2. wisewords
Tell me and I will____forget___
Teach me and I may ___remember_____
Involve me and I will ____learn
=conficius=
3. Traditional Learning Modern Learning
Teacher-centered
instruction
Student-centered learning
Single-sense stimulation Multisensory stimulation
Single-path progression Multi-path progression
Single media Multimedia
Isolated work Collaborative work
Information delivery Information exchange
Passive learning Active/exploratory/inquiry-
based learning
Factual, knowledge-based
learning
Critical thinking & informed
decision-making
Isolated, artificial context Authentic, real-world context
4. 1. What Is Communicative Language
Teaching?
Communicative language teaching can be understood as a
set of principles about the goals of language teaching, how
learners learn a language, the kinds of classroom activities
that best facilitate learning, and the roles of teachers and
learners in the classroom.
5. ⚫Communicative Language Teaching
(CLT) starts from a theory of language
as communication. The goal of
language teaching is to develop
what Hymes (1972) referred to as
“communicative competence”.
6. Communicative competence is made up of four
competence areas:
⚫Linguistic competence: knowing how to use the grammar, syntax,
and vocabulary of a language.
⚫Sociolinguistic competence: knowing how to use language
appropriately, given the setting, the topic, and the relationships among
interlocutors.
⚫Discourse competence: knowing how to interpret the larger context and
how to construct longer stretches of language so that the parts make up a
coherent whole.
⚫Strategic competence: knowing how repair communication
breakdowns, work around gaps in one’s knowledge of the language, and learn
more about the language and in the context.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcIz2zP0n48&feature=related
7. 2. The Background to CLT
We may conveniently group trends in language
teaching in the last 50 years into three phases:
⚫Phase 1: Traditional Approaches
(up to the late 1960s)
⚫Phase 2: Classic Communicative Language Teaching
(1970s to 1990s)
⚫Phase 3: Current Communicative Language Teaching
(late 1990s to the present)
8. Phase 1: Traditional Approaches
• Grammar could be learned through direct instruction and
through much use of repetitive practice and drilling.
• Language learning meant building up a repertoire of sentences
and grammatical patterns and producing these accurately and
quickly in the appropriate situation.
• Once a basic command of the language was established, the four
skills were introduced, usually in the sequence of speaking,
listening, reading and writing.
• Techniques that were employed included memorization of
dialogs, question–and-answer practice, substitution drills, and
various forms of guided speaking and writing practice.
9. In a typical lesson a three-phase sequence was often employed:
⚫ Presentation: The new grammar structure is presented, often
by means of a conversation or short text. The teacher explains
the new structure and checks students’ comprehension of it.
⚫ Practice: Students practice using the new structure in a
controlled context, through drills or substitution exercises.
⚫ Production: Students practice using the new structure in
different contexts, often using their own content or
information, in order to develop fluency with the new pattern.
10. Phase 2: Classic Communicative Language Teaching
The centrality of grammar was questioned, so
traditional approaches to language teaching fell out of
fashion, and attention shifted to the knowledge and
skills needed to use grammar and other aspects of
language appropriately for different communicative
purposes.
11. Continued …
The notion of communicative competence was
developed within the discipline of sociolinguistics and
appealed to many who convincingly argued that
communicative competence, and not simply
grammatical competence, should be the goal of language
teaching.
12. Implications for Methodology
The communicative approach to teaching prompted a
rethinking of classroom teaching methodology:
⮚Make real communication the focus of language learning.
⮚Provide opportunities for learners to try out what they know.
⮚Be tolerant of learners’ errors.
⮚Provide opportunities for learners to develop both accuracy and
fluency.
⮚Link the different skills such as speaking, reading, and listening
together, since they usually occur so in the real world.
⮚Let students induce or discover grammar rules.
13. How Learners Learn a Language
Language learning results from processes such as:
⮚Interaction between the learner and users of the
language
⮚Negotiation of meaning as the learner and his or her
interlocutor arrive at understanding
⮚Learning through attending to the feedback learners
get when they use the language
⮚Paying attention to input and trying to incorporate
new forms into one’s developing communicative
competence
14. The Role of Teachers and Learners
The type of classroom activities
proposed in Communicative
Language Teaching also implied
new roles in the language
classroom for both teachers and
learners.
15. Learners had to …
⮚participate in classroom activities that were based on a
cooperative approach to learning
⮚become comfortable with listening to their peers in group
work or pair work tasks, rather than relying on the teacher
for a model
⮚expected to take on a greater degree of responsibility for
their own learning.
16. Teachers No Longer
⚫have a monopoly on transmitting knowledge;
⚫can assume that learners know nothing about the
subject—they must build on knowledge acquired from
a wide variety of sources;
⚫are confined to the classroom, but function where their
learners are;
17. Teachers No Longer
⚫teach only theoretical knowledge--they also help
learners acquire practical knowledge;
⚫deal with Truth--they teach truths;
⚫teach unchanging knowledge--they deal with
scientific knowledge that is transient.
18. Changing Focus in Education
⚫The need for teachers will not disappear, or even
diminish, but the focus of their work will change.
⚫The status of teachers now depends more upon
competence in meeting the needs of learners as
consumers.
⚫The focus now is upon learning, rather than
education.
⚫Learning has a stronger emphasis on experience,
reflection and personal growth.
19. Changing Focus in Education
⚫Learners as consumers will have a much wider
choice of learning methods than in the past.
⚫Teaching methods will have to be adapted to a
more varied body of learners in order to be effective.
⚫Lectures will have to address individual learning
needs and styles much more closely than in the
past.
⚫Teachers’ roles will include counseling, pastoral,
mentoring and facilitative functions.
20. Teachers had to …
⮚ talk less and listen more
⮚ assume the role of facilitator and monitor
⮚ develop a different view of learners’ errors
⮚ Develop a different view of her/his own role in
facilitating language learning.
(Larsen-Freeman, 1986)
21. Continued …
Instead of making use of activities that demanded accurate
repetition and memorization of sentences and grammatical
patterns, activities that required negotiation of meaning
and meaningful interaction were required.
