respond in other ways. Techniques recommended by Krashen and Terrell are often borrowed from other methods and adapted to meet the requirements of
the Natural Method theory. These include command-based activities from Total Physical Response; direct Method activities in which mime, gesture are used to
elicit question and answer, and situation-based practice of structure and patterns. What characterizes the Natural Method is the use of familiar techniques that focus
on providing comprehensible input and classroom environment that cues comprehension input, and minimize learners’ anxiety. The teaching learning
activity in the Natural Method is teacher-center activity. On the fact that teaching learning consists of interaction of the teacher and learners, the learners has certain
roles although the center is on the teacher.
3.2.1 Learners’ Roles
The learners are challenged by input that is slightly beyond their current level of competence and able to assign meaning through the context used. Since
the students are not forced to produce anything at the early stage, the roles of the students seem to change by stages. According to Richards and Rodgers
1986:137, there are some stages of linguistic development that change along with their roles.
1. pre-production stage In this stage, students participate in the language actively without having
to respond in the target language Krashen and Terrell, 1983:76. For example the students point to pictures, choose some thingspictures, act
out physical command, and so forth.
2. early-production stage In the early-production stage, the students respond to either-or questions,
use single word or short phrases, and use fixed conversational patterns 3. speech-emergence phase
Students involve themselves in role play and games, contribute personal information and opinions, and participate in group problem solving in this
phase. The learners experience silent period before producing the target
language. They listen and understand the language they hear first. They process the language by guessing and generating concepts of the utterances they hear.
They respond to the language such as by physical respond and produce the language after they are familiar with the language. The central role of learners in
the learning activity is that they choose what and when to speak.
3.2.2. Teacher’s Roles
According to Krashen and Terrell as cited by Richards and Rodgers 1986:138, the teacher in the Natural Method has three central roles.
How the class will go depends on the teacher decisions. 1. First, the teacher is the primary source of comprehensible input in the
target language. Class activities and teacher talk are to provide input for acquisition. The Natural Method demands a center-stage role of the
teacher. 2. Second, the Natural Method teacher creates a classroom atmosphere that is
interesting, friendly, fun, and in which there is low affective filter for
