environment.
1.3 PROBLEM STATEMENT
The indigenous people setting represents a challenge for anybody who can be
interested in helping them bettering and opening their opportunities for improving
their ways of living.
In Costa Rica, as well as in other Latin American countries, geographical barriers
allow the establishment of different native cultures. And the Ministry of Education
has not launched any particular syllabus to cover our indigenous people needs and
interests. Therefore, we should provide education trying not to substitute but to
compliment their culture.
As González and Hammond stated, ―schools and teacher education programs
often focus on pushing students to work rapidly and realistically to acquire fluent
English without attention to continued first language development. This approach
minimizes the connections between first and second language development and
reduces the potential for advancement in both languages‖. Therefore, it raises the
question: Why is it necessary to propose the Communicative Approach with the
Costa Rican indigenous people ?

22.
7
1.4 GENERAL OBJECTIVE
To propose an implementation in the use of the Communicative Approach to Costa
Rican indigenous students.
Then, it would be pertinent to consider several important questions to be
answered: What should be taught ?, What should a teacher do to help them learn
with a purpose for themselves? Finally, How can they be taught ?
1.5 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
1. To establish the necessary changes in the application of the Communicative
Approach to aborigins.
2. To propose English learning activities to be used with different ethnic
groups.
3. To identify indigenous students language difficulties in learning English to
overcome them.
1.6 LIMITATIONS
1.6.1 Geographical Location: due to the fact that most indigenous students live
in the mountains, far away from the cities, it is very difficult to get to them in
their communities.
1.6.2 Time: during vacation time it is impossible to work with students in the
high schools.
1.6.3 Lack of material sources: there are no records of indigenous students in
schools and most of them do not have telephone.
1.6.4 Students culture and behavior: indigenous people are mostly shy, so it is
sometimes hard to get access or communicate to them. Girls seem to be less
open with strangers, so it is sometimes more difficult to interview them.

23.
8
1.7 DELIMITATIONS
Most of the observations and the questionnaire were applied to Cabecar
students from La Suiza Technical High School, and other Cabecar students from
other communities and schools, including Chirripo, Grano de Oro, Tayutic, and
Roca Quemada. For the telephone interviews, seven adults participated from
the following indigenous groups: Chorotega, Maleku, Huetar, Guaymi, Bribri,
and Boruca.

25.
10
2.1 INTRODUCTION
In this chapter there is a set of topics that are necessary to take into account
because they are basic for this research. It refers to the different indigenous Costa
Ricans, and the languages some of them keep as their first language. It also deals
with outstanding theories and methods related to the teaching/learning process,
especially the Communicative Language Teaching. In addition, it refers to some
considerations in regard to the way a person acquires another language, and what
the Costa Rican Ministry of Education proposes as its goals and procedures in
terms of methodology and evaluation. It has to do with this year UNICEF’S report
about education enrollment of children in Latin America.
2.2 INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES
Different linguistic studies, have demonstrated that all languages are born, evolve
and die. The linguist., Enrique Margery, concluded that in a hundred years 530
Indigenous languages will die in America due to the importance and influence of
different European languages spoken in Latin America.
“El prestigio que alcanzan las lenguas oficiales en las comunidades
indígenas, con el consecuente bilingüismo que tal situación impone, implica,
en la mayor parte de los casos un elemento que presiona negativamente el
aprendizaje de las lenguas indígenas en el núcleo familiar. Esta interrupción
del aprendizaje, unido por lo común a la valoración negativa de ellas,
significa el inicio del proceso de muerte de tales lenguas.” (Abad 2005)
This means that our indigenous population is facing cultural problems in which the
official language of the country is replacing in certain ways their native tongue; that
is why it will be fundamental to incorporate their native culture and language as a
mandatory objective when teaching English or any other foreign language to them.

26.
11
According to the linguist Victor Ml. Arroyo (1972,) from several aboriginal groups
that used to inhabit the Costa Rican territory in previous centuries, during 1972,
there were only 5 ethnic groups: Guatusos to the north of the country, Bribris,
Cabecares, Terrabas, and Bruncas in mountains and valleys.
Today, the languages represented by the remaining groups have basic roots
common to all of them, which suggests a common origin, too. Thus, as shown in
this example given by Arroyo, we can find cognates in all of them; for instance, to
say the word ―water‖, they use the following terms:
CHART 1: Cognates
BRIBRI
CABECAR
TERRABA
BRUNCA
GUATUSO
Di
digle
di
di
Ti
Source: Arroyo. Lenguas Indígenas Costarricenses.1972, p.14.
As he says, there aren’t monolingual speakers in Brunca or Guatuso, and the other
groups are bilingual; moreover, some of them prefer to use their second
language—Spanish for everyday situations.
Therefore, it is necessary to get a data ―corpus‖ of basic vocabulary to be taught,
the same that is taken into consideration for glotocronological purposes, to have a
better and easier understanding of their language in relation to English.
For Costa Rica, Ethnologue (2009,) reported that there are 26,782 native
indigenous speakers scattered in different regions throughout
shown in the following chart and map.
the country, as

28.
13
MAP 1: Costa Rican Indian Languages
Source: Ethnologue. 2009
2.3 ETHNIC GROUPS
In short, there are eight different indigenous groups widespread throughout the
country: Cabecar, Bribri, Guaymi, Terraba, Boruca, Guatuso / Maleku, Chorotega,
and Huetar.
2.2.1 CABECAR
According to Ethnologue (2009), Cabecar population is of 9,308, and 80% of them
speak Cabecar language as their only language.
In the posted UNESCO article (2011), Cabecar people are settled in many different
places and occupy most of their territory:

30.
15
knowledge transmission between generations, also by the building of traditional
houses and by different production activities related to agriculture and crafts. They
make bags and hammocks with natural fibers and decorated with natural colors or
tints.
With respect to their religion, some follow the Catholicism and some the
Shamanism. Cabecars are related to the Bribris, too.
2.2.2 BRIBRI
Bribri represents one of the largest Costa Rican indigenous groups that speak
Bribri. According to the article posted by Wikipedia, today, there are about 10,000
people scattered in the reserves of Salitre and Cabagra, in Buenos Aires Canton
(Puntarenas) and in the Talamanca reserve, in the Talamanca Canton. They
mostly work in agriculture with cocoa, plantain,corn, beans and some tubers. They
raise pigs and chicken, and hunt and fish, too. They make baskets and musical
instruments with different natural elements.
Their religion is said to be ―animist‖, based on a Shaman. They worship ―Sibú‖,
their God. Their society is structured in clans.
Bribri people like independence, so they build wooden houses with roofs made of
leaves, very separate from one another, some of the houses are as far as an hour
from each other.
According to an article posted by UNESCO (2011,) during the last decades their
settlements pattern has changed due to new roads, electricity, health, work and
educational centers. And with an increase in the population growth, the indigenous
population that inhabited the mountains, started to migrate to urban centers, along
roads to better access the communities.
The climate of Talamanca is tropical and rainy, and the annual temperature is
about 26.6 grades C. In
this region there is 90% of Costa Rican flora. In
Talamanca valley there are several rivers that represent the main means of
transport: Lari, Uren, Coén, Yorkín y Telire river.

