Introduction to Communicative Language Teaching

Zhang Lu

Communicative language learning Communicative competence Features of CLT Features of genuine communication Nature of communicative activities Types of communicative activities

Communicative language teaching An approach to foreign or second language teaching which

emphasizes that the goal of language learning is communicative competence.

The communicative approach had been developed particularly by British applied linguists as a reaction away from grammar-based approaches such as the audio-lingual method. Teaching materials used with a communicative approach often

1.teach the language needed to express and understand different kinds of functions such as requesting, describing, expressing likes and dislikes, etc.

2. are based on a notional syllabus or some other communicatively organized syllabus

3. emphasized the processes of communication such as using language appropriately in different types of situations; using language to perform different kinds of tasks, e.g. to solve puzzles, to get information, etc.; using language for social interaction with other people.

Communicative competence (1)

the ability not only to apply the grammatical rules of a language in order to form grammatically correct sentences but also to know when and where to use these sentences and to whom. Communicative competence includes: (See Pp 17, “A Course in English Language

Teaching”)

Communicative competence (2)1. knowledge of the grammar and vocabulary of the

language 2. knowledge of rules of speaking e.g. knowing how

to begin and end conversations, knowing what topics maybe talked about in different types of speech events, knowing which address forms should be used with different persons one speaks to and in different situations.

3. Knowing how to use and respond to different types of speech acts, such as requests, apologies, thanks, and invitations

4. Knowing how to use language appropriately

Communicative competence (3)

When someone wishes to communicate with others,

they must recognize the social setting, their

relationship to the other person, and the types of

language that can be used for a particular occasion.

They must also be able to interpret written or spoken

sentences within the total context in which they are

used.

Features of Communicative Language Teaching

I. The functional syllabusII. Authenticity a. what is authenticity? b. why is authentic material recommended

in CLT?III. The role of teachersIV. The role of students

Specific feature of CLT: 1. A CLT syllabus generally describes:

the situation in which Ss might typically need to use a foreign language (organizing a travel, going shopping, etc.)

2. the topic they might need to talk about

3. the functions they need language for

4. The vocabulary and grammar structures needed for these objectives;

5. the skills required in typical situations

The new design of the syllabus indicates to our

teachers that English teaching focuses no longer on

the mastery of grammar structures and vocabulary,

but on a more comprehensive training of

communicative competence.

II. Authenticity a. What is authenticity? text: written for native speakers to read or spoken for native speakers to listen to. task: close to the sort of thing one would do in real life. language: language that a native speaker would use to each other. b. why is authentic material recommended in CLT?

Question: when you learn to swim, do you learn it by going to swimming pool, getting into the water and practicing in the pool or by reading books on hoe to swim and practicing in you’re your wash basin or bath tub? Why?

Feedback: No matter where you go, you do not learn to swim by reading books on swimming and practicing at home. You go to a place where your whole body can be immersed in the water and you can feel the floating force of the water. So to learn a skill, the most effective way is to practice it in the authentic situation (swimming pool) with authentic media (enough water to immerse your body)

c. The application of authenticity to classroom

teaching

When Ss are asked to listen to a weather forecast,

two teachers have designed two different tasks.

Decide which of the following task is authentic?

Teacher A’s design:

Ss are required to do a dictation.

Teacher B’s design:

Ss are to form groups to decide whether to go for a picnic or not.

Homework:

Design an authentic task for the text. (see

handout)

III. Role of teachers

1. A Controller2. A Manager3. An Assessor4. A participant5. A prompter6. A resource provider7. An Instructor

The T as controller: he controls not only what the Ss do, but when they speak and what language they use;

The T as assessor: he gives feedback and advice, as well as correction & grading;

The T as participant: he joins one of the group in an organized activity such as debate or role-play;

The T as prompter: he encourages Ss to participate or make suggestions about how to proceed in an activity;

The T as resource: he is the source of language and knowledge;

The T as instructor: he teaches the new language points and training Ss in language skills.

More points worth noticing: In CLT the T is a facilitator of Ss’ learning. His role

is less dominant than in a teacher-centered method.

The role of the T changes following the aims of the class. The T may function more as a controller if he is mainly doing presentation of new language points, whereas he is more of a resource provider or a prompter or a participant once a communicative activity starts.

Many things a T does in class may not belong to a single one role. The T may function as a prompter, a organizer, or a controller at the same time.

Task 2Read the following statements and decide, in each case, whether it’s the correct thing to do in class. If you think it inappropriate, please suggest what should be done instead.

1. When a communicative activity starts, the T is left with nothing to do, since non-T-intervention is important in a genuine communicative activity. He can sit in front of the class and co some private reading until the time is up.

2. In a communicative activity, T participation means T domination, because the Ss tend to listen to their T rather than communicate with him.

3. The more help a T gives in a communicative activity, the more successful the activity can be.

IV. Roles of students

Look at the following pair of statements about

the roles of Ss. Which statement do you agree

with, and why?

1. A student is the passive recipient of the T’s instructions.

2. A student is an interactor and negotiator in class who is capable of giving as well as taking information and knowledge.

Features of genuine communication

Please consider the following example in which a man (A) speaks to a woman (B) at a bus stop:

A. Excuse me.B. Yes?A. Do you have a watch?B. Yes…why?A. I wonder if you could tell

me what the time is?B. Certainly…it’s three o’clock.A. Thank you.B. Don’t mention it.

Why does the man start the conversation?

When he starts to talk, does she have any idea what he is going to say?

Do the speakers have to use the same expressions as in the dialogue? Can they change their sentences to other forms and still express the same meaning?

Feedback (1) The man who starts the conversation may have

many reasons for speaking: he may want to get into conversation with the woman because he thinks she looks attractive, and the question about the time may simply be an excuse to start the conversation. Another possible reason is that he may genuinely want to know the time. No matter in what cases, there is a purpose for him to speak. So necessity is one of the features of communication.

Feedback (2) When the man speaks to the woman, what

he is going to say or ask is sth new to her. She has no way to predict in advance what is going to happen. Communication is full of surprise.

So, unpredictability is the second feature of

communication.

Feedback (3) To achieve the same communicative

purpose, the speaker has a range of linguisti forms to choose from. He will choose the language he thinks most appropriate in the social situation for the purpose. For example, he might have asked, “Excuse me, do you have the time?”

So choice of language is the third feature of

communication.

The Nature of Communicative Activities Ss must have a desire to communicate. If they do not want to be

involved in communication then that communication will probably not be effective.

Ss should have some kind of communicative purpose. In other words, they should be using language in some way to achieve an objective, and this objective should be the most important part of the communication.

Ss’ attention should be on the content of what is being said or written and not the language form that is being used.

Ss will have to deal with a variety of language rather than just one grammatical construction.

While the Ss are engaged in the communicative activities the T should not intervene.

There are no material controls to restrict the Ss’ choice of what to day and how to say it.

The end