Communicative Language Teaching Present Are

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Communicative Communicative

Language TeachingLanguage Teaching



In this report, you willIn this report, you will

learn…learn…

Communicative Language TeachingDefinition

Background: Historical and Theoretical

Activities in CLT

Learner and Teacher Roles

Role of Instructional Materials



What is CommunicativeWhat is Communicative

Language Teaching (CLT)?Language Teaching (CLT)?

A set of principles about:

› The goals of language teaching› How learners learn a language

› The kinds of activities that best facilitatelearning

› The roles of teachers and learners in theclassroom



The goals of LanguageThe goals of Language

TeachingTeaching

The Teaching of CommunicativeCompetence.



Grammatical CompetenceGrammatical Competenceversusversus

Communicative CompetenceCommunicative Competence

GrammaticalCompetence

Communicativecompetence

The ability to produce sentences in a

language

The knowledge of the building blocksof sentences (e.g. parts of speech,tenses, phrases, clauses, sentencepatterns) and how they are formed

knowing how to use language for a

range of different purposes andfunctions knowing how to vary our use of language according to the setting andthe participants



GrammaticalCompetence

Communicativecompetence

The unit of analysis and practice is

typically the sentence

knowing how to produce andunderstand different types of texts (e.g.narratives, reports, interviews,

conversations)

knowing how to maintaincommunication despite havinglimitations in one’s language knowledge(e.g. through using different kinds of communication strategies)



While grammatical competence is animportant dimension of languagelearning, it is clearly not all that isinvolved in learning a language.

This latter capacity of grammaticalcompetence is understood by the

term communicative competence.



How Learners learn aHow Learners learn a

LanguageLanguage

Interaction between the learner andusers of the language

Collaborative creation of meaning Creating meaningful and purposeful

interaction through language

Negotiation of meaning as the learnerand his or her interlocutor arrive atunderstanding



Learning through attending to thefeedback learners get when they use

the language Paying attention to the language one

hears (the input) and trying to

incorporate new forms into one’sdeveloping communicativecompetence

Trying out and experimenting with

different ways of saying things



The Kind of Classroom The Kind of ClassroomActivities that Best facilitateActivities that Best facilitate

LearningLearning the use of the following:

› pair work activities› role plays

› group work activities

› project work.



The roles of teachers and The roles of teachers and

learners in the classroomlearners in the classroom

Learner Roles: They have to participate in classroom

activities become comfortable with listening to

their peers in group work or pair worktasks, rather than relying on the

teacher for a model. They were expected to take on a

greater degree of responsibility fortheir own learning



Teacher Roles:

They have to assume the role of facilitator and monitor

the teacher had to develop a differentview of learners’ errors and of her/hisown role in facilitating languagelearning.

As a needs analyst

As a counselor As a group process manager



BACKGROUNDBACKGROUND

Historical



Language Teaching can be viewed inLanguage Teaching can be viewed in

three parts:three parts:

I. Traditional approaches (up to the late1960s)

II. Classic communicative languageteaching (1970s to 1990s)

III. Current communicative languageteaching (late 1990s to the present)



Traditional approachesTraditional approaches(up to the late 1960s)(up to the late 1960s)

gave priority to grammaticalcompetence as the basis of languageproficiency.

based on the belief that grammar couldbe learned through direct instructionand through a methodology that

made much use of repetitive practiceand drilling.



Techniques:› memorization of dialogs,

› question and answer practice,› substitution drills

› various forms of guided speaking andwriting practice.

Approach: Deductive

› students are presented with grammar rulesand then given opportunities to practiceusing them, as opposed to an inductiveapproach in which students are givenexamples of sentences containing agrammar rule and asked to work out therule for themselves.



Great attention to accuratepronunciation and accurate mastery

of grammar Methodologies:

› Audiolingualism (in north America)(also known as the Aural-OralMethod)

› the Structural-Situational Approachin the UK (also known as SituationalLanguageTeaching).

› P-P-P (Presentation, Practice,Production) Methodology



Under the influence of CLT theory,grammar-based methodologies such

as the P-P-P have given way tofunctional and skills-based teaching,and accuracy activities such as drilland grammar practice have been

replaced by fluency activities basedon interactive small-group work. Thisled to the emergence of a ‘fluency-first’ pedagogy (Brumfit 1984) in

which students’ grammar needs aredetermined on the basis of performance on fluency tasks ratherthan predetermined by a grammatical

syllabus.



Classic Communicative LanguageClassic Communicative Language

TeachingTeaching

(1970s to 1990s)(1970s to 1990s) attention shifted to the knowledge and

skills needed to use grammar andother aspects of languageappropriately for differentcommunicative purposes:

› making requests,

› giving advice,› making suggestions,

› describing wishes and needs and so on.



What was needed in order to use languagecommunicatively was communicative

competence.

The notion of communicative competencewas developed within the discipline of

linguistics (or more accurately, the sub-discipline of sociolinguistics)

Advocates of CLT argued thatcommunicative competence, and notsimply grammatical competence, shouldbe the goal of language teaching.



