Introduction to communicative language teaching

1. EDUC 527-001:
INTRO TO
COMMUNICATIVE
LANGUAGE TEACHING
Meeting 3/15
Monday, September 27, 2021
Instructor: Rachel Chaffin

2. TODAY’S AGENDA
•Housekeeping
•Brief Review of Terms
•Overview: Communicative Language
Teaching
•Activity: Gallery Walk

3. HOUSEKEEPING
Group Discussion Response 1
•Due Friday, Oct 1 by 11:59pm***
•Address any point made in this week’s class
discussion, course reading, or lecture
• Extend a discussion
• Share personal experiences
• Make new connections
•Remember: the goal is to synthesize

4. YOUR LANGUAGE
LEARNER HISTORY: WHAT
DOES IT REVEAL?
Pair Work:
• What did you discuss in your language
learner history?
• What principles or methods were you
exposed to?

5. INTERESTING VIEWS
• Additional language learning started at various times
throughout primary-secondary school
• Emotional responses to your language education were
varied
• Language learning was high-stakes for some
• Many of you sympathized with your teachers,
understanding that they were required to “efficiently”
prepare you for exams and recognized the effect of
negative washback on your teachers’ methods
• Almost everyone mentioned “merits and drawbacks” of
various approaches/methods

6. APPROACH VS. METHOD
APPROACH
“When an instructional design is quite explicit at
the level of theory of language and learning, but
can be applied in many different ways at the level
of objectives, teacher and learner roles and
activities...”
I.e., “[t]eachers adopting an approach have
considerable flexibility in how they apply the
principles to their own contexts.”
Richards, J. C. (n.d.). Difference between an approach and a method?
https://www.professorjackrichards.com/difference-between-an-approach-and-a-method/

7. APPROACH VS. METHOD
METHOD
“When an instructional design includes a specific
level of application in terms of objectives, teacher
and learner roles and classroom activities...”
I.e., there is “little flexibility for teachers in how the
method is used. The teacher’s role is to implement
the method.”
Richards, J. C. (n.d.). Difference between an approach and a method?
https://www.professorjackrichards.com/difference-between-an-approach-and-a-method/

8. WHY DO THE OLD
METHODS MATTER?
“...while teachers may draw on principles and
practices from approaches and methods they have
studied or been trained in, once they enter the
classrooms and develop experience in teaching,
their practice is much more likely to reflect an
interaction between training-based
knowledge, knowledge and beliefs derived
from the practical experience of teaching and
their own teaching philosophy and principles.”
Richards, J. C. (n.d.). Difference between an approach and a method?
https://www.professorjackrichards.com/difference-between-an-approach-and-a-method/

9. WHY DO THE OLD
METHODS MATTER?
With an understanding of TESOL methods
that have waxed and waned in popularity,
you can make connections and decisions
when:
• Seeking employment (does the mission
or vision align with your principles?)
• Developing activities/units/curriculum
• Evaluating trendy methods that are
simply recycled old ones
e.g., Duolingo!

10. GROUP DISCUSSION
Topic:
In your opinion, at what point does
someone “know” a language?

11. COMMUNICATIVE
LANGUAGE
TEACHING: CLT
The theories/principles underlying this
approach will serve as a foundation for your
TESOL training in this program.

12. CLT PRINCIPLES:
Premise: Language is...?
Goal: Learners will...?

13. CLT PRINCIPLES:
Premise: Language is primarily used for
communication.
Goal: Learners will develop communicative
competence (Hymes, 1971), or the ability to enact
and interpret socially appropriate behaviors in a
target language. I.e., the “ability to use language
effectively” (CMBS, p.18).
**CLT is an approach that can utilize different,
principled methods and/or techniques. You will see
more on this all semester long!**

14. A MODEL OF COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE
(CANALE & SWAIN, 1980; HYMES, 1972)
COMMUNICATIVE
LINGUISTIC
SOCIO-
LINGUISTIC
DISCOURSE
STRATEGIC

15. THE 4 COMPETENCIES:
Linguistic (grammatical): understanding
sentence-level features:

16. THE 4 COMPETENCIES:
Linguistic (grammatical): understanding
sentence-level features:
• Lexis (Vocabulary)
• Syntax (Grammar)
• Morphology (Roots, Affixes)
• Semantics (Meaning)
• Phonology (Pronunciation)
In practice: What words should I use? How do I
put them into phrases/sentences?

