The Communicative Approach
What is the communicative
approach?
The communicative approach is the theory
that language is communication.
Therefore the final aim of CLT
(Communicative Language Teaching) is
communicative competence.
The Principles of the
Communicative Approach:
Learners learn through using it to communicate
Authentic and meaningful communication should
be the goal of classroom activities
Fluency is an important dimension of
communication
Communication involves the integration of
different language skills
Learning is a process of creative construction
and involves trial and error
So what is the teacher’s role in
this?
The teacher has two main roles:
• To facilitate the communication process in the classroom
• To act as an independent participant within the learningteaching group
The teacher is also expected to act as a resource, an
organiser of resources, a motivator, a counsellor, a guide,
an analyst and a researcher.
There are many other minor roles of a teacher, some of
these would include being an actor and an entertainer.
After all, a good lesson must be interesting or the
students will ‘switch off’ and learn nothing.
In practical terms, what does that
mean?
It means that we need to concentrate on
the following:
Teacher – Student activities
Activities
Materials
Teacher-Student Interaction
Since communicative competence is our aim, it is essential that
students be given every opportunity to practise communicating. In
the communicative classroom teacher talking time (TTT) must be
kept to a minimum. This is not to say that the teacher shouldn’t
speak at all, but TTT should be controlled and appropriate.
The classroom should be learner centred.
The teacher’s role is to facilitate student communication which is
done through careful selection of materials and activities relevant to
the aims of the lesson in which they are used.
Communication can be
divided into two
categories
• Input
• Output
The four communicative
skills can be put into
these categories
Input
Reading
Listening
OUTPUT
Speaking
Writing
Whichever of these skills is being taught
the main focus must be on the student
and not on the teacher. The interaction
should usually be the student to student
and should include the teacher only where
necessary. During most classroom
activities the teacher will monitor and
intervene only where necessary.
A model for part of a
communicative lesson
Stage 1
Teacher (T) gives a short presentation of a grammar or vocabulary point. T then gives
students (Ss) opportunity to practise the point in a controlled exercise. (Interaction: T›Ss)
Stage 2
Ss carry out the controlled exercise while T monitors and intervenes where appropriate.
(Interaction: S‹›S)
Stage 3
The Ss are asked to take part in an activity designed to get them to produce the
vocabulary and grammar they have been taught. T monitors and notes errors and interesting
points. T intervenes only when asked or when absolutely necessary. (Interaction: S‹›S)
Stage 4
Feedback session, in which T feeds back in a non-threatening way the errors s/he noted
during the activity. Ss also have the opportunity to clear up puzzling points. (Interaction: T‹›Ss)
The lesson extract follows a method called
Presentation-Practice-Production or PPP
for short.
This was the standard method until a few
years ago. Now there are a number of
possibilities open to the teacher.
You will be introduced to these at a later
stage.
Activities
Classroom activities should, as far as is
possible, be carried out in the target language
(English).
Having said this, there may sometimes be
occasions where allowing the students to
briefly discuss a point in their native tongue
can promote greater understanding and
assimilation of new information. This is
controversial issue and should not usually be
permitted.
There are many different types of activities.
They provide speaking, listening, writing and
reading practice as well as aiding production.
A few
ideas for activity types
Games
Role-plays
Simulations
Information Gaps
Where do I find activities?
They can be found in books containing supplementary material such
as the Reward Resource Packs.
Many teachers enjoy creating their own activities, which can be
tailored specifically to their classes needs.
Activities used in the classroom must be selected carefully as if they
are above the level of the students they can destroy self-confidence
and if below they can bore the students.
Activities usually involve the students working together either in
pairs or in small groups.
Activities are often used to practise reallife situations involving social interaction
and so a high level of social and functional
language should be expected.
Materials
Materials fall into three broad categories:
text-based,
task-based
realia.
They can be used as the basis for classroom
activities. Once again not only must the activity
be appropriate to the level of the students but
the materials used must be appropriate too.
Text-based materials
For example practice exercises, reading
passages, gap fills, recordings, etc. can be
found in almost any course book as well
as in books containing supplementary
materials. They form an essential part of
most lessons.
Task-based materials
These include game boards, roleplay
cards, materials for drilling, pairwork
tasks, etc.
They might be used to support 'real life'
tasks such as role playing booking into a
hotel, or a job interview.
Realia
This includes such things as magazines, newspapers,
fruit and vegetables, axes, maps - things from the real
world outside the classroom.
They can be used in many activities.
For example, fruit and vegetables could be used in a
shopping activity, an axe could be used to show the
effect of using the present perfect continuous on a short
action verb.
So what does the
communicative approach
mean in practical terms?
We should now understand that the
teacher's job is to get their students to
communicate using real language by
providing them with instruction, practice,
and above all opportunities to produce
English in activities which encourage
acquisition and fluency.
In conclusion
CLT should be fun for both teacher and
students.
Enabling students to communicate
successfully is also very rewarding.