31.
16
2.2.3 GUAYMI (Ngäbe )
According to Wikipedia article Guaymí is the traditional term for the Ngäbe, and
their language is Ngäbere (Guaymi). There are approximately 200,000-250,000
speakers of Ngäbere (Guaymi) today. A few Guaymi have solar electricity through
an electrification project, as well as cell phone service. Most live at or below the
poverty level. But, many Guaymies reject to live secluded lives away from modern
societies.
According to ―Museos de Costa Rica‖ (2011,) the Guaymi group is numerous. They
migrated from Panama about 50 years ago. There are Guaymi people in Abrojos,
the Corredores Canton, in Conteburica,Golfito, Coto Brus, and Puntarenas. They
keep their customs, traditions and dress, especially women. The typical dresses
are very colorful. They grow cocoa, rice, beans, heart palm, and plantains. They
combine the agriculture with hunting and fishing. They also have pigs and chicken.
They make hand crafts with natural fibers using natural vegetable tints, especially
black. They also make ―petates‖, hats and ―chácaras‖.
2.2.4 MALEKU
According to Wikipedia (2011,) ―The Maleku is an indigenous tribe in Costa Rica
located in the Guatuso Indigenous Reserve near the town of Guatuso (San Rafael
de Guatuso). Around 600 aboriginal people live on the reserve‖
In relation to the posted UNESCO article (2011,) in the Maleku’s territory, there are
swampy plains, tropical forests full of insects, wild animals and diseases; in
addition, geographical factors as the mountain range of Guanacaste and Tilaran to
the south give its difficult conditions and access. Also, the climate is hot, rainy, and
humid. Malekus then, remained isolated, so their cultural patterns were protected
against foreigners. In the 70’s, invations to Maleku’s lands were alarming, so in
1976 the Maleku reserve was created with 2,994 hectares, but a great deal of the
territory is in no indigenous hands that raise cattle there. By that time with
municipal help, roads, bridges, landing strips, schools, aqueducts, and police

32.
17
staions in Margarita and Tonjibe. Malekus invaded
Mariley farm next to the
reserve; 250 hectares of it were distributed among 30 families. But only 20% of the
reserve land is own by the indigenous people. Also that land is distributed unfairly:
50% is in the hands of 15 families, while the other 50% is distributed among 40
families; moreover, there are 35 families without a piece of land. In the farm cattle,
rice, corn, beans and some tubers are produced.
2.2.5 BORUCA
In relation to an article edited by UNESCO (2011 ) Boruca people now are
inhabitants of the Pacific, the Terraba river. Boruca reserve includes the
settlements of Boruca, Maíz, Dobon-cragua, Hato Viejo, San Joaquín, Mano de
Tigre, Kamankawa, Shamba, Kuivin, Bella Vista, Cajón, and Chánguina. But only
39 % of the territory is theirs. The Curre Brunka reserve is constituded by the
settlements of Curré, Rey Curré, Bijagual, Lagarto, Puerto Nuevo, Palmital,
Cañablancal, y Buenos Aires. And only 16% of the territory is theirs.
Boruca settlements have from 300 to 1,000 speakers, but this kind of system
allows them to be crowded and the transmission of diseases, too. There are also
environmental problems due to pollution and bad ecosystems management.
Boruca
territory
can
be
classified
as
tropical
humid
and
very
humid
premountainous forest.
According to Miguel A. Quesada and Carmen Rojas, (1999, p.11) Boruca children,
in Buenos Aires are getting regular Boruca classes in their communities. . Few of
them are monolingual Boruca speakers, the others are bilingual Boruca-Spanish,
or monolingual Spanish.
2.2.6 TERIBE / TERRABA
According to the book by J. Diego Quesada (2001, p. 120), Terrabas and Teribes
were different groups, Teribes came from Bocas del Toro, in Panama, and
Terrabas were located in the province of Puntarenas. Terrabas were more

33.
18
influenced by Spanish culture and modern conveniences than Teribes. For
example, while Teribe people made a natural cream or drink out of ―pifagua‖ in the
morning, Terraba people prefered to drink ―agua dulce‖. Also the Teribe people
were accustomed to row in the river, but Terraba people are more used to take a
bus to go anywhere.
According to the article posted by UNESCO (2011,) Terraba settlements are
located in the Pacific, the Terraba river, in Puntarenas province, Buenos Aires
canton. The main Terraba settlements are San Antonio de Térraba, Volcancito,
Paso Real, Murciélago, Bajos de San Andrés, Camancragua and Tigre. There are
approximately 1,425 people according to the 2000 census, though not all of them
live in the reserve.
Terraba reserve is 9,350 hectares, but not all of the territory belong to the
indigenous people. It is located in a partly deforested tropical humid
premountainous area.
2.2.7 HUETAR
Huetar people do not speak the Huetar language and do not know much about
their ancestors.
According to Marjorie Moreno Salas (2008, pp.27-38,) Quitirrisi Reserve is the
closest community to the Central Valley, in the Mora Canton, bordering Guayabo
and Tabarcia. Most of the inhabitants work in the services area, and many of them
travel to the capital daily. She says that population in 2004 was of 751 people. The
reserve extension is of 2660,03 hectares.
She says that Huetars are a bicultural group because they have elements from
both cultures: the indigenous and the hybrid white. They celebrate Catholic funeral
services, the fifteen year old birthday to girls, they use house structures, electrical
appliances such as television and washing machine, and cleaning products. Most
of them were said to be Catholic or Christian. About their indigenous cultural
practices, they keep crafts with textiles, they make home utensils, traditional foods

34.
19
and drinks, they have kept some words from the Huetar language, legends and
believes. They also preserve the environment.
2.2.8 CHOROTEGA
In relation to the article posted by Museos de Costa Rica (2011,) the Chorotega is
a very small group, in the Matambu Indigenous Reserve, that is located in
Hojancha Canton, in Guanacaste. Some of them also live in San Vicente, Guaytil,
Santa Bárbara, and other places of Guanacaste. They have lost the Chorotega
language, so they only speak Spanish. Some of them keep their physical features.
They keep their ethnic identity and protect their traditions and customs, especially
the handcrafts made of clay. (2011)
According to the article posted by UNESCO (2011,) the Chorotega people produce
and sell decorated pottery. They also grow corn, beans, rice, some tubers, and
raise cattle and chicken. Their territory is located in the driest region of the country.
The following map was taken from the dictionary for Cabecar students, by Enrique
Margery (2005) to exemplify the location of our different ethnic groups.

35.
20
MAP 2: Costa Rican Ethnic Groups Territories
Source: Margery. Abecedario Ilustrado Cabécar. 2005.
2.4 SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
With regard to second language acquisition, we are going to consider different
methods and approaches that would best develop the objectives we have
established for teaching the indigenous community the second / third language, in
such a way that they could learn the basics of the English language, without
compromising or hiding their cultural background and own language. Therefore,
the communicative approach, for example, would fit well to accomplish our goal.

