Tracy D. Terrell facts for kids
Tracy Dale Terrell (June 23, 1943 – December 2, 1991) was an American professor and linguist. A linguist is someone who studies language. He was also an education theorist. He is best known for creating "The Natural Approach" with Stephen Krashen. This approach is a special way of teaching languages. It focuses on letting students hear and understand a lot of the new language. It also says it's important to make learning fun and reduce stress.
Tracy Terrell's Career
Tracy D. Terrell earned his PhD in linguistics from the University of Texas at Austin. A PhD is a very high university degree. He became an important expert in Spanish language and a language scientist.
He taught at the University of California, Irvine from 1970 to 1985. After that, he worked in the linguistics department at the University of California, San Diego. He retired in 1989. He passed away in 1991.
Along with Stephen Krashen, he developed the "Natural Approach." This was a very popular way to teach second languages. Dr. Terrell was also well-known for his work in Hispanic linguistics. He was very good at speaking many languages. He spoke Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Dutch.
Some Books by Tracy Terrell
Tracy Terrell wrote several books, especially textbooks for learning languages.
- The natural approach: Language acquisition in the classroom, Hayward, CA : Alemany Press, 1983. This book explains the Natural Approach in detail.
- Dos Mundos, a textbook for learning Spanish.
- Deux Mondes, a textbook for learning French.
- Kontakte, a textbook for learning German.
- Bravo, another textbook for learning Spanish.