CLT created a great deal of

enthusiasm and excitement whenit first appeared as a newapproach to language teaching in

the 1970s and 1980s, and language teachers and teachinginstitutions all around the world

soon began to rethink their teaching, syllabuses and

classroom materials.



Grammar was no longer the startingpoint. New approaches to languageteaching were needed.



Principles of CLTPrinciples of CLT(Berns, 1990)(Berns, 1990)

1. Language teaching is based on a viewof language as communication. That is,language is seen as a social tool thatspeakers use to make meaning;speakers communicate about somethingto someone for some purpose, either

orally or in writing.



2. Diversity is recognized and accepted as

part of language development and usein second language learners and users,as it is with first language users.

3. A learner’s competence is consideredin relative, not in absolute, terms.





6. No single methodology or fixed set of techniques is prescribed.

7. Language use is recognized as servingideational, interpersonal, and textualfunctions and is related to the

development of learners’ competence ineach.

8. It is essential that learners be engagedin doing things with language—that is,that they use language for a variety of purposes in all phases of learning.



BackgroundBackground

Theoretical



Theory of LanguageTheory of Language

The Communicative Approach in

language teaching starts from atheory of language ascommunication







Dell HymesDell Hymes

His theory of communicativecompetence was a definition of what

a speaker needs to know in order tobe communicatively competent in aspeech community.

Held the view that linguistic theoryneeded to be seen as part of a moregeneral theory incorporatingcommunication and culture.



Michael HallidayMichael Halliday

Theory: the functional account of languageuse

“Linguistic is concerned with the descriptionof speech acts or texts, since only though

the study of language in use are all thefunctions of language , and therefore allcomponents of meaning brought intofocus.”

He has elaborated a powerful theory of the

functions of language, which complementsHymes’s view of communicativecompetence for many writers on CLT.

Seven basic functions: instrumental,regulatory, interactional, personal,

heuristic, imaginative, representational.



Canale and SwainCanale and Swain

Introduced four dimensions of communicativecompetence: grammatical competence(grammatical and lexical capacity), sociolinguisticcompetence (understanding of social context andthe communicative purpose for interaction),

discourse competence (how meaning isrepresented in relationship to the entirediscourse or text) and strategic competence(coping strategies that communicators employ torepair, redirect, etc. communication)

Their extension of the Hymesian model of

communicative competence was inturnelaborated in some complexity by Bachman,whose model, in turn, was extended by Celce-Murcia, Dornyei, and Thurrell.

Ch t i ti f thCh t i ti f th



Characteristics of theCharacteristics of theCommunicative View of Communicative View of

LanguageLanguage Language is a system of the expression of

meaning The primary function of language is to

allow interaction and communication The structure of language reflects its

functional and communicative uses The primary units of language are not

merely its grammatical and structuralfeatures, but categories of functionaland communicative meaning asexemplified in discourse.



ActivitiesActivities

Fl AFl A



Fluency vs AccuracyFluency vs AccuracyFluency Activities Accuracy Activities

reflect natural use of languagefocus on achieving

communicationrequire meaningful use of language

require the use of communicationstrategies

Produce language that may notbe predictable

Seek to link language use tocontext

reflect classroom use of language

Do not require meaningfulCommunication

focus on correct formation of examples of language

Choice of language is controlled

practice language out of context



There should be balance betweenfluency and accuracy activities

Accuracy activities should supportfluency activities



Sample ActivitiesSample Activities

FLUENCY ACTIVITY:

A group of students of mixed language

ability carry out a role play in which theyhave to adopt specified roles andpersonalities provided for them on cuecards. These roles involve the drivers,witnesses, and the police at a collisionbetween two cars. The language is entirelyimprovised by the students, though theyare heavily constrained by the specifiedsituation and characters.



ACCURACY ACTIVITY

Students in groups of three or four

complete an exercise on a grammaticalitem, such as choosingbetween the past

tense and the present perfect, an itemwhich the teacher has previouslypresented and practiced as a whole classactivity. Together students decide which

grammatical form is correct and theycomplete the exercise. Groups take turnsreading out their answers.



Information Gap activitiesInformation Gap activities

This refers to the fact that in real

communication people normallycommunicate in order to getinformation they do not possess.



Sample Activity:Sample Activity:

Students practice a role-play in pairs.One student is given the informationshe/he needs to play the part of a clerk

in the railway station information boothand has information on train departures,prices etc. The other needs to obtaininformation on departure times, prices

etc. They role play the interactionwithout looking at each other’s cuecards.



Jig-saw activities Jig-saw activities

based on the information-gap principle the class is divided into groups and

each group has part of the

information needed to complete anactivity.

the class must fit the pieces together tocomplete the whole.

they must use their language resourcesto communicate meaningfully and sotake part in meaningful

communication practice.