36.
21
2.4.1 THEORIES AND METHODS
According to Jack Richards and Theodore Rodgers, in their book Approaches and
Methods in Language Teaching (2001,) they consider that an approach will lead to
a method if a design is developed for the instructional system. In this way, the
design would be the level of method analysis which should consider what the
objectives of the method are, how language content is selected and organized
within the method (syllabus), what kinds of learning tasks/activities the method
advocates, what role the learners and teachers perform, and what role the teaching
materials has.
They say that different theories of language learning influence or determine the
focus of a method. Methods differ in what they see as the relevant language and
subject matter around which language teaching should be organized, and the
principles considered in sequencing the course content. Thus, some methods
focus on oral skills, some others deal with communication skills, others have to do
with grammar and pronunciation, some are concerned with vocabulary and
grammar, and others may define their objectives in terms of learning behaviors, or
processes in which the learner is expected to get an ability. In addition, all methods
involve the selection of the target language items such as words, sentence
patternoness, tenses, functions and topics. Therefore, ESP courses focus on
subject matter, structurally ones like Situational Language Teaching and
Audiolingual Method are necessarily linguistically focused. The syllabus defines
linguistic content in terms of language elements, such as structures, topics,
notions, and functions; learning tasks, and the goals for learning in terms of
speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills.
The term syllabus, as they say, has been used to refer to the form in which
linguistic content is specified in a course or method. Mostly, it has been more
associated with methods that are product-centered rather than with the ones that
are process-centered. The syllabus for Situational and Audiolingual methods
consist of a list of grammatical items and constructions together with a list of
vocabulary items. The Notional-functional syllabus specify the communicative

37.
22
content in terms of notions, topics, grammar and vocabulary. The term syllabus is
not usually used in process-based methods in which language content is
secondary.
2.3.1.1 SELECTION OF THE TYPES OF LEARNING/TEACHING ACTIVITIES
In relation to the selection of the types of learning/teaching activities, there are also
differences among the different methods. In this way, activities that focus on
grammar would be very different from those that focus on communicative skills, as
well to those that focus on the development of psycholinguistic processes in
language acquisition. Audiolingualism, for example, as Richards and Rodgers
(2001) report, uses dialogues and pattern practices, the Silent Way deals with
problem solving activities with charts and color rods, and the Communicative is
involved with tasks that deal with an information gap and information transfer; the
learners have the same task but each has different information necessary to
complete the task.
With respect to the learners’ roles, they say that the method will reflect responses
to questions concerning the learners’ contribution to the learning process: the types
of activities the learners carry out, the degree of control they have over the content
of learning, the patterns of learner groupings adopted, the degree to which they
influence the learning of the others, and the view of the learner as processor,
performer, initiator, or problem solver.
In the words of Johnson and Paulston, as they were quoted in their book Richards
and Rodgers, p.28, the learners’ roles can be refer as:
1. The learners plan their own learning program and are responsible for
2.
3.
4.
5.
what they do in the classroom.
They monitor and evaluate their own progress.
They belong to a group and learn by interacting with others.
Learners tutor other learners.
Learners learn from teachers, other students, and other teaching sources.
Also, as they mention Curran (p.28), he says that in a counseling-learning view, the
learners have roles that change developmentally. This developmental process is

38.
23
divided into five stages that go from a total dependency on the teacher (stage 1), to
a total independence in stage 5.
About the teacher’s role, there are methods that depend totally on the teacher as a
source of knowledge and direction, but there are others in which the teacher is a
consultant, a guide, and a model for learning. According to Richards and Rodgers
p.28, the teacher’s roles and methods are related to:
1. The types of functions the teachers are expected to fulfilled: director,
counselor, or model.
2. The degree of control the teacher has about how learning takes place.
3. The degree to which the teacher is responsible for determining the
content of what is taught.
4. The interactional patterns that develop between teachers and learners.
It is said that methods typically depend on teachers’ roles and their realizations. In
addition, in the Audiolingual method, the teacher is considered the primary source
of language and language learning. The role relationships of the learner and the
teacher are many and varied.
2.3.1.2 THE ROLE OF THE INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
In regard to the role of the instructional materials, they state that instructional
materials define or imply the learning objectives that make up the goals of the
syllabus. But materials designed for learning processes in which the learning is
initiated and monitored by the teacher must meet different requirements from those
designed for student self-instruction, or for peer tutoring. Some methods require
the use of existing materials and realia, others include teacher-proof materials for
teaching even with a poor command of the target language. But some materials
require specially trained teachers (near-native competence). And others are
intended to replace teachers, so that learning is accomplished independently.
There are also some materials that promote or inhibit classroom interaction.
The role of instructional materials within the communicative methodology are
specified by Richards and Rodgers (P.30):

39.
24
1. Materials will focus on the communicative abilities of interpretation,
expression, and negociation.
2. Materials will focus on understandable, relevant, and interesting
exchanges of information, rather than on the presentation of grammatical
form.
3. Materials will involve different kinds of texts and different media, which
the learners can use to develop their competence through a variety of
different activities and tasks.
On the other hand, they (P.30) compare the instructional materials that are part of
an individualized system of instruction:
1. Materials will alow learners to progress at their own rates of learning.
2. Materials will allow for different styles of learning.
3. Materials will provide opportunities for independent study and use.
Materials will provide opportunities for self-evaluation and progress in
learning.”
For the Counseling-Learning Method, (Richards and Rodgers, p.31,) suggests the
use of teaching machines and programmed materials to free the teacher to
function as a learning counselor. About the procedure, the authors define it as ―the
last level of conceptualization and organization within a method‖. It refers to the
techniques, practices, and behaviors that are involved in the teaching of a
language following a particular method. Also, it refers to how the tasks or activities
are integrated and used as the basis for teaching and learning, in a lesson.
They recognize three dimensions of a method concerning the procedure: the use
of teaching activities, such as drills, dialogues, and information gap activities. The
ways in which particular teaching activities are used in practices, and finally, the
techniques and procedures used in providing feedback to learners.
To refer to the Notional-functional Approach, the same authors mentioned
Finocchiaro and Brumfit (p.32), to exemplify 8 phases of instruction: in the
Notional-functional Approach; first there is a presentation of a brief dialogue or
several very short ones; second, there is an oral practice of the utterances of the
dialogue. Third and fourth refer to questions and answers about the topic and
situation developed in the dialogue, and then, about the student’s personal
experience based on the theme of the dialogue. Fifth, the learners study the basic
communicative expressions or structures related to the function used in the

40.
25
dialogue. Sixth, learners discover the generalizations or rules underlying the
functional expression of structure. Seventh, there is oral recognition or
interpretative procedures. Finally, there are oral production activities that go from
guided to freer communication.
2.4.2 THE COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH
According to Richards and Rodgers, (2001, pp.151-174) the emergence of
communicative methodologies took place in the 1980’s. Since Cooperative
Language Learning is compatible with many of the assumptions of the
Communicative Language Teaching, it has been a popular and uncontroversial
approach in many parts of the world. Tasked-Based Teaching is a recent version of
a communicative methodology; it develops from some of the principles of the
Communicative Language Teaching, especially the ones related to the role of
meaning in language learning.
They say that British and American proponents see this approach to aim at making
communicative competence as the goal of language teaching, and to develop
procedures for the teaching of the oral and written skills. In this way there is an
interdependence between language and communication. They quote Howatt, who
recognizes two kinds of Communicative Language Teaching: a weak version and a
strong one. The weak version is said to be standard practice in the last ten years,
emphasizes on giving learners the opportunity to use their English for
communicative purposes; on the other hand, the strong version, language is
acquired through communication; it stimulates the development of the language
system, itself. The weak version is better describe as ―learning to use English‖ and
the strong version as ―using English to learn it.‖
They state that the Communicative Approach in language teaching has as a goal
the communicative competence. The kinds of exercises and communicative
activities are unlimited. The classroom activities mainly focus on completing tasks
that may involve negotiation of meaning and interaction.

