[2] This natural approach, developed by Stephen Krashen, a linguist and researcher in the fields of second-language acquisition and bilingual education, and Tracy D. Terrell, an education theorist, is intended to give language learners the ability to "communicate with native speakers of the target language" by having students, who are taught in a classroom setting, first comprehend the language, and then "Speech (and writing) production emerges as the acquisition process progresses.
"[7] This focus on oral language acquisition, paired with critical listening, defined as "the process of analyzing and evaluating the accuracy, legitimacy, and value of messages",[8] is intended to help students first achieve an understanding of the language, and then speak, read, and write it.
[12] GrapeSEED was created from the idea of Paul Broman Sr., an American missionary who wanted to teach Japanese children the English language after World War II.
"[15] In 2012, GrapeSEED was introduced in the United States at Mars Elementary School in Berrien Springs, Michigan.
[16] It is used in the following 16 countries: Albania,[17] Azerbaijan,[18] Brazil,[9] China,[9] India,[19][20] Indonesia,[21] Japan,[22] Malaysia,[23] Mongolia,[24] Myanmar,[9] Nepal,[9] Russia,[25] South Korea,[15][26] Thailand,[27][28] United States,[10] and Vietnam.