This document provides an overview of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). It defines CLT as an approach that emphasizes developing students' communicative competence. The document traces the origins of CLT to developments in language teaching in Britain in the 1960s. It outlines some key features of CLT, including a focus on functional language use over structural accuracy and an emphasis on fluency. The document also discusses advantages of CLT like increased student motivation, and disadvantages such as less focus on accuracy and challenges for beginner level students.
This document provides an overview of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). It defines CLT as an approach that emphasizes developing students' communicative competence. The document traces the origins of CLT to developments in language teaching in Britain in the 1960s. It outlines some key features of CLT, including a focus on functional language use over structural accuracy and an emphasis on fluency. The document also discusses advantages of CLT like increased student motivation, and disadvantages such as less focus on accuracy and challenges for beginner level students.
This document provides an overview of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). It defines CLT as an approach that emphasizes developing students' communicative competence. The document traces the origins of CLT to developments in language teaching in Britain in the 1960s. It outlines some key features of CLT, including a focus on functional language use over structural accuracy and an emphasis on fluency. The document also discusses advantages of CLT like increased student motivation, and disadvantages such as less focus on accuracy and challenges for beginner level students.
This document provides an overview of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). It defines CLT as an approach that emphasizes developing students' communicative competence. The document traces the origins of CLT to developments in language teaching in Britain in the 1960s. It outlines some key features of CLT, including a focus on functional language use over structural accuracy and an emphasis on fluency. The document also discusses advantages of CLT like increased student motivation, and disadvantages such as less focus on accuracy and challenges for beginner level students.
Teaching Submitted By: Farwa Arshad Roll No: BSEENL-19-41 Semester: BS English 7th (Eve) Submitted To: Sir Riaz Shab
BZU Campus Layyah
Introduction: In the history of language teaching, certain methods such as Audio-lingual, Grammar Translation, Suggestopedia and Total Physical Response have come into view. All these methods have been widely and extensively discussed and evaluated by researchers and scholars. Each of them has their own focus, weak points as well as strong points and they are based on a theory. In other words, methods are developed based on theories such as behaviorism, structuralism, constructivism and universal grammar. Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is no exception with this regard (Larson – Freeman, 1986; Ellis, 1994). Now a day, the CLT method, which is originated in Britain, is widely used in English as Second Language (ESL) classrooms around the world. According to Barnaby and Sun (1989) and Ellis (1996), CLT is recognized as powerful theoretical model in ELT by many linguists and language teachers as a useful approach to language teaching. In this short review of CLT, I try to define Communicative Language Teaching approach, its theoretical background and some important characteristics. I will also explain main advantages and disadvantages of CLT implementation. Definition of Communicative Language Teaching: Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is an approach to teaching language which is defined many writers (Canal, 1983; Cook, 1991; Little wood, 1981; O’Malley and Chabot, 1990; Richards and Rodgers 2001; Rivers, 1987). According to Richards, et al. in the Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics defined CLT as “an approach to foreign or second language teaching which emphasizes that the goal of language learning is communicative competence” (1992: 65). Other authors in the field have defined and characterized CLT in various ways (Hewitt, 1984; Littlewoods, 1981; Sauvignon, 1991; Scarcely and Oxford, 1992). Littlewoods explains that “one of the most characteristic features of communicative language teaching is that it pays systematic attention to functional as well as structural aspects of language, combining these into a more fully communicative view” (1981:1). The origin of Communicative Language Teaching: Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) has its roots in England, which is a primarily English as a Second Language (ESL) environment. In the early 1960s concepts about second language teaching were changing, and the theoretical assumptions behind them were also being rethought. It was during this time of re-evaluation that CLT was born. Galloway says that the communicative Approach could be said to be the product of educators and linguists who had grown dissatisfied with the Audio-lingual and Grammar Translation methods of foreign language instruction. Richards and Rodgers (1986), on the other hand, claim that the origins of communicative language teaching are to be found in the changes of situational language teaching approaches, which influenced the British language teaching tradition till the late 1960s. Meanwhile, Sauvignon (1991) asserts that the emergence of CLT can be traced to concurrent developments on both sides of the Atlantic, i.e. in Europe and the United States. Some major features of Communicative Language Teaching: The communicative approach to language teaching is, relatively, a newly adapted approach in the area of foreign / second language teaching. Communicative Language Teaching is a “hybrid approach to language teaching, essentially ‘progressive’ rather than ‘traditional” (Wright, 2000). CLT can be seen to derive from a multidisciplinary perspective that includes, at least, linguistics, psychology, philosophy, sociology and educational research (Sauvignon, 1991). It is generally accepted that proponents of CLT see it as an approach, not a method (Richards and Rodgers 1986; Sauvignon 1991; Brown 1994). For Brown, for instance, “Communicative Language Teaching