41.
26
Richards and Rodgers also quote Littlewood, who distinguishes between two kinds
of activities: ―functional communication activities and social interaction activities;‖
the first ones refer to tasks like
“learners comparing sets of pictures and noting similarities and differences,
working out a likely sequence of events in a set of pictures; discovering
missing features in a map or picture, one learner communicating behind a
screen to another learner and giving instructions on how to draw a picture or
shape, or how to complete a map, following directions, and solving problems
from shared clues. Social interaction activities include conversation and
discussion sessions, dialogues and role plays, simulations, skits,
improvisations, and debates.”(2001, p.166)
Since the focus of Communicative Language Teaching is on fluency and
comprehensibility and since it requires less teacher- centered classroom
management skills, they say that teachers may feel anxiety because they have
been accustomed, for example, to error correction as one of their instructional
responsibilities.
Richards and Rodgers also mention Finocchiaro and Brumfit (P.170) to offer a
model outline lesson plan, as a Communicative Language Teaching procedure. In
their plan, the first step is the presentation of a dialogue preceded by a motivation
related to the dialogue situation: learners’ experiences, roles, setting, language,
etc. The second step refers to the oral practice of each utterance of the dialogue:
whole class repetition, half class, small groups, and individuals. The third and
fourth steps deal with questions about the dialogue topic or situation and about
students’ experiences in relation to the dialogue. The 5 th step has to do with
structures related to the expressions of the dialogue; several examples of the
utterances are used with familiar vocabulary. For step 6th, the learner is supposed
to discover generalizations of rules about the functional expressions or structure:
―How about + verb + ing?.‖ In relation to the 7th step, for oral recognition there are
somel interpretative activities, depending on the learning level and knowledge. For
the 8th step, there are oral production activities—from guided ones to freer ones.
The 9th step deals with copying the dialogue if it isn’t in the text. For the 10th step,

42.
27
sampling of written homework, if assign. Finally, for the 11 th step, there is oral
evaluation: ―How would you ask your friend to _______?.‖
In short, Richards and Rodgers refer to the Communicative Language Teaching as
an approach that refers to a diverse set of principles that are related to a
communicative view of language and language learning that can be useful to
support a variety of class procedures. This set of principles are: a) learners learn a
language by using it to communicate, b) Authentic meaningful communication is
intended as the goal of the class activities, c) for communication, fluency is an
important dimension, d) the
different
language
skills are integrated in
communication, and e) learning is considered a process of creative construction
that involves trial and error.
The Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) and the Audio-lingual Method
(ALM) can be contrasted in many different aspects. (Douglas Brown, 2001, p.45).
In the CLT meaning is very important, but the ALM deals more with form and
structure. The ALM demands more memorization of dialogues, language items
may not be contextualized, language learning means learning sounds, words and
structures, over learning and native-speaker pronunciation are sought, drilling
constitutes
one
basic
technique,
grammatical
explanations
are
avoided,
communicative activities follow long processes of rigid drills and exercises, the use
of students’ native language is not allowed, and translation in the early levels is
forbidden. On the other hand, in the CLT, dialogues center around communicative
functions, contextualization is basic, language learning means learning to
communicate, so effective communication and comprehensible pronunciation are
sought, drilling may be used peripherally, any device that helps the learner is
accepted, communication is encouraged from the beginning, the native English
language use is accepted where it is possible, and translation may be used if
students benefit from it.
In the ALM speech should be mastered to continue with reading and writing, the
target linguistic system is learned through the teaching of the patterns of the
system, the desired goal is the linguistic competence, the varieties of language are

43.
28
recognized but not emphasized, the sequence of units is determined by principles
of linguistic complexity, errors must be prevented, and accuracy in terms of formal
correctness is its main goal. In contrast, in the CLT reading and writing may be
used since the beginning, the linguistic system is learned through the process of
communication, the desired goal is communicative competence, linguistic variation
is central in materials and methods, sequencing is determined by content function
and meaning that keeps interest, language is often created by the student through
trial and error, and fluency or acceptable language is the main goal; accuracy is
judged in context.
In the ALM, teachers control learners and prevent them from doing wrong about
theory, the teacher specifies the language that the students must use, the students
interact with language system by means of machines or controlled materials, and
intrinsic motivation will develop from an interest in the structure of the language.
But in the CLT teachers help the students in any way that motivates them to work
with the language, teachers not necessarily know what language the students will
use, and the students are expected to interact with other people, face to face,
through pair or group work, or in their writing; intrinsic motivation develops from
students interest in what is communicated by the language.
According to Ann Galloway (1993), the origins of the communicative approach are
many, and may be said to be the product of educators and linguists who had grown
dissatisfied with the audiolingual and grammar-translation methods of foreign
language instruction. They felt that students were not learning enough realistic,
whole language. They did not know how to communicate using appropriate social
language, gestures, or expressions; in brief, they were at a loss to communicate in
the culture of the language studied. Interest on communicative-style teaching
developed in the 1970s; authentic language use and classroom exchanges where
students engaged in real communication with one another became very popular.
The communicative approach has been adapted to the elementary, middle,
secondary, and post-secondary levels, and the underlying philosophy has spawned

44.
29
different teaching methods known under a variety of names, including notionalfunctional,
teaching
for
proficiency,
proficiency-based
instruction,
and
communicative language teaching.
Communicative language teaching makes use of real-life situations that
need
communication. The teacher sets up a situation that students are likely to
encounter in real life. Unlike the audiolingual method of language teaching, which
relies on repetition and drills, the communicative approach can leave students in
suspense as to the outcome of a class exercise, which will vary according to their
reactions and responses. The real-life simulations change from day to day.
Students' motivation to learning comes from their desire to communicate in
meaningful ways about meaningful topics.
She mentions some examples of communicative exercises, in a communicative
classroom for beginners, the teacher, for instance, might begin by passing out
cards, each with a different name printed on it. The teacher then proceeds to
model an exchange of introductions in the target language. Using a combination of
the target language and gestures, the teacher conveys the task at hand, and gets
the students to introduce themselves and ask their classmates for information.
Later during the class, as a reinforcement listening exercise, the students might
hear a recorded exchange between two freshmen meeting each other for the first
time at the gymnasium doors. Then the teacher might explain the differences
among greetings in various social situations. Finally, the teacher will explain some
of the grammar points and structures used.
Another exercise she reports from a workshop on communicative foreign language
teaching, given for Delaware language teachers by Karen Willetts and Lynn
Thompson from the Center for Applied Linguistics. This exercise, specially for
advanced students is called "Eavesdropping". In this, some instructions are given
to the students: ―Listen to a conversation somewhere in a public place and be
prepared to answer, in the target language, some general questions about what
was said.

45.
30
1. Who was talking?
2. About how old were they?
3. Where were they when you eavesdropped?
4. What were they talking about?
5. What did they say?
6. Did they become aware that you were listening to them? “
(Galloway, 1993)
This exercise puts students in a real-world listening situation where they must
report information overheard. Most likely they have an opinion of the topic, and a
class discussion could follow, in the target language, about their experiences and
viewpoints. She says that communicative exercises such as those motivate the
students by treating topics of their choice, at an appropriately challenging level.
The roles of the teacher and student change in communicative language teaching,
as she says, the teachers in the communicative classrooms will find themselves
talking less and listening more, they become active facilitators of their students.
The teacher sets up the exercise, but because the students' performance is the
goal, the teacher must step back and observe, sometimes acting as referee or
monitor. The students do most of the speaking, and frequently the scene of a
classroom during a communicative exercise is active, with students leaving their
seats to complete a task.
According to S. Chaugule (Sep 18, 2009 ), the communicative approach is
relatively new, as most of the teachers and prescribed texts separate the
instruction of listening and speaking. Usually when listening and speaking are
separated, specific skills are identified in each area and a sequence of these skills
is established. No particular attention is given to the situation, or context, in which a
specific skill is to be used, as the focus is on teaching listening and speaking and
not on communication. Listening skills can be developed by conducting the entire
lesson in that language only. Audio-Visual aids may be used and students may
listen to radio lessons to develop the skill. The listening skill may also be
developed by ear-training exercises, by articulation exercises, by mimicry
exercises or by exercises in fluency. The speaking skill may be developed by

