Communicative Language Teaching
The main principles
1. goal of effective communication
2. learning language by
using it to communicate
3. focus on meaning and appropriate usage
4.focus both on fluency and accuracy
5. use of authentic materials to reflect real life situation
horoscopes
radio shows
flyers
travel brochures
advertisements
billboards
movies
greeting cards
6. integration of four skills
speaking
writing
reading
listening
7. to present a topic in context as natural as possible
8. the topics are selected and graded regarding age, needs, level, and students’ interest
9. trial and error is considered part of the learning process
Advantages
pupil-orientated, based on pupils’ needs and interests.
seeks to personalise, localise language and adapt it to interests of pupils
encourage learning through team work, develop social skills, improve self-esteem and team cohesion
seeks to use authentic resorces - that is more interesting and motivating for children.
children acquire grammar rules as a necessity to speak
Disadvantages
it is difficult if the level of proficiency of students is low
it is difficult for the teacher alone to check the language use of every student, especially in a big class
if there is no comprehensive educational plan, the process may be sidetracked and learning object will no be produced
teachers' workload
often there is no specific learning objective
Main Features and Techniques
Dialogues enter around communicative functions
Meaning is paramount
Contextualization is a basic premise
Drilling may occur
Translation may be used where students need or benefit from it
Comprehensible pronunciation is sought
Language learning is learning to communicate
Reading and writing can start from the first day
Communicative competence is the desired goal
Teachers help learners in any way that motivates them to work with the language
Students are expected to interact with other people, either in the flesh, through pair and group work, or in their writings
The Background to CLT
Phase 1: Traditional Approaches (up to the late 1960s)
Traditional approaches to language teaching gave priority to grammatical competence as the basis of language proficiency
Phase 2: Classic Communicative Language Teaching
(1970s to 1990s)
The centrality of grammar
in language teaching and learning was questioned. Attention shifted to the knowledge and skills needed to use grammar
and other aspects of language appropriately for different communicative purposes such as making requests, giving advice, making suggestions, describing
wishes and needs, and so on.
Phase 3: Current Communicative Language Teaching
(late 1990s to the present)
Current communicative language teaching theory and practice draws on a number of different educational paradigms and traditions. There is no single or agreed upon set of practices that characterize current communicative language teaching. Rather, communicative language teaching today refers to a set of generally agreed upon principles that can be applied in different ways, depending on the teaching context, the age of the learners, their level, their learning goals, and so on.
Teacher`s role
a guide/ an informer
a facilitator
an instructor
an advisor
a counsellor
Student`s role
a negotiator
a communicator
a contributor
an independent learner
Activities should be due to age, needs, level, students’ interest
pair discussions
role-playing
puzzle-solving
interviews
group work
information gap
opinion sharing
scavenger hunt
jigsaw
Characteristics of classroom activities
They seek to develop students’ communicative competence through linking grammatical development to the ability to communicate.
They create the need for communication, interaction, and negotiation of meaning through the use of activities such as problem solving, information sharing, and role play.
They provide opportunities for both inductive as well as deductive learning of grammar.
They make use of content that connects to students’ lives and interests.
They allow students to personalize learning by applying what they have learned to their own lives.
Classroom materials typically make use of authentic texts to create interest and to provide valid models of language.