Sample activitiesSample activities

The teacher takes a narrative anddivides it into twenty sections (or as manysections as there are students in the class).

Each student gets one section of the story.Students must then move around the class,and by listening to each section readaloud, decide where in the story their

section belongs. Eventually the studentshave to put the entire story together in thecorrect sequence.





information gatheringinformation gatheringactivitiesactivities

student conducted surveys, interviewsand searches in which students wererequired to use their linguisticresources to collect information.



opinion-sharing activitiesopinion-sharing activities

activities where students comparevalues, opinions, beliefs, such as aranking task in which students list sixqualities in order of importance whichthey might consider in choosing a

date or spouse.



information-transfer information-transfer activitiesactivities

these require learners to takeinformation that is presented in oneform, and represent it in a different

form. example: they may read

instructions on how to get from A to B,

and then draw a map showing thesequence, or they may read informationabout a subject and then represent it asa graph.



reasoning gap-activitiesreasoning gap-activities

these involve deriving some newinformation from given informationthrough the process of inference,

practical reasoning etc. example: working out a teacher’s

timetable on the basis of given class

timetables.





Why the emphasis on pairWhy the emphasis on pair

work and group work?work and group work?

Learners will obtain several benefits:

they can learn from hearing thelanguage used by other members of

the group

they will produce a greater amount of

language than they would use inteacher-fronted activities



their motivational level is likely toincrease

they will have the chance to developfluency



Role of InstructionalRole of Instructional

MaterialsMaterials



Promote communicative Languageuse



Practitioners of CLT view materials as away of influencing the quality of classroom interaction and languageuse.



Three kinds of Materials: Three kinds of Materials:(Richards & Rodgers, 2002:168)(Richards & Rodgers, 2002:168)

Text-based materials

Tasked-based materials

Realia



Text-based Materials Text-based Materials

Textbooks designed to direct andsupport CLT

› Texts from Syllabuses

A typical lesson consists of:

› Theme (e.g. relaying information)

› Task analysis for thematic

development (e.g., understanding themessage, asking questions to obtainclarification, taking notes, etc.)

›



A practice situation description (e.g., “a

caller asks to see your manager. He doesnot have an appointment. Gather thenecessary information from him andrelay the massage to your manager.”

A stimulus presentation (e.g., in thepreceding case, the beginning of anoffice conversation scripted and on tape)

Comprehension questions (e.g., “Why isthe caller in the office?”

Paraphrase Exercises



Task-based Materials Task-based Materials

Exercise handbooks

Cue cards

Activity cards Pair-communication practice materials

Some provide drills and practice

materials in interactional formats

liR li h fA P h f



RealiaRealia: A Push for: A Push for

AuthenticityAuthenticity Based from the belief that language

classroom is intended as apreparation for survival in the real

world Use of “authentic,” “from life” materials

in the classroom

› LANGUAGE BASED REALIA: signs,

magazines, advertisements,newspapers

› GRAPHIC & VISUAL SOURCES: maps,pictures, symbols, charts, graphs

Current CommunicativeCurrent Communicative



Current CommunicativeCurrent Communicative

Language TeachingLanguage Teaching

(1990s to the present)(1990s to the present) Since the 1990s the communicative

approach has been widely

implemented. Communicative language teaching has

continued to evolve as ourunderstanding of the processes of second language learning hasdeveloped.

Ten core assumptions of currentTen core assumptions of current



Ten core assumptions of current Ten core assumptions of current

communicative languagecommunicative language

teachingteaching

1. Second language learning is

facilitated when learners areengaged in interaction andmeaningful communication



2. Effective classroom learningtasks and exercises provideopportunities for students to

negotiate meaning, expand theirlanguage resources, notice howlanguage is used, and take part

in meaningful intrapersonalexchange



3. Meaningful communicationresults from studentsprocessing content that isrelevant, purposeful,interesting and engaging



4. Communication is aholistic process that

often calls upon the useof several language skills

or modalities



5. Language learning is facilitatedboth by activities that involveinductive or discovery learning of

underlying rules of language useand organization, as well as bythose involving language analysis

and reflection



6. Language learning is a gradual

process that involves creativeuse of language and trial anderror. Although errors are a

normal product of learning theultimate goal of learning is to beable to use the new language

both accurately and fluently



7. Learners develop their ownroutes to language learning,progress at different rates,

and have different needs andmotivations for languagelearning



8. Successful language learninginvolves the use of effective

learning and communicationstrategies



9. The role of the teacher in the

language classroom is that of afacilitator, who creates aclassroom climate conducive to

language learning and providesopportunities for students to useand practice the language and to

reflect on language use andlanguage learning



10. The classroom is acommunity where learners

learn through collaborationand sharing



Extensions of CLTExtensions of CLT

Process-based methodologies

› Content-Based Instruction (CBI)

› Task-Based Instruction (TBI).

Product-based methodologies

› Text-Based Instruction

› Competency-Based Instruction

Documents

Communicative Language Teaching Present Are