The natural approach is a method of language teaching developed by Stephen Krashen and Tracy Terrell in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
[1] It aims to foster naturalistic language acquisition in the classroom setting by emphasizing communication[2] and limiting conscious grammar study and explicit correction of student errors.
[5] The natural approach was originally created in 1977 by Terrell, a Spanish teacher in California, who wished to develop a style of teaching based on the findings of naturalistic studies of second-language acquisition.
[13] It is presented as a set of principles that can apply to a wide range of learners and teaching situations, and concrete objectives depend on the specific context in which it is used.
[12] Lessons in the natural approach focus on understanding messages in the foreign language, and place little or no importance on error correction, drilling or on conscious learning of grammar rules.
[7] In addition, teachers using the natural approach aim to create situations in the classroom that are intrinsically motivating for students.
His aim is to make the vocabulary stick in students' long term memory, a process which he calls binding.
[10] The natural approach has become closely associated with Krashen's monitor model, and it is often seen as an application of the theory to language teaching.