17. THE 4 COMPETENCIES:
Sociolinguistic: knowing how to appropriately
adjust use of the language in a variety of social
contexts:
• Cultural norms, values, and beliefs that influence
language and relationships

18. THE 4 COMPETENCIES:
Sociolinguistic: knowing how to appropriately adjust
use of the language in a variety of social contexts:
• Cultural norms, values, and beliefs that influence
language and relationships
Example: Speech acts
“We should get coffee sometime!”
vs.
“Wanna grab some coffee?”
In Practice: Which words/phrases fit this setting and
topic? How can I express an attitude when I need to?
How do I recognize this in others? What topics should
I avoid?

19. THE 4 COMPETENCIES:
Strategic: recognizing different ways to
communicate an intended meaning and how to
negotiate/repair when breakdowns in
communication occur:
• Paralinguistic cues (volume, speed, tone/intonation,
gestures, facial features, etc.)
• Defining/Use of synonyms
• Others?

20. THE 4 COMPETENCIES:
Strategic: recognizing different ways to
communicate an intended meaning and how to
negotiate/repair when breakdowns in
communication occur:
• Paralinguistic cues (volume, speed, tone/intonation,
gestures, facial features, etc.)
• Defining/Use of synonyms
• Others?
In Practice: How do I know when there’s been a
misunderstanding? How do I fix it? What do I do
when I don’t know a word or the correct pattern?

21. THE 4 COMPETENCIES:
Discourse: familiarity with genres and knowing
how to adjust language to fit a variety of genres
and the ability to connect ideas into a cohesive
and coherent whole.

22. THE 4 COMPETENCIES:
Discourse: familiarity with genres and knowing how to
adjust language to fit a variety of genres and the
ability to connect ideas into a cohesive and coherent
whole.
• Textual: reading/understanding the features of different
texts, e.g., fiction vs. non-fiction, technical writing,
interview, etc.
• Rhetorical: understanding what is being said by a range of
speakers, expressing ideas effectively in a scenario (lecture
vs. debate), etc.
• Cohesion: use of linking expressions (conjunctions,
adverbial phrases, etc.)
• Coherence: logical indication of relationships, e.g., cause-
effect, pro/con, etc.
In Practice: How are words put together to create
presentations, emails, journal articles, conversations, etc.
How do I show the relationship between ideas?

23. COMPATIBLE FRAMEWORKS
Proficiency-based approaches developed concurrently
that are compatible with the 4-Competencies model:
American Council on the Teaching of Foreign
Languages (ACTFL)
Common European Framework of Reference for
Languages (CEFR)

24. COMPATIBLE FRAMEWORKS
ACTFL CEFR
• 5 Cs model: communication, cultures,
connections, comparisons,
communities
• Focus on contextualizing language,
learning, and usage
• Integrates language, culture, and
communication across communities
• Emphasis on oral-aural language,
especially at introductory levels
• Assessment: Functional levels from
Novice, intermediate, Advanced,
Superior, Distinguished
• Primarily used in the U.S.
• ACTFL – CEFR Equivalencies
• Multi-modal approach
• Focus on what learners can do in the
target language, i.e., practical
competencies
• Assessment: A1.1-A2, B1.1-B2.2, C1.1-
C2, expressed as “can do” statements
• Originated in the EU, used by much of
the world
• https://www.elp.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/CE
FR-ELP%20IP%20Equivalency%20Chart_0.pdf
• https://ielp.temple.edu/programs/intensive-
english-language-program/intensive-english-
language-program-0
• https://drexel.edu/elc/elc_programs/intensive_en
glish/IEP%20Levels/

25. LOOKING AHEAD
Branches of CLT
• Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) –
Weeks 4 & 5
• Content-Based Instruction (CBI) and
Languages for Specific Purposes (LSP)– Week
5

26. GROUP ACTIVITY:
GALLERY WALK
Sinha, Rupak. (2017). Communicative language teaching (CLT) [Mindmap]. Retrieved Sept. 1, 2021.
https://www.biggerplate.com/mindmaps/8fdKQeR9/communicative-language-teaching-clt

27. INSTRUCTIONS
PART ONE:
1. Get into your discussion groups.
2. Think about what you’ve read and what
has been discussed in class thus far.
3. As a group, develop a question or a
contemplative thought that you’d like to
discuss.
4. Write it on your poster paper (1
sentence).

28. INSTRUCTIONS
PART TWO:
1. Work individually. Go to a new poster.
2. Consider the question or thought on the
poster. Add a brief response—an answer,
a further question, agree/disagree and
why, request for clarification, etc.
3. Move to a new poster and repeat.

29. NEXT WEEK...
Topic CLT & TBLT
Read Methods of Language Teaching – CLT
(Canvas)
Littlewood (2007) (Canvas)
LF&A, Ch. 11
Finish Group Discussion Response 1 by
Oct. 1 @ 11:59pm