H. Comprehension-based Approach
Comprehension-Based Approach establishes that listening comprehension is very important and will allow speaking,
reading, and writing to develop spontaneously over time, given the right conditions. It is claimed in this approach that
there are similarities between the process of first and second language acquisition (Postovsky, 1974, Winitz, 1981).
Second language learners, like first language learners, should be exposed to a great deal of authentic language, pass
through a pre-production period and during this period they can respond nonverbally in meaningful ways and learn
grammar sub-consciously.
Asher's Total Physical Response (1977) is the result of his investigation about the Comprehension-Based Approaches,
Developmental and Humanistic Psychology and his own principles of learning theory. In this method, grammatical
structure and vocabulary are emphasized over other language areas. It requires initial attention to meaning rather than
the form of the items (Larsen-Freeman 2000).
It seems with the shift to generative linguistics in the 1960s, vocabulary in the Cognitive, Affective-Humanistic, and
Comprehension-Based Approaches was afforded somewhat more importance, but the focus on rules of grammar was
still served to reinforce the idea that lexis was somewhat secondary (Carter & McCarthy, 1988). Bridal (2003)
concerning the history of language teaching states that vocabulary instruction has been treated in more or less the same
way and it is apparent that direct vocabulary instruction has not been a focus of instruction in L2 classrooms for much
of this century and this area has been neglected. However, after the 1970s, as Communicative Approach emerged,
vocabulary teaching suddenly became a "hot topic" (Takefuta & Takefuta, 1996).