46.
31
giving picture lessons, by saying and doing exercises, by arranging oral
composition, by developing the ideas on the topic, by reproducing telling or
completing a story, by dramatization, by arranging talks and discussions, by asking
questions. But special attention is not given to the situation or context, in which a
specific skill, listening or speaking, is to be used. When specific attention is given
on a situation or a context and develop these skills we follow the communicative
approach.
In relation to the article Fundamentos Teóricos de los Enfoques Comunicativos
(2011), Michael Canale and Merril Swain say that there are five principles to
develop a communicative approach in the design of a general program for the
teaching of languages. First, the communicative competence is constituted, at least
by
grammatical
competence,
sociolinguistic
competence
and
strategic
competence. The first objective should be to facilitate the integration of these three
types of knowledge. Second, the communicative approach must develop from the
learner’s communication needs and the response to them. Those needs must be
specified in terms of the three mentioned competences: the levels of grammatical
corrections in oral and written communication; needs referred to the situation, the
topic, and the communicative functions; and finally, compensation strategies
whenever there is a failure with any of the competences. Third, the student of a
second language should have different opportunities for interacting with native
speakers, in real situations. Fourth, during the first learning stages of the second
language there should be an optimal use of the aspects of the communicative
competence that the student had acquired through the appropriation and use of his
or her native tongue and that coincide with the communicative skills necessary to
manage the second language. Fifth, the main objective of a second language
communicative program will be to provide the student with the information, the
practice and the necessary experience to face his/her communication needs in the
language.

47.
32
The article mentions that the communicative approach focuses on language as a
medium of communication. It recognizes that all communication has a social
purpose, the learner who has something to say or find out.
Classroom activities should maximize opportunities for learners to use the target
language in a communicative way for meaningful activities. Emphasis is on
meaning (messages they are creating or tasks they are completing) rather than
form (correctness of language and language structure), as in the first language
acquisition.
The classroom should provide opportunities for rehearsal of real-life situations and
provide opportunities for real communication. Emphasis relies on creative roleplays, simulations, surveys, and projects that produce
improvisation, not just
repetition and drills.
The errors are a natural part of learning the language. Learners trying their best to
use the language creatively and spontaneously are bound to make errors.
Constant correction is unnecessary. Correction should be discreet, noted by
teacher, and the students should be let to talk and express themselves; the form of
language becomes secondary.
The Communicative approach deals with the four skills. Reading and writing skills
need to be developed to promote students' confidence in all skill areas. By using
elements encountered in a variety of ways like reading, summarizing, translating,
discussion, and debates makes language more fluid and students' manipulation of
language more fluent. The grammar can be taught, but less systematically than in
traditional ways. It recognizes that communication depends on grammar.
The Communicative approach seeks to personalize and localize language and
adapt it to the interests of students. Meaningful language is always more easily
retained by learners. It should deal with the uses of idiomatic everyday language,
even slang words. This
kind of language is used in communication between
people, it is not a medium, or grammar exam-orientated formal language.

48.
33
Finally, it mentions that in the communicative approach teachers can employ
authentic resources, such as authentic texts, which serve as partial substitutes for
native speakers production. Newspapers and magazine articles, poems, manuals,
recipes, telephone directories, videos, news bulletins, discussion programmers, all
can be exploited in a variety of ways. It is important not to be restricted to
textbooks; it is only a starting-point which with a little inspiration and imagination,
can be manipulated and can lead to more communicative goals.
2.4.3 AUDIO-LINGUAL METHOD
According to an article posted by Wikipedia (2011,) the audio-lingual method also
called Army Method, or New Key, is a teaching style used with foreign languages.
It is based on the behaviorist theory, in which certain traits of living things, and in
this case humans, could be trained through a system of reinforcement, the correct
use of a trait would receive positive feedback while incorrect use of that trait would
receive negative feedback.
It says that this approach to language learning was similar to an earlier method
called the Direct Method. Like this method, in the audio-lingual method, students
should be taught a language directly, without using the students' native language
to explain new words or grammar in the target language. But, unlike the direct
method, the audio-lingual method didn’t focus on teaching vocabulary but in the
use of grammar. The instructor would present the correct model of a sentence and
the students would have to repeat it. Then, the teacher continues by presenting
new words for the students to sample in the same structure. On the other hand, in
audio-lingualism, there is no explicit grammar instruction and everything is simply
memorized in form. The idea is for the students to practice the particular construct
until they can use it spontaneously. So, the lessons deal with static drills in which
the students have little or no control on their own output, and the teacher is
expecting a particular response without considering that a student is receiving
negative feedback. Thus, drills and pattern practice are typical of the Audiolingual
method. Richards, J.C. et-al. 1986 is quoted for giving these examples:

49.
34
“Repetition :
Where the student repeats an utterance as
soon as he hears it
Inflection :
Where one word in a sentence appears in
another form when repeated; for example, Teacher : I ate
the sandwich. Student : I ate the sandwiches.
Replacement : Where one word is replaced by another; for
example:
Teacher : He bought the car for half-price.Student : He
bought it for half-price.
Restatement : The student re-phrases an utterance; for
instance, Teacher :
Tell me not to shave so often. Student : Don't shave so
often! “ (Wikipedia, 2011)
These other example illustrates how more than one sort of drill can be incorporated
into one practice session :
Teacher: There's a cup on the table ... repeat
Students: There's a cup on the table
Teacher: Spoon
Students: There's a spoon on the table
Teacher: Book
Students: There's a book on the table
Teacher: On the chair
Students: There's a book on the chair.” (Wikipedia, 2011)
So, the lessons in the classroom focus on the correct imitation of the teacher by
the students. Not only are the students expected to produce the correct output, but
attention is also given to correct pronunciation. It says that although correct
grammar is expected in usage, no explicit grammatical instruction is given. In
addition, the target language is the only language to be used in the classroom, but
modern implementations are more lax on this last requirement.
It says that, despite the fact that this method was discredited as an effective
teaching methodology in 1970, audio-lingualism continues to be used today, in
individual lessons. As it continues to be used, it also continues to gain criticism.
Jeremy Harmer is quoted to affirm that because these kinds of lessons are very
teacher centered, Audio-lingual methodology seems to banish all forms of
language processing that help students sort out new language information in their
own minds. This methodology is popular for both teachers and students, because
the input and output are restricted and both parties know what to expect.

