What is Communicative Language Teaching

8/8/2019 What is Communicative Language Teaching

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What is Communicative

Language Teaching??


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Communicative Language: Blends listening,

speaking, reading, and

writing. Is the expression,

interpretation, and

negotiation of

meaning.

Is comprehensible and

meaning-bearing.

Is not first learning somevocabulary, then somegrammar, then finding

something to talk aboutto use the vocabularyand grammar.

Is not communication atthe service of grammarlearning.

Is not rote repetition, theexchange of informationin a grammar lesson, orsimply oral expression.


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Change of roles for teacher

and student Traditionally: Teacher is

authority, expert, controlfigure who transmits

knowledge. Authoritative knowledge

transmitters.

Lecturing is the task.

THE ATLAS COMPLEX:ATLAS supporting the

heavens on theirshoulders. Fullresponsibility.Explanations.

Traditionally:Student is the

passive audience,vessels into whichthe information is

poured.

Receptive role.

Note taking is thetask.


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Audiolingualism Instructor was key figure.

Habit formation through repetition, imitation,reinforcement. Parrot.

Memorizing dialogues, practicing sentencepatterns.

First language seen to interfere with SLA.

Errors were evidence of bad habits.

No attention given to comprehension

No opportunity to use the language in ameaningful, communicative way, exchangingmessages. Output was restricted.


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CLT

Provides students with opportunities to

communicate using language to interpret

and express real-life messages.


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Phases of CLT

Early CLT was restricted;it was communicationwith the authority figure

asking questions; studentsnot parroting but creatingan answer.

Question-answer sessionwith teacher in charge.

Teacher asks question,selects people, even finishthe sentence; offersexplanation, asks morequestions, etc.

Next phase of CLT:students allowed to work in

pairs and pose questions to

one another. Pair work but with the Atlas-

like question and answermodel.

Even though they are

answering, grammar practicetends to be the real intent.

Teacher monitors for focuson form, rather than oncommunication andmeaning.


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Next phase CLT

Although roles had changed, the activities

still emphasized formal correctness, not

communication.

Controlled exercises plus more open ended

conversations.

More natural feel but teacher is still

controlling.


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Second Language Acquisition

(SLA) Involves the creation of an implicit (unconscious)

linguistic system.

Is complex and consists of different processes.

Is dynamic but slow.

Most L2 learners fall short of native-like

competence. Skill acquisition is different from the creation of

an implicit system.


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Comprehensible Input IS: the language that learners hear that is meant to convey a message.

The learner is to attempt to understand what is being said.

language embedded in a communicative interchange no matter how

trivial of important.

the learner attending to the meaning in order to respond to the content

or to perform a task.

the learner receiving lots of input so they can build up an implicit

linguistic system.

embedding clues into the input about the way language works.

a critical factor in language acquisition.

possible when motivation and a low anxiety environment exist.


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Successful Language

Acquisition Cannot happen WITHOUT comprehensible input.

Provides consistent and constant exposure to

comprehensible input.

Learners need opportunities to use the language in

communicative interaction.

Having to use the language pushes the learner todevelop communicative language ability!!!


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TheHOW of Acquisition:

Input processing: how learners make sense outof the languages they hear and how they getlinguistic data.

System change: Accommodation: how learnersincorporate a grammatical form into an implicitsystem of the language they are creating.Restructuring: how the incorporation of a form

can cause a ripple effect and make other thingschange without the learner ever knowing.

Output Processing: how learners acquire theability to make use of implicit knowledge they areacquiring to produce utterances in real time.


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SLA is dynamic: As long as learners continue to get input, the

implicit system they create evolves constantly.

Acquisition is dynamic (it evolves) but it is slow(takes years to build a system that is anywhere

native like).

Particular kinds of errors are made at particular

stages. A structure evolves over time.


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Stages of Development Learners actively organize language in their

heads independently of external influence.

Certain kinds of errors and not others aremade at certain times, and somethingproduces certain patterns of L1 acquisition.

Learners possess internal strategies fororganizing language data and the strategiesdo not obey outside influences.


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Food for thought: Skill acquisition is different from the creation of an

implicit system. It is one thing to develop the implicitsystem. Being able to use it is different.

Skill acquisition happens independently of the creation ofthe linguistic system.

Languages are UNTEACHABLE: we cannot force orcause the creation of the learners implicit system. Not can

we force the acquisition of speech making procedures thatare essential to skill development.

We can only provide opportunities for acquisition tohappen by providing chances to express real information,not merely information in drills.

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What is Communicative Language Teaching