Communicative language teaching

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Communicative language teaching (CLT), or the

communicative approach (CA), is an approach to
language teaching that emphasizes interaction as both the
means and the ultimate goal of study.

Learners in environments using communication to learn

and practice the target language by interactions with one
another and the instructor, the study of "authentic texts"
(those written in the target language for purposes other
than language learning), and the use of the language both
in class and outside of class.

Learners converse about personal experiences with

partners, and instructors teach topics outside of the realm
of traditional grammar to promote language skills in all
types of situations. That method also claims to encourage
learners to incorporate their personal experiences into
their language learning environment and to focus on the
learning experience, in addition to the learning of the
target language.[1]

According to CLT, the goal of language education is the

ability to communicate in the target language.[2] This is in
contrast to previous views in which grammatical
competence was commonly given top priority.[3]

CLT also positions the teacher as a facilitator, rather than

an instructor. Furthermore, the approach is a non-
methodical system that does not use a textbook series to
teach the target language but works on developing sound
oral and verbal skills prior to reading and writing.

Background

Classroom activities

CLT teachers choose classroom activities based on what

they believe is going to be most effective for students
developing communicative abilities in the target language
(TL). Oral activities are popular among CLT teachers, as
opposed to grammar drills or reading and writing
activities, because they include active conversation and
creative, unpredicted responses from students. Activities
vary based on the level of language class they are being
used in. They promote collaboration, fluency, and comfort
in the TL. The six activities listed and explained below are
commonly used in CLT classrooms.[4]

Role-play

Role-play is an oral activity usually done in pairs, whose

main goal is to develop students' communicative abilities
in a certain setting.[4]

Example:

1. The instructor sets the scene: where is the

conversation taking place? (E.g., in a café, in a park,
etc.)

2. The instructor defines the goal of the students'

conversation. (E.g., the speaker is asking for
directions, the speaker is ordering coffee, the
speaker is talking about a movie they recently saw,
etc.)

3. The students converse in pairs for a designated

amount of time.

This activity gives students the chance to improve their

communication skills in the TL in a low-pressure situation.
Most students are more comfortable speaking in pairs
rather than in front of the entire class.[4]

Instructors need to be aware of the differences between a

conversation and an utterance. Students may use the
same utterances repeatedly when doing this activity and
not actually have a creative conversation. If instructors do
not regulate what kinds of conversations students are
having, then the students might not be truly improving
their communication skills.[4]

Interviews

An interview is an oral activity done in pairs, whose main

goal is to develop students' interpersonal skills in the TL.
[15]

Example:

1. The instructor gives each student the same set of

questions to ask a partner.

2. Students take turns asking and answering the

questions in pairs.

This activity, since it is highly structured, allows for the

instructor to more closely monitor students' responses. It
can zone in on one specific aspect of grammar or
vocabulary, while still being a primarily communicative
activity and giving the students communicative benefits.
[15]

This is an activity that should be used primarily in the

lower levels of language classes, because it will be most
beneficial to lower-level speakers. Higher-level speakers
should be having unpredictable conversations in the TL,
where neither the questions nor the answers are scripted
or expected. If this activity were used with higher-level
speakers it wouldn't have many benefits.[15]

Group work

Group work is a collaborative activity whose purpose is to

foster communication in the TL, in a larger group setting.
[15]

Example:

1. Students are assigned a group of no more than six

people.

2. Students are assigned a specific role within the

group. (E.g., member A, member B, etc.)

3. The instructor gives each group the same task to

complete.

4. Each member of the group takes a designated

amount of time to work on the part of the task to
which they are assigned.

5. The members of the group discuss the information

they have found, with each other and put it all
together to complete the task.

Students can feel overwhelmed in language classes, but

this activity can take away from that feeling. Students are
asked to focus on one piece of information only, which
increases their comprehension of that information. Better
comprehension leads to better communication with the
rest of the group, which improves students'
communicative abilities in the TL.[15]

Instructors should be sure to monitor that each student is

contributing equally to the group effort. It takes a good
instructor to design the activity well, so that students will
contribute equally, and benefit equally from the activity.[15]

Information gap

Information gap is a collaborative activity, whose purpose

is for students to effectively obtain information that was
previously unknown to them, in the TL.[16]

Example:

1. The class is paired up. One partner in each pair is

Partner A, and the other is Partner B.

2. All the students that are Partner A are given a sheet

of paper with a time-table on it. The time-table is
filled in half-way, but some of the boxes are empty.

3. All the students that are Partner B are given a sheet

of paper with a time-table on it. The boxes that are
empty on Partner A's time-table are filled in on
Partner B's. There are also empty boxes on Partner
B's time-table, but they are filled in on Partner A's.

4. The partners must work together to ask about and

supply each other with the information they are both
missing, to complete each other's time-tables.