50.
35
The article mentions some hints for using Audio-lingual drills in second language
teaching:
1. The teacher must be careful to insure that all of the utterances which
students will make are actually within the practiced pattern. For example, the
use of the AUX verb “ have “ should not suddenly switch to have it as a main
verb.
2. Drills should be conducted as rapidly as possibly so as to insure automaticity
and to establish a system.
3. Ignore all but gross errors of pronunciation when drilling for grammar
practice.
4. Use of shortcuts to keep the pace o drills at a maximum. Use hand motions,
signal cards, notes, etc. to cue response. You are a choir director.
5. Use normal English stress, intonation, and juncture patterns conscientiously
6. Drill material should always be meaningful. If the content words are not
known, teach their meanings.
7. Intersperse short periods of drill (about 10 minutes) with very brief alternative
activities to avoid fatigue and boredom.
8. Introduce the drill in this way:
a. Focus (by writing on the board, for example)
b. Exemplify (by speaking model sentences)
c. Explain (if a simple grammatical explanation is
needed)
d. Drill
9. Don’t stand in one place; move about the room standing next to as
many different students as possible to spot check their production.
Thus you will
know who to give more practice to during
individual drilling.
10. Use the "backward buildup" technique for long and/or difficult
patterns.
a.
b.
c.
d.
--tomorrow
--in the cafeteria tomorrow
--will be eating in the cafeteria tomorrow
--Those boys will be eating in the cafeteria tomorrow.
11. Arrange to present drills in the order of increasing complexity of
student response. The question is: How much internal organization
or decision making must the student do in order to make a
response in this drill. Thus: imitation first, single-slot substitution
next, then free response last.” (Wikipedia, 2011)

51.
36
2.4.4 TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE
Another approach that can be used with indigenous people is the total physical
response (TPR). According to a Wikipedia article (2011,) it is a set of methods for
learning a second language, developed by James J. Asher, a professor of
psychology at San José State University. As it is mentioned, the method relies on
the assumption that when learning an additional language, it is internalized through
a process of code breaking similar to that of the first language development, and
this process allows for a long period of listening and developing comprehension
prior to production. Students respond to commands that require physical
movement. TPR is mainly intended for ESL/EFL teachers, although the method
can also be used in teaching other languages. This method became popular in the
1970's and attracted some teachers, though it has not received generalized
support from all.
According to this article, the TPR is based on the premise that the human brain has
a biological program for acquiring any natural language, including the sign
language of the deaf. The process is visible when we observe how infants
internalize their first language. It looks similar to the way that children learn their
native language.
It says that communication between parents and their children combines both
verbal and physical aspects, and the child responds physically to the speech of
their parents. The responses of the child are in turn positively reinforced by the
speech of the parents. For many months the child absorbs the language without
being able to speak. It is during this period that the internalization and code
breaking occurs. After this stage the child is able to reproduce the language
spontaneously. With TPR the language teacher tries to develop this process in
class, so that the teacher and students take on roles similar to that of the parents
and child respectively. In this way, the students must respond physically to the
words of the teacher. The activity may be a simple game such as ―Simon Says” or
may be grammatically more complex with more detailed scenarios.

52.
37
According to the founder and its proponents, TPR has several advantages; the
students will enjoy activity, such as, getting up out of their chairs and moving
around. Simple TPR activities do not require much preparation from the teachers.
TPR is also aptitude-free, so that it works well with a mixed ability class, and with
students having various disabilities. It is good for kinæsthetic learners who need to
be active in the class. Class size needs is not a problem, and it is effective either
with children and adults; though it can be most useful for beginners. It can be used
at higher levels where preparation is demanded from the teacher. But it may have
some negative aspects for it does not give students the opportunity to express their
own thoughts in a creative way. In addition, it is easy to overuse TPR, and any
novelty, if carried on too long, will trigger adaptation. It may have a heavy
emphasis on the use of the imperative mood: "sit down" and "stand up". These can
be of limited utility to the learner, and can lead to a learner appearing rude when
attempting to use his new language. Of course, as a TPR class progresses, group
activities and descriptions can be used which can extend the basic concepts of
TPR into full communication situations.
2.4.5 THE NATURAL APPROACH
In relation to an article posted by English Raven’s ELT (2011,) Stephen Krashen
and Tracy Terrell developed the Natural Approach in the early eighties, based on
theories about second language acquisition. This approach has a lot in common
with Asher's Total Physical Response method: the need for a silent phase, the
waiting for spoken production, and the emphasis on the need to make learners as
relaxed as possible during the learning process. They mentioned some underlying
principles: there should be a lot of language acquisition as opposed to language
processing, and there must be a considerable amount of comprehensible input
from the teacher; meaning is considered as the essence of language and
vocabulary, but not grammar is the heart of language.
According to them, in this approach, students listen to the teacher using the target
language communicatively from the beginning. It has some similarities with the

53.
38
earlier Direct Method, except that the students are allowed to use their native
language as part of the language learning process. In addition, in early stages,
students are not corrected during their oral production; the teacher focuses on
meaning rather than form, unless the error is so drastic that may affect
meaning. And about activities, the communicative ones prevail throughout a
language course employing the Natural Approach. This approach focuses on a
wide range of activities including games, role plays, dialogs, group work and
discussions. There are three generic stages mentioned as part of this approach:
first, the Preproduction stage, in which listening skills develop, second, the Early
Production stage, where students struggle with the language and make many
errors that are corrected based on content and not structure, the third stage, the
Extending Production, in which fluency is promoted through a variety of other
challenging activities.
According to Richardson and Rodgers (2001, pp.179-190,) the term ―natural,” used
to refer to the Direct Method,
emphasizes that the principles underlying the
method were believed to conform to the principles of naturalistic language learning
in young children. The Natural Approach defined by Krashen and Terrell, is also
believed to conform to the naturalistic principles found in second language
acquisition. But unlike the Direct Method, it places less emphasis on teacher
monologues, direct repetition, and formal questions and answers; and it less
focuses on accurate production of target language sentences. In the Natural
Approach the emphasis is on exposure, or input, not on practice; it optimizes
emotional preparedness for learning. There is a long period of attention to what the
language learners hear before they try to produce language; and their willingness
to use written materials as a source of comprehensible input. It is mentioned that
the emphasis on the role of comprehension in the Natural Approach is similar to
other comprehension-based approaches in language teaching.
They say that language is considered as a vehicle for communicating meanings
and messages. They quote Krashen and Terrell (p.180) to state that acquisition
only takes place when people understand messages in the target language. And

54.
39
language learning is viewed, as audiolingualists do: as mastery of structures by
stages. The input hypothesis states that acquirers need to understand input
language that includes a structure that is part of the next stage in order to progress
to the next stage in the acquisition of the target language. Then, language consists
of lexical items, structures, and messages. What is important to recognize is that
messages are considered of primary importance in the Natural Approach, and the
lexicon for perception and production is considered critical in the construction and
interpretation
of
messages.
Lexical
items
in messages are
necessarily
grammatically structured; more complex messages deal with more complex
grammatical structures. But ―grammatical structure does not require explicit
analysis or attention by the language teacher, by the language learner, or in
language teaching materials.‖ (P.180)
The Acquisition / Learning Hypothesis mentioned in this approach (p.181) refers to
two distinctive ways of developing competence in a second or foreign language.
Acquisition is supposed to be the natural way, as in first language development in
children. Acquisition is related to an unconscious process that involves the
naturalistic development of language proficiency through understanding language
and using it for meaningful communication. Learning, on the other hand, refers to a
process in which conscious rules about a language are developed. It results in
explicit knowledge about the forms of a language and the ability to convey this
knowledge. Formal teaching is necessary for learning to take place; error
correction helps with the development of learned rules. Learning, does not lead to
acquisition.
Another hypothesis that is mentioned is the Natural Order Hypothesis (p.182,) in
which the acquisition of grammatical structures progresses in a predictable order.
They affirm that certain grammatical structures or morphemes are acquired before
others in first language acquisition of English, and that there is a similar natural
order found in the second language acquisition. Errors are signs of naturalistic
developmental processes during acquisition, but not during learning, and similar
developmental errors occur in learners no matter what their mother tongue is.

