Paper-14 Communicative Language Teaching

Hitesh S. Vaghani

Roll no. - 21

SEM - III

Paper no. – 14

Year – 2010-11

Topic: Communicative Language Teaching

 

Submitted to Mr. Devarshi Mehta

Department of English,

Bhavnagar University.

Communicative Language Teaching

          In past few years , English Language Programme has gone under several Medifications on account of the researches that have taken place in the language teaching field especially in English language teaching as a second or foreign language. As term, ‘communicate.’ Means to share ideas or to convey messages verbally. It means the communicative approach emphasizes enchacing the communicative capabilities among learners. In English language teaching., it is understood that with the help of C.L.T teachers try to enhance the communicative capabilities, in largest language. The communicative capabilities are better known as communicative competence includes following competences.

v Grammatical competence,

v  Discource competence

v  Strategic

v  Socio linguistic

         At present we find, pupils are by and large not able to use the language that they learn in either written or learn in either written or oral form. In other words, it is their inability to communicate with each other. It is the communicative approach and communicative language teaching which advocates and attaches paramount importance to the communicative aspect of language in English language teaching.

              Language being a means of expression and communication , is learnt to communicate through its use and therefore any language course ought to provide the learner with the skins that enable him to interact with others. Considering ‘this view point, the communicative language teaching may be designed as a teaching language for communication in simple terms. It means:

Ø   In CLT, the whole focus is on communication proficiency rather than on more mastery of language.

Ø It aims at creating the right kind of environment in the class-room. Which brings about in learners an urge to say something with the words and the urge to communicate.

Ø  It puts emphasiz on communicative competence of the learner rather than on structural competence only.

Ø  It favours group work to the maximum possible extent in order to interact the learner with each other and to raise the maximum learner’s involvement in teaching as well as learning process.

Ø   Its one of the aims is to help the learner to acquire communicative competence. For example, ability to use the linguistic system effectively.

Ø  It is the learner oriented approach and not the teacher oriented.

    Some of the feature of CLT are as under:

§  Focus on language as a medium of communication is the main feature of this approach. Recognizes that all communication has a social purpose learner has something to say or find out.

§   In communication, one uses the language with an intention of conveying message and they are always in form of functions, like seeking information, apologizing, expressing likes and dislikes and notions like apologizing for being late asking where the nearest railway station or bus stop is, so in this approach ‘form’ is not primary, but ‘functions’ are primary.

§   In the classroom situations the languages are taught in a vaccum language, for the sake of languages for passing examinations. The language is hardly taught for true communication. The communicative approach enables learners to communicate.

§   In communicative approach learners learn the second or foreign language as one has acquired the first language. Opportunity for learners to use target language in a communicative way for meaning activities. Emphasis is on meaning rather than form.

§   Use of target language as routine medium for classroom instruction and management enables learners to acquire language naturally.

§  Communicative approach is learner centered because all the teaching activities are planned according to learner needs and interects.

§    The learners are taught to use the language and they are taught the language as native. They need to be able to cope or survice in a variety of everyday situations they may encounter in foreign countries where target language is being used.

§   Classroom should provide opportunities for rehearsal of real-life situations and real communication. Emphasis on tenication. Emphasis on techniques like, creative role-plays, simulations, projects etc, produce spontaneity and improvisation not just mere repetition and drills.

§   There is more emphasis on active modes of learning, including pair-work and group work. In this approach learners are active learners.

§   The learners have to develop skills of language; speaking and listening are skills to be exploited for oral communication.

§   Errors are a natural part of learning language. Learners trying their best to use the language creatively and spontaneously are bound to make errors. Constant correction should be noted by teacher. Let them talk and express themselves-form or language becomes secondary.

§   Grammer is taught, but less systematically. It is taught in traditional ways with innovative approaches, so emphasis on teaching grammer is not preseriptive but descriptively.

§   The use of topical items with which the learners are already familiar in their own language,; motivates learners and arouses their interest and leads to more active participation.

§   The authentic material is used instead of age old texts materials must relate to learners own lives, fresh and real revising texts and materials regularly keeps teacher on toes and learners instead.

§   Language need not be labouriously monotonous and ‘medium’ oriented. language can be aruueture. But also spontaneous and incidental. The language is never static; it is dynamic. This approach leads learners to make use of language naturally and according to accepted form and usage.

§   Use of visual stimulti-OHP/hash cards, etc. important to provoke practical communicative language visual resource can be exploited at whatever level one wishes help to motivate and focus learner’s attention.

§   Communicative language teaching is best considered an approach rather than a method. If refers to a diverse set of principles that reflect a communicative view of language and language learning and that can be used to support a wide variety of classroom procedures.

These principles include:

ü Learners learn a language through using it to communicate.

ü  Authentic and meaningful communication should be the goal or class room activities.

ü Fluency is an important dimension or communication.

ü  Communication involves the integration of different language skills.

ü  Learning is a process of creative construction and involves trial and error.

    Communicative language teaching appeared at a time when language teaching in many parts at the world was ready for a paradigm shift. Situational language reaching and audiolingualism were no longer felt to be appropriate methodologies. CLT appealed to those who sought a more humanistic approach to teaching, one in which the interactive processes of communication received priority. The rapid adoption and worldwide dissemination of the communicative approach also resulted from the fact that it quickly assumed the status of orthodoxy in british language teaching circles, receiving the sanetion and support of leading applied linguists , language specialists, and publishers, as well as institutions such as the british council.

 CLT has passed through a number of different phases as its advocates have sought to apply its principles to different dimensions of the teaching process. In 45 first phase, a primary concern was the need to develop a syllabus that was compatible with the nation of communicative competence. This led to proposals for the organization of syllabuses in terms of notions and functions rather than grammatical structures. In the second phase CLT focused on procedure for identifying learners needs and this resulted in proposals to make needs analysis an essential component of communicate methodology. In 45 third phase, CLT focused on the kinds of classroom activities that could be used as the basis of a communicative methodology, such as group work, task-work, and information gap activities.

        Some focus centrally on the input to the learning process. Thus content-based teaching stresses that the content or subject matter of reaching is of primary importance in teaching. not only should the language input be authentic but modes of learning should be authentic to the study of the subject as well. Lexical and corpus-based approaches to reading start with a corpus of discourse relevant to learners’ interests and needs and the goal of methodology is to engage learners directly with this material.

       Some teaching proposal focus more directly on instructional factors. Cooperative learning for example, which shares many of the characteristics of CLT, promotes learning through communication in pairs of small groups. Cooperative organization and activities are central with this approach. Task-based language teaching advocates the importances of specially designed instructional tasks as the basis of learning.

          Whole language belongs to the humanistic tradition, which argues “learner first, learning second”. Learner engagement is a priority. Neurolinguistic programming emerges from a therapeutic tradition in which individual growth and personal change are the focus, whereas multiple intelligences focuses on learner differences and how these can be accommodated in teaching.

             Outcome is another dimension of the process of communication and is central in competency-based language teaching. Outcomes are the starting point in program planning with this approach.

         Communicative language teaching thus continues in its “classic” from, as is seen in the huge range of course books and other teaching resourses based on the principles of CLT. In addition, it has influenced many other language teaching approaches and methods that subscribe to a similar philosophy of language teaching.