Completing information gap activities improves students'

abilities to communicate about unknown information in the
TL. These abilities are directly applicable to many real-
world conversations, where the goal is to find out some
new piece of information, or simply to exchange
information.[16]

Instructors should not overlook the fact that their students

need to be prepared to communicate effectively for this
activity. They need to know certain vocabulary words,
certain structures of grammar, etc. If the students have
not been well prepared for the task at hand, then they will
not communicate effectively.[16]

Opinion sharing

Opinion sharing is a content-based activity, whose

purpose is to engage students' conversational skills, while
talking about something they care about.[16]

Example:

1. The instructor introduces a topic and asks students

to contemplate their opinions about it. (E.g., dating,
school dress codes, global warming)

2. The students talk in pairs or small groups, debating

their opinions on the topic.

Opinion sharing is a great way to get more introverted

students to open up and share their opinions. If a student
has a strong opinion about a certain topic, then they will
speak up and share.[16]

Respect is key with this activity. If a student does not feel

like their opinion is respected by the instructor or their
peers, then they will not feel comfortable sharing, and they
will not receive the communicative benefits of this activity.
[16]

Scavenger hunt

A scavenger hunt is a mingling activity that promotes open

interaction between students.[15]

Example:

1. The instructor gives students a sheet with

instructions on it. (e.g. Find someone who has a
birthday in the same month as yours.)

2. Students go around the classroom asking and

answering questions about each other.

3. The students wish to find all of the answers they need

to complete the scavenger hunt.

In doing this activity, students have the opportunity to

speak with a number of classmates, while still being in a
low-pressure situation, and talking to only one person at a
time. After learning more about each other, and getting to
share about themselves, students will feel more
comfortable talking and sharing during other
communicative activities.[15]

Since this activity is not as structured as some of the

others, it is important for instructors to add structure. If
certain vocabulary should be used in students'
conversations, or a certain grammar is necessary to
complete the activity, then instructors should incorporate
that into the scavenger hunt.[15]

Criticism

See also

References

1. ^ Nunan, David (1991-01-01). "Communicative Tasks and

the Language Curriculum". TESOL Quarterly. 25 (2): 279–
295. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.466.1153 . doi:10.2307/3587464 .
JSTOR 3587464 .

2. ^ a b c J., Savignon, Sandra (1997-01-01). Communicative

competence : theory and classroom practice : texts and
contexts in second language learning. McGraw-Hill.
ISBN 978-0-07-083736-2.
OCLC 476481905 .[page needed]

3. ^ a b Bax, S. (2003). "The end of CLT: A context approach

to language teaching". ELT Journal. 57 (3): 278–287.
doi:10.1093/elt/57.3.278 .

4. ^ a b c d e f g Mitchell, Rosamond (1988). Communicative

Language Teaching in Practice. Great Britain: Centre for
Information on Language Teaching and Research. pp. 23–
24, 64–68. ISBN 978-0-948003-87-5.

5. ^ Richards, Jack C. Communicative language teaching

today. SEAMEO Regional Language Centre, 2005.

6. ^ 1897 My Pedagogic Creed

7. ^ 1910. How We Think.

8. ^ Prator, Clifford H. "Development of a Manipulation-

Communication Scale. NAFSA Studies and Papers." English
Language Series 10 (1965).

9. ^ 1966. Toward a Theory of Instruction.

10. ^ Littlewood, William. Communicative language teaching:

An introduction. Cambridge University Press, 1981, pp.
541–545

11. ^ a b c d Richards, Jack; Rodgers, Theodore (2014).

Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching (3nd ed.).
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 23–24, 84–
85. ISBN 978-1-107-67596-4.

12. ^ a b Canale, M.; Swain, M. (1980). "Theoretical Bases of

Communicative Approaches to Second Language Teaching
and Testing". Applied Linguistics: 1–47.
doi:10.1093/applin/I.1.1 .

13. ^ Savignon, Sandra J. (1 September 1987).

"Communicative language teaching". Theory into Practice.
26 (4): 235–242. doi:10.1080/00405848709543281 .

14. ^ a b Bachman, Lyle (1990). Fundamental Considerations in

Language Testing. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 84–
92. ISBN 978-0-19-437003-5.

15. ^ a b c d e f g h i Brandl, Klaus (2007). Communicative

Language Teaching in Action: Putting Principles to Work.
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Phil Miller. pp. 284–297. ISBN 978-
0-13-157906-4.

16. ^ a b c d e f Richards, Jack (2006). Communicative

Language Teaching Today. USA: Cambridge University
Press. pp. 14–21. ISBN 978-0-521-92512-9.

17. ^ a b Swan, M. (1985). "A critical look at the Communicative

Approach (1)". ELT Journal. 39: 2–12.
doi:10.1093/elt/39.1.2 .

18. ^ a b c Swan, M. (1985). "A critical look at the

Communicative Approach (2)". ELT Journal. 39 (2): 76–87.
doi:10.1093/elt/39.2.76 .

19. ^ a b Ridge, Elaine (2014). "Communicative language

teaching: Time for review?" . Stellenbosch Papers in
Linguistics Plus. 21. doi:10.5842/21-0-533 .

Further reading

Last edited 2 months ago by MrOllie

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