55.
40
The Natural Approach is said to be for beginners (p.184) and is designed to help
them become intermediates. Richards and Rodgers quote Krashen to say that it is
expected that students will be able to function adequately in the target situation,
they will understand the speaker of the target language, and will be able to convey
their requests and ideas. They do not need to know every word in a particular
semantic domain, nor is it necessary that the syntax and vocabulary be flawless;
however, their production must be understood. They should be able to make the
meaning clear but not necessarily be accurate in all details of grammar. (p.184)
As the Natural Approach consists on a general set of principles applicable to
varied situations, in Communicative Language Teaching, the specific objectives
depend upon the learner needs and the skills: reading, writing, listening, or
speaking as well as the level that is taught. They mentioned Krashen and Terrell to
indicate that it is important to communicate to learners what they can expect of a
course and what they should not expect, too. They say that after 100-150 hours of
Natural Approach in Spanish, the learner will be able to communicate with a
monolingual Spanish native speaker without difficulty, read ordinary texts in
Spanish with some use of a dictionary, and know enough Spanish to continue to
improving.
According to Krashen and Terrell, as they are quoted by Rchards and Rodgers,
(2001) the syllabus can be organized from two points of view. In one, they list
typical goals for language courses and suggest which of them are the ones at
which the Natural Approach aims. Richards and Rodgers report a list of such goals
under four areas:
1.
“Basic personal communication
announcements in public places)
skills:
oral
2.
Basic personal communication skills: written (e.g., reading and writing
personal letters)
3.
Academic learning skills: oral (e.g., listening to a lecture)
4.
Academic learning skills: written (e.g., taking notes in class).” (2001, pp.
183-184)
(e.g.,
listening
to

56.
41
From these, they affirm that the Natural Approach is primarily designed to develop
both basic communication skills: oral and written. Also, they mentioned that
communication goals can be expressed in terms of situations, functions and topics
that are likely to be most useful to beginning students. The functions are supposed
to derive naturally from the topics and situations. The second point of view has to
do with the purpose of a language course which can vary according to the needs of
the students and their particular interests.
According to them, the goals of a Natural Approach class are then based on
student needs. The situations in which they will use the target language and the
sorts of topics they will have to communicate information about must be
determined. When setting communication goals, the students are not expected at
the end of a particular course to have acquired a certain group of structures or
forms. What is expected, though, will be students with a particular set of topics in a
given situation. And
the activities of the class are not organized about a
grammatical syllabus.
In relation to learner roles (pp.186-187,) they say that there is a basic assumption
in the Natural Approach that learners should not try to learn a language in the
usual sense. The extent to which they can lose themselves in activities involving
meaningful communication will determine the amount and kind of acquisition they
will experience and the fluency they will demonstrate. The language acquirer is
seen as a processor of comprehensible input. The acquirer is thus challenged by
input that is slightly beyond his or her level of competence and is able to assign
meaning to this input through the active use of context and extra linguistic
information. So, learners' roles change according to their stage of linguistic
development. Learner decisions on when to speak, what to speak about, and what
linguistic expressions to use in speaking are essential to those changing roles.
They say (p.187) that in the ―pre-production stage‖ students participate in the
activities without having to respond in the target language: students can act out
physical commands; identify student colleagues from teacher description, and point

57.
42
to pictures. In the ―early-production stage,‖ students can respond to either-or
questions, use single words and short phrases, fill in charts, and use fixed
conversational patterns like ―How are you? What's your name?.‖ In the ―speechemergent phase,‖ students are involved in role plays and games, provide personal
information and opinions, and participate in group problem solving.
According to them (p.187,) learners have four kinds of responsibilities in this
approach:
1. “Provide information about their specific goals so that acquisition
activities can focus on the topics and situations most relevant to their
needs.
2. Take an active role in ensuring comprehensible input. They should learn
and use conversational management techniques to regulate input.
3. Decide when to start producing speech and when to upgrade it.
4. Where learning exercises (i.e., grammar study) are to be a part of the
program, decide with the teacher the relative amount of time to be
devoted to them and perhaps even complete and correct them
independently.” (2001, p.187)
Learners are then expected to participate in communication activities with other
learners.
About teachers roles, they affirm that in the Natural Approach the teacher has
three central roles: the teacher is the primary source of comprehensible input in
the target language for acquisition, and the teacher as the primary generator of that
input is required to provide multiple nonlinguistic clues to assist students in
interpreting that input. Therefore, the Natural Approach demands a much more
center-stage role for the teacher than do many contemporary communicative
methods. In the second role, the teacher creates a classroom atmosphere that is
interesting, friendly, and in which there is a low affective filter for learning. To
achieve this, some Natural Approach techniques are useful, as not demanding
speech from the students before they are ready for it, not correcting students
errors, and providing interesting subject matters for the students. Finally, in the
third role, the teacher must choose and direct a rich mix of classroom activities,

58.
43
involving varied group sizes, different content, and contexts. The teacher is seen
as responsible for collecting materials and designing their use. These materials
are based not only on teacher perceptions but on elicited student needs and
interests. Thus, as with any other non-orthodox teaching systems, the Natural
Approach teacher has a particular responsibility to communicate to the students
the assumptions, organization, and expectations of the method in a clear way, so
that the students will know what learning and teaching are involved.
In relation to the role of instructional materials, they say (p.188,) that materials are
intended to make the classroom activities as meaningful as possible by supplying
an extra-linguistic context that will help the acquirer to understand and acquire the
language, by relating classroom activities to the real world, and by developing real
communication among the learners. The main materials come from realia, not
from textbooks. The main goal of materials is to promote comprehension and
communication, so pictures and other visual aids are essential, because they
supply the content for communication. They help to get a large amount of
vocabulary in the classroom. Other important materials include schedules,
brochures, advertisements, maps, and books at levels appropriate to the students.
Games are also very useful classroom materials because they focus on what it is
the students are doing and use the language as a tool for reaching the goal rather
than as a goal in itself. But the selection, reproduction, and collection of materials
place a considerable burden on the Natural Approach teacher because they relate
to a syllabus of topics and situations.
About the procedure, Richards and Rodgers report (pp.188-189) that the Natural
Approach adopts techniques and activities from different method sources and they
are supposed to be innovative with respect to the purposes for which they are
recommended and used. There is a wide range of activities from the Situational
Language Teaching, and the Communicative Language Teaching, for example.
They provide some examples to illustrate this procedure, so as to provide
comprehensible input:

59.
44
1. Start with TPR [Total Physical Response] commands. At first the
commands are quite simple: "Stand up. Turn around. Raise your right
hand."
2. Use TPR to teach names of body parts and to introduce numbers and
sequence. "Lay your right hand on your head, put both hands on your
shoulder, first touch your nose, then stand up and turn to the right three
times" and so forth.
3. Introduce classroom terms and props into commands. "Pick up a pencil
and put it under the book, touch a wall, go to the door and knock three
times." Any item which can be brought to the class can be incorporated.
"Pick up the record and place it in the tray. Take the green blanket to
Larry. Pick up the soap and take it to the woman wearing the green
blouse."
4. Use names of physical characteristics and clothing to identify members
of the class by name. The instructor uses context and the items
themselves to make the meanings of the key words clear: hair, long,
short, etc. Then a student is described. "What is your name?" (selecting a
student). "Class. Look at Barbara. She has long brown hair. Her hair is
long and brown. Her hair is not short. It is long." (Using mime, pointing
and context to ensure comprehension). "What's the name of the student
with long brown hair?" (Barbara). Questions such as "What is the name of
the woman with the short blond hair?" or "What is the name of the
student sitting next to the man with short brown hair and glasses?" are
very simple to understand by attending to key words, gestures and
context. And they require the students only to remember and produce the
name of a fellow student. The same can be done with articles of clothing
and colors. "Who is wearing a yellow shirt? Who is wearing a brown
dress?"
5. Use visuals, typically magazine pictures, to introduce new vocabulary and
to continue with activities requiring only student names as responses,
The instructor introduces the pictures to the entire class one at a time
focusing usually on one single item or activity in the picture. He may
introduce one to five new words while talking about the picture. He then
passes the picture to a particular student in the class. The students' task
is to remember the name of the student with a particular picture. For
example, "Tom has the picture of the sailboat. Joan has the picture of the
family watching television" and so forth. The instructor will ask questions
like "Who has the picture with the sailboat? Does Susan or Tom have the
picture of the people on the beach?" Again the students need only
produce a name in response.
6. Combine the use of pictures with TPR. "Jim, find the picture of the little
girl with her dog and give it to the woman with the pink blouse."
7. Combine observations about the pictures with commands and
conditionals. "If there is a woman in your picture, stand up. If there is
something blue in your picture, touch your right shoulder."
8. Using several pictures, ask students to point to the picture being
described. Picture 1. "There are several people in this picture. One

