Comparative essay didactica 1

Running Head: DIFFERENCES BETWEEN NATURAL APPROACH AND TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE (TPR) APPROACH ESSAY








Differences between Natural Approach and Total Physical Response (TPR) Approach Essay

Johana Benavides
Camilo Saavedra
Universidad Católica de la Ssma. Concepción
Facultad de Educación








Abstract

In language teaching there are several approaches and methods that deal with the methodology that the teacher uses to teach the students, with a proper background theory that backs up his/her professional work in a classroom and with the students. There are many ways in which a student can learn a language according to their own ways of learning, their different sort of intelligences, abilities that are more developed on them and with different strategies used by the teacher that must be aware of what he/she is doing because a person does not learn freely, there must be a certain intention in the teacher guidance to teach.
Two different approaches are exposed, discussed and compared in this essay that demonstrate their strengths to teaching and the effectiveness they have in a teaching-learning situation.








TPR and Natural Approach
Total Physical Response and Natural Approach are two different approaches to teaching a language in a determined educational system through pedagogy. There are some main elements in the teaching-learning process: teacher, students, context and content. From the interaction of these four elements result –supposedly- an effective learning in students, that is the main purpose of teaching. However, teaching the language is not an easy task at all, it does not mean to stand at the front and start speaking. On the contrary, there must be present theory in which the teacher is based in his/her pedagogical work and a specific methodology which he/she will use to teach efficiently.
The main idea of TPR is to teach the language through commands, which students will hear, repeat and reproduce a certain action. TPR proposes that students can learn the language as little children learn a L1 language, physically. Though, TPR does not focus on student's communication, it sees students as followers of a certain command and they inductively learn the target language and its structure. In contrast, the Natural Approach focuses on the communicative development of students and act as a way of improving the student's communicative abilities. It promotes that if students are exposed to the language, they will learn it better, faster and naturally. This means that they will not need to be told what they are learning, they will learn it anyways.
About the teacher's role in each approach: TPR sets the teacher as a whole, as the performer of the language, he/she is the one who speaks and uses his/her knowledge to teach the language, assuming that students will acquire the target language inductively. He plays the active role in TPR, he/she decides, he/she guides and he/she carries out the lesson. On the other hand, in Natural Approach, the teacher is the primary source of comprehensive input in the target language. He is the primary generator of that input. Teacher is required to generate a constant flow of language input while providing a multiplicity of non-linguistic clues to assist students in interpreting the input. Also, the teacher creates the atmosphere that is interesting, friendly and in which there is a low affective filter for learning. He/she must choose and orchestrate a rich mix of classroom activities, involving a variety of group sizes, content and contexts. According to Terrel and Krashen material the teacher's work is based on Ss need and interests.
Talking about the learner's role in the classroom and teaching situation according to TPR, they are just listeners and imitators. Moreover, Ss are submitted to relaxation as a result of this method, it helps them have fun when learning and take the language in an entertaining way. But they do not produce any language at all in TPR lessons. Nevertheless, Natural Approach states Learners should not try to learn the language in the usual sense. Learner's role is seen as changing according to their stage of linguistic development. The central point of these changing roles is learner decisions or his/her willing to speak, what to speak about and what linguistic expressions to use in speaking.
The abilities that the two approaches develop the most are the following: On the one hand, TPR approaches to develop mostly listening because students are exposed to spoken language, they just listen and obey –follow the instruction-, and eventually some speaking due to in the end, students begin feeling comfortable and dare to use the language on their own, though it is not a basic requirement of TPR. Therefore, no other skills are developed by this approach, neither reading nor writing due to they are unnecessary for the methodology used by TPR. On the other hand, the Natural Approach uses a lot of listening and speaking in a higher degree in terms of the reception of the target language –thus the acquisition of it- and the production of the language students have acquire and learnt.
If we refer to the systems of the language in both cases both TPR and Natural Approach focus mainly on phonetics and vocabulary. None of them teach grammar intensively. Students are supposed to learn it inductively and use it in the correct way. If they make mistakes, the teacher is not going to correct them; the teacher is just going to push them to produce the language fluently. TPR uses a lot of phonetics because he/she speaks it and is supposed to do it in a correct way completely understandable for students to comprehend. Natural Approach as well, the teacher speaks phonetically correct and uses a wide range of vocabulary that students are going to learn as well as TPR.
To conclude, it is worth mentioning that both of these approaches are very important for teachers and upcoming teachers due to its proficiency for teaching. Both of them present two different ways but not one above the other for an effective and successful teaching process. It is just on every teacher which one he/she prefers and which one he/she is willing to use in the classroom and real context education at schools.









References

Richards, J. C. & Rodgers, T. (2001). Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Total Physical Response, second edition, p. 73-80.

Celce-Mucia, (2001). Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language –The Natural Approach.

"Definition and Pronunciation of Approach " Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary." Free Online Dictionary Definitions for Learners of English " Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Oxford University Press, 2001. Web. 03 May 2011. .








Comparing Approaches

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