The article under review is Armando BaltraÆs (Apr 1992) On Breaking with Tradition: The Significance of TerrellÆs Natural Approach, in Canadian Modern Language Review, Vol. 48, No. 3, pp. 565-593. There is no biographical information presented for Baltra. The intended audience is educators, administrators, and others involved in the teaching of a foreign language, including parents of students. The general problem area is deciding the most effective methodology for teachers to adopt for second-language acquisition success among students. TerrellÆs natural approach comes into conflict with more traditional methodologies which focus solely on grammar and literature.
Baltra does an excellent job of building on prior research, both research that undermines traditional grammar and literature methodologies and their ineffectiveness and research that demonstrates the efficacy of TerrellÆs Natural Approach. The authorÆs purpose is clearly stated, ôI propose to look at TerrellÆs work in terms of the degree of acceptance or rejection his pedagogic views have had since he first presented them in 1977ö (Baltra 1992, 569). The author then provides an outline of his article, the four main issues of surrounding TerrellÆs approach he has investigated and his plan to compare attitudes toward it in the U.S. and Canada.
The author does not define terminology in his article, but he does use language in a way that keeps the discussion from remaining neutral. At one point, when discussing criticisms of TerrellÆs approach, Baltra (1992) maintains, ôThe literatureàcontemptuously rejects teachersÆ feedback as merely æimpressionisticÆ, æanecdotalÆ, or æinformalÆ evidence with no serious valueö (567). By his choice of words like ôcontemptuouslyö, Baltra is obviously ejecting emotionality into his writing, especially since he considers the feedback of teachers as crucial in determining the efficacy of TerrellÆs Natural Appr...