60.
45
appears to be a father, the other a daughter. What are they doingCooking.
They are cooking a hamburger." Picture 2. "There are two men in this
picture. They are young. They are boxing...” (2001, pp.189-190)
2.4.6 THE MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES
According to Richards and Rodgers (2001,p.115), MI or Multiple Intelligences is a
learner-based philosophy that characterizes human intelligence as having multiple
dimensions. MI is based on the work of Gardner, who considers that IQ tests only
measure logic and language, but the brain has other important kinds of
intelligence, that can be trained. In this way, learners are supposed to have
individual learning styles, preferences, or intelligences. Gardner’s view of
intelligences is culture-free. He proposes eight native intelligences:
1. Linguistic: the ability to use language in special and creative ways, which
is something lawyers, writers, editors, and interpreters are strong in
2. Logical/mathematical: the ability to think rationally, often found with
doctors, engineers, programmers, and scientists
3. Spatial: the ability to form mental models of the world, something
architects, decorators, sculptors, and painters are good at
4. Musical: a good ear for music, as is strong in singers and composers
5. Bodily/kinesthetic: having a well-coordinated body, something found in
athletes and craftspersons
6. Interpersonal: the ability to be able to work well with people, which is
strong in salespeople, politicians, and teachers
7. Interpersonal: the ability to understand oneself and apply one’s talent
successfully, which leads to happy and well-adjusted people in all areas
of life
8. Naturalistic: the ability to understand and organize the patterns of nature.
(2001,p.116)
It is said that the idea of these multiple intelligences has attracted many educators,
as well as the public. According to Gardner’s ideas, there is a cluster of mental
abilities that are separate and share the top of the hierarchy that is the intelligence.
But other intelligences have also been proposed, such as ―Mechanical Intelligence,
Emotional Intelligence, and Practical Intelligence.‖ Also, language is linked to life

61.
46
through the senses; a multisensory view of language seems to be important,
because the senses provide the context for the linguistic message.
MI pedagogy is said to emphasize on the language class as a setting for
educational support systems aimed at making the language learner a better
designer of the learning experience. There is no syllabus, but there has been
proposed a basic developmental sequence that represents an alternative for that.
A given example of such a sequence is the following:
Stage 1: Awaken the Intelligence. Through multisensory experiencestouching, smelling, tasting, seeing, and so on- learners can be sensitized to
the many- faceted properties of objects and events in the world that
surrounds them.
Stage 2: Amplify the Intelligence. Students strengthen and improve the
intelligence by volunteering objects and events of their own choosing and
defining with others the properties and contexts of experience of these
objects and events.
Stage 3: Teach with/for the Intelligence. At this stage the intelligence is linked
to the focus of the class, that is, to some aspect of language learning. This is
done via worksheets and small-group projects and discussion.
Stage 4: Transfer of the Intelligence. Students reflect on the learning
experiences of the previous three stages and relate these to issues and
challenges in the out-of-class world.” (Pp.118-119)
It is said that MI has been applied in different kinds of classrooms, for example, in
some classrooms there are eight self-access activity corners, each corner related
to any of the eight intelligences. In other larger classrooms, the teacher chooses
and directs the different activities of the different intelligences, and the students
move through this cycle of activities. The classroom is intended to support the
development of the whole person, and the environment and its activities are
supposed to enable students to become more successful learners in general.
The MI provides teachers with a complex mental model from which to build the
curriculum and improve themselves as educators. So they become curriculum
developers, lesson designers and analysts, activity finders or inventors, and
directors of a variety of multisensory activities developed under the constrains of

62.
47
space, time, and resources within the classroom. Teachers are supposed to better
the second language abilities of their students, as well as, to become the main
contributors of the development of their students’ intelligences. And the learners
are expected to take the MI inventory and develop from that inventory. It says that
the better knowledge the student has of his/her own intelligences and how they
work, it will help him/her to use them and to access the necessary information and
knowledge from the lessons.
There are different learning activities that are suggested for each of the
intelligences, (p.121), for instance:
For the Linguistic Intelligence, lectures, group discussions, listening to cassettes or
talking books, storytelling and memorizing, among others are recommended.
For the Logical/Mathematical Intelligence, it is recommended to have logical
problems and puzzles, scientific demonstrations, creating codes, and calculations.
For the Spatial Intelligence, charts, maps, photographs, optical illusions, movies,
and microscopes are useful.
For the Bodily/kinesthetic Intelligence, it is good to have mime, field trips, creative
movement, role plays, and cooking.
For Musical Intelligence, singing, playing music, Jazz Chants, and student-made
instruments can be used.
Finally, for Interpersonal Intelligences, group brainstorming, peer teaching, board
games, pair work, journal keeping, interest centers, and options for homework are
recommended.
2.4.7 HOW DO WE LEARN / ACQUIRE A LANGUAGE ?
Language learning and language acquisition have attracted many professionals
from different areas or fields, especially linguists. However, there is no one theory
or study that explains and demonstrates exactly how people naturally get another

63.
48
language the best way, so that the teaching/ learning experience would be a 100%
successful. Moreover, it is necessary to consider that in some cases people have
limitations to learn.
2.4.7.1 INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES MAY AFFECT LEARNING
According to Aida Mainieri and Zayra Méndez, in their anthology Detección de
Problemas de Aprendizaje (2002,) they report that there are many children with a
normal intelligence who don’t suffer from any physical deficiency in any of their
visual, auditory or speaking areas, and don’t have any affective or brain problems,
either; however, when they are given an appropriate opportunity to get some
formal education, they are unable to learn, as anybody would expect. Therefore,
they propose the neuropsychological model to deal with and to try to explain their
learning problems. Thus, it is important to be aware of the fact that in acquiring a
language there is a two way process. If a student does not get the expected
learning goals, it is not necessarily the teaching part or method that is failing, it
should be considered the learner disposition or limitation to acquire the best that is
teaching to him or her.
2.4.7.2 A LINGUISTIC UNIVERSAL
In an article posted by the Columbia Encyclopedia (2010,) it is mentioned that we
all have a predisposition in our brains for acquiring any language. It is a linguistic
universal that may apply to the different languages.
“…most explanations involve both the observation that children copy what
they hear and the inference that human beings have a natural aptitude for
understanding grammar. While children usually learn the sounds and
vocabulary of their native language through imitation, grammar is seldom
taught to them explicitly; that they nonetheless rapidly acquire the ability to
speak grammatically supports the theory advanced by Noam Chomsky and
other proponents of transformational grammar. According to this view,
children are able to learn the "superficial" grammar of a particular language
because all intelligible languages are founded on a "deep structure" of
grammatical rules that are universal and that correspond to an innate
capacity of the human brain.” (Columbia Encyclopedia, 2010)