COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING

(CLT)

Rosalina J. Villaneza, Ph.D.DepED – Central Office

The National Language Policy provides......

> English for, Science, Math and Technology> Filipino for Nat’l. and Culture Identity

Based on Language Use>Needs of the Individual

> Needs of the Philippine Society>Nat’l. Dev’t. Goals

Instructional ObjectivesCompetence in

Scientific Discourse

Communicative Competence Approach> Language use and usage> Dev’t. of Academic Register

ThruContent-based Instructional Method

Dev’t. of Cognitive Academic Lang. Prof. (CALP)

WHY?

WHAT?

HOW?

Fe

ed

ba

ck a

nd

Ass

ess

me

nt

Imp

lem

en

tatio

n

Figure 1: Rationale:English Language Teaching in a Bilingual Context

2

1

3

4

COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE

LISTENING, SPEAKING, READING, WRITING AND VIEWING(Holistic)

COGNITIVE, CONSTRUCTIVE, INTEGRATIVE, INTERACTIVE, AFFECTIVE (2C2IA)

Content-Based Instruction Task-Based

COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE APPROACH FRAMEWORK

LEARNING OUTCOMESStandards

Sociolinguistic Competence

·Function·Pragmatics·Appropriateness·Culture

Discourse Competence·Coherence·Cohesion·Text Types

Linguistic Competence·Syntax (Forms and Structure)·Semantics·Vocabulary

· Phonology

Strategic Competence·Verbal and non-verbal communication·Maxims of cooperation in communication

Competency BasedText-BasedAs

sess

men

t and

Fee

dbac

k

Impl

emen

tatio

n

Figure 2: Communicative Competence Approach and Content-Based Instruction Method

What is Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)?

• CLT is based on the theory of language as communication.

• Is an approach to the teaching of language using a variety of activities that require learners to make use of the target language as a means of learning the language.

• It is an approach that makes communication the center and vehicle of acquiring other skills.

In practical terms, what does that mean?

It means that we need to concentrate on the following:

Teacher – Student activitiesActivitiesMaterials

CLT COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING

GOAL

COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE

FOUR COMPONENTS OF CLT

1. LINGUISTIC/GRAMMATICAL COMPETENCE

2.DISCOURSE COMPETENCE3. SOCIOLINGUISTIC

COMPETENCE4. STRATEGIC COMPETENCE

Grammatical competence refers to sentence-level grammatical forms, the ability to recognize the lexical, morphological, syntactical and phonological features of a language and to make use of those features to interpret and form words and sentences. Grammatical competence is not linked to any single theory of grammar and does not include the ability to state rules of usage. One demonstrates grammatical competence not by stating a rule but byusing a rule in the interpretation, expression, or negotiation of meaning.

Discourse competence is concerned not with isolated words or phrases but with the interconnectedness of a series of utterances

or written words or phrases to form a text, a meaningful whole. The text might be a poem, ane-mail message, a sportscast, a telephone conversation, or a novel. Identification of isolated sounds or words contributes to interpretation of the overall meaning of the text. This is known as bottom-up processing. In contrast, topdownprocessing involves understanding of the theme or purpose of the text, which in turn helps in the interpretation of isolated sounds or words. Both kinds of processing are essential for

communicative competence.

Sociocultural competence requires an understanding of the social context in which language is used: the roles of the participants, the information they share, and the function of the interaction. The socio cultural rules of appropriateness. The socio cultural dimensions of every situation.

Strategic Competence refers to use of different coping mechanisms to sustain the communication.

Principles behind CLT

• Task principle – which speaks of activities where language is for carrying out meaningful task to promote learning.

• Meaningful principle – where language is consider meaningful to the learner supports the learning process.

• Communicative principle – activities that involve real communication to promote learning.

What is the communicative approach?

The communicative approach is the theory that language is communication.

Therefore the final aim of CLT (Communicative Language Teaching) is communicative competence.

So what is the teacher’s role in this?

The teacher has two main roles:• To facilitate the communication process in the classroom• To act as an independent participant within the learning-

teaching group

The teacher is also expected to act as a resource, an organiser of resources, a motivator, a counsellor, a guide, an analyst and a researcher.

There are many other minor roles of a teacher, some of these would include being an actor and an entertainer. After all, a good lesson must be interesting or the students will ‘switch off’ and learn nothing.

Teacher-Student InteractionSince communicative competence is our aim, it is essential that students be given every opportunity to practice communicating. In the communicative classroom teacher talking time (TTT) must be kept to a minimum. This is not to say that the teacher shouldn’t speak at all, but TTT should be controlled and appropriate.

The classroom should be learner centered.

The teacher’s role is to facilitate student communication which is done through careful selection of materials and activities relevant to the aims of the lesson in which they are used.

Communication can be divided into two categories

• Input• OutputThe five communicative

skills can be put into these categories

Viewing

Whichever of these skills is being taught the main focus must be on the student and not on the teacher. The interaction should usually be the student to student and should include the teacher only where necessary. During most classroom activities the teacher will monitor and intervene only where necessary.

A model for part of a communicative lesson

Stage 1Teacher (T) gives a short presentation of a grammar or vocabulary point. T then

gives students (Ss) opportunity to practise the point in a controlled exercise. (Interaction: T›Ss)

Stage 2Ss carry out the controlled exercise while T monitors and intervenes where

appropriate. (Interaction: S‹›S)

Stage 3The Ss are asked to take part in an activity designed to get them to produce the

vocabulary and grammar they have been taught. T monitors and notes errors and interesting points. T intervenes only when asked or when absolutely necessary. (Interaction: S‹›S)

Stage 4Feedback session, in which T feeds back in a non-threatening way the errors s/he

noted during the activity. Ss also have the opportunity to clear up puzzling points. (Interaction: T‹›Ss)

There are many different types of activities. They provide speaking, listening, writing, reading and viewing practice as well as aiding production.

Activities usually involve the students working together either in pairs or in small groups.

Activities are often used to practise real-life situations involving social interaction and so a high level of social and functional language should be expected.

Materials

Materials fall into three broad categories: text-based, task-based realia.

They can be used as the basis for classroom activities. Once again not only must the activity be appropriate to the level of the students but the materials used must be appropriate too.

Text-based materials

For example practice exercises, reading passages, gap fills, recordings, etc. can be found in almost any course book as well as in books containing supplementary materials. They form an essential part of most lessons.

Task-based materials

These include game boards, roleplay cards, materials for drilling, pairwork tasks, etc.

They might be used to support 'real life' tasks such as role playing booking into a hotel, or a job interview.

Realia

This includes such things as magazines, newspapers, fruit and vegetables, axes, maps - things from the real world outside the classroom.

They can be used in many activities.

For example, fruit and vegetables could be used in a shopping activity, an axe could be used to show the effect of using the present perfect continuous on a short action verb.

So what does the communicative approach mean in practical terms?

We should now understand that the teacher's job is to get their students to communicate using real language by providing them with instruction, practice, and above all opportunities to produce English in activities which encourage acquisition and fluency.

In conclusion

CLT should be fun for both teacher and students.

Enabling students to communicate successfully is also very rewarding.