is a unified but broadly – based theoretical position about the nature of language and language learning and teaching” (1994: 244-245). Larsen-Freeman (1986); Celce-Murcia (1991) and Johnson (1982) put some of the major characteristics of CLT as follows: a) It is felt that students need knowledge of the linguistic form, meaning and functions. However, CLT gives primary importance to the use or function of the language and secondary importance to its structure or form (Larsen-Freeman 1986; Johnson 1982). This does not mean that knowledge of grammar is not essential for effective communication, rather systematic treatment of both functions and forms is vital. Stressing on this, Littlewoods says “one of the most characteristic features of communicative language teaching is that it pays systematic attention to functional as well as structural aspects of language” (1981: 1). “CLT suggests that grammatical structure might better be subsumed under various functional categories… we pay considerably less attention to the overt presentation and discussion of grammatical rules than we traditionally did” (Brown 1994: 245). Emphasis is also given to meaning (messages they are creating or task them are completing) rather than form (correctness of language and language structure). For Finocchiaro and Brimful “meaning is paramount” (1983:91) since it helps the learners to manage the message they engage with the interlocutors. b) "Fluency and accuracy are seen as complementary principles underlying communicative techniques” (Brown1994:245). However, at times fluency may have to take on more importance than accuracy because "fluency and acceptable language is the primary goal" (Finocchiaro and Brumfit1983:93) and accuracy is judged not in the abstract butin contexts. Fluency is emphasised over accuracy in order to keep learners meaningfully engaged in language use. It is important, however, that fluency should never be encouraged at the expense of clear, unambiguous, direct communication. And much more spontaneity is present in communicative classrooms (Brown, 1994). c) Language teaching techniques are designed to engage learners in the pragmatic, authentic, functional use of language for meaningful purposes. Classrooms should provide opportunities for rehearsal of real-life situations and provide opportunity for real communication. Emphasis on creative role plays, simulations, dramas, games, projects, etc., is the major activities which can help the learner provide spontaneity and improvisation, not just repetition and drills. Another characteristic of the classroom process is the use of authentic materials because it is felt desirable to give students the opportunity to develop the strategies for understanding language as it is actually used by native speakers. In the classroom, everything is done with a communicative intent. ADVANTAGE AND DISADVANTAGE OF CLT: Advantages of CLT: The implementation of CLT has brought allot of advantages for Teaching English as a foreign/second language. Unlike audio lingual and grammar-translation methods, Communicative teaching emphasis on “task-oriented, student-centered” language teaching practice and it provides students with comprehensive use of English language, for communication of opportunities (Richards, 2006). Other scholars also suggested some of the major advantages of CLT as follow:
a) It motivates students to improve their ability of using English by themselves
since it emphasizes on fluency in the target language. Meaning that, it provides students with assignments that allow them to improve their own ideas about what they are going to talk and how they are going to express. This enables the learners to be more confident when interacting with other people and they also enjoy talking more (Brown, 2001). b) CLT focuses on and aims at communicative competence. Thus, enabling the learners to use the language in a communicative situation to satisfy their needs in real-life communication is a priority in CLT (Richards, 2006). In other words, it brings the real life situation of the native English in to classroom activities such as role-play and simulation (Harmer, 2007). Disadvantages of CLT: There have been various criticisms on the principles of the communicative approach to teaching and learning language: a) The approach gives priority to meanings and rules of use rather than to grammar and rules of structure. In other words, it is felt that there is not enough emphasis on the correction of pronunciation and grammar error. It is because too much focus on meaning at the expense of form. It is believed that with CLT there is a danger of focusing too much on oral skills and less emphasis is given to reading and writing skills, (Al-Humaidi, n.d.as cited in Keithley, Kumm(2013). b) The CLT approach focuses on fluency but not accuracy in grammar and pronunciation. According to Hughes (1983) communicative language teaching leads to the production of “fluent but inaccurate" learners. What is predicted to happen here is the danger of giving priority to fluency over accuracy in CLT classes. c) The CLT approach is great for intermediate student and advanced students, but for beginners some controlled practice is needed Students with low levels of proficiency in the target language may find it difficult to participate in oral communicative activities and, if the exams used by any institution are grammar based, communicative fluency may not be appropriate. CONCLUSION: Communicative language teaching is one of the latest humanistic approaches to teaching Approaches which gives emphasis to the language use and provides more opportunity to learner to practice the target language inspite of its limitation. Today, the main apprehension of most learners of English as a foreign /second language is whether they are able to use the language independently and fluently in a variety of real life communicative situations such as when someone is on a trip, in a meeting or in a restaurant. If accuracy and correcting grammatical errors are also taken into consideration in CLT, fluency and accuracy are yielded simultaneously through the application this method. Since language is a means of communication and CLT may enable the learners to effectively communicate in real life situation, it is inferred that CLT may fulfill the actual goal of teaching language which is to improve learners’ communicative competence.