Current Trends in Communicative Language Teaching By Mar Lar Zin @ Sophia 1

 

Current Trends in Communicative Language Teaching 

By Mar Lar Zin @ Sophia 1

 

 

 

 

Since the 1990s, the communicative approach has been widely implemented.Because it describes a set of very general principles grounded in the notion of communicative competence as the goal of second and foreign language teaching, and a communicative syllabus and methodology as the way of achieving this goal, communicative language teaching has continued to evolve as our understanding of the processes of second language learning has developed. Current communicative language teaching theory and practice thus draws on a number of different educational paradigms and traditions. And since it draws on a number of diverse sources, there is no single or agreed upon set of practices that characterize current communicative language teaching. Rather, communicative language teaching today refers to a set of generally agreed upon principles that can be applied in different ways, depending on the teaching context, the age of the learners, their level, their learning goals, and so on. The following core assumptions or variants of them underlie current practices in communicative language teaching. 

 

Ten Core Assumptions of Current Communicative Language Teaching 

 

1. Second language learning is facilitated when learners are engaged in interaction and meaningful communication.

2. Effective classroom learning tasks and exercises provide opportunities for students to negotiate meaning, expand their language resources, notice how language is used, and take part in meaningful interpersonal exchange.

3. Meaningful communication results from students processing content that is relevant, purposeful, interesting, and engaging.

4. Communication is a holistic process that often calls upon the use of several language skills or modalities.

5. Language learning is facilitated both by activities that involve inductive or discovery learning of underlying rules of language use and organization, as well as by those involving language analysis and reflection.

6. Language learning is a gradual process that involves creative use of language, and trial and error. Although errors are a normal product of learning, the ultimate goal of learning is to be able to use the new language both accurately and fluently.

7. Learners develop their own routes to language learning, progress at different rates, and have different needs and motivations for language learning.

8. Successful language learning involves the use of effective learning and communication strategies.

9. The role of the teacher in the language classroom is that of a facilitator, who creates a classroom climate conducive to language learning and provides opportunities for students to use and practice the language and to reflect on language use and language learning.

10. The classroom is a community where learners learn through collaboration and sharing.

 

 Task Questions

 

1.What are the implications of the principles above for teaching in your teaching context? 

2.Do you have other principles that support your teaching?

 

Current approaches to methodology draw on earlier traditions in communicative language teaching and continue to make reference to some extent to traditional approaches. Thus classroom activities typically have some of the following characteristics: 

 

*They seek to develop students’ communicative competence through linking grammatical development to the ability to communicate. Hence, grammar is not taught in isolation but often arises out of a communicative task, thus creating a need for specific items of grammar. Students might carry out a task and then reflect on some of the linguistic characteristics of their performance. 

 

*They create the need for communication, interaction, and negotiation of meaning through the use of activities such as problem solving, information sharing, and role play. 

 

*They provide opportunities for both inductive as well as deductive learning of grammar. 

 

*They make use of content that connects to students’ lives and interests.

 

*They allow students to personalize learning by applying what they have learned to their own lives. 

 

*Classroom materials typically make use of authentic texts to create interest and to provide valid models of language.

 

Approaches to language teaching today seek to capture the rich view of language and language learning assumed by a communicative view of language. Jacobs and Farrell (2003) see the shift toward CLT as marking a paradigm shift in our thinking about teachers, learning, and teaching. They identify key components of this shift as follows: 

 

1. Focusing greater attention on the role of learners rather than the external stimuli learners are receiving from their environment.Thus, the center of attention shifts from the teacher to the

student. This shift is generally known as the move from teacher centered instruction to learner-centered instruction.

2. Focusing greater attention on the learning process rather than the products that learners produce. This shift is known as the move from product-oriented to process-oriented instruction.

3. Focusing greater attention on the social nature of learning rather than on students as separate, decontextualized individuals

4. Focusing greater attention on diversity among learners and viewing these difference not as impediments to learning but as resources to be recognized, catered to, and appreciated. This

shift is known as the study of individual differences.

5. In research and theory-building, focusing greater attention on the views of those internal to the classroom rather than solely valuing the views of those who come from outside to study classrooms, investigate and evaluate what goes on there, and engage in theorizing about it. This shift is associated with such innovations as qualitative research, which highlights the

subjective and affective, the participants’ insider views, and the uniqueness of each context.

6. Along with this emphasis on context comes the idea of connecting the school with the world beyond as means of promoting holistic learning.

7. Helping students to understand the purpose of learning and develop their own purpose

8. A whole-to-part orientation instead of a part-to-whole approach. This involves such approaches as beginning with meaningful whole text and then helping students understand the various features that enable texts to function, e.g., the choice of words and the text’s organizational structure.

 9. An emphasis on the importance of meaning rather than drills and other forms of rote learning

10. A view of learning as a lifelong process rather than something done to prepare students for an exam 

 

Jacobs and Farrell suggest that the CLT paradigm shift outlined above has led to eight major changes in approaches to language teaching. These changes are:

1. Learner autonomy: Giving learners greater choice over their own learning, both in terms of the content of learning as well as processes they might employ. The use of small groups is one example of this, as well as the use of self-assessment.

2. The social nature of learning: Learning is not an individual, private activity, but a social one that depends upon interaction with others. The movement known as cooperative learning reflects this viewpoint.

3. Curricular integration: The connection between different strands of the curriculum is emphasized, so that English is not seen as a stand-alone subject but is linked to other subjects in the curriculum. Text-based learning (see below) reflects this approach,and seeks to develop fluency in text types that can be used across the curriculum. Project work in language teaching also requires students to explore issues outside of the language classroom.

4. Focus on meaning: Meaning is viewed as the driving force of learning. Content-based teaching reflects this view and seeks to make the exploration of meaning through content the core of language learning activities.

5. Diversity: Learners learn in different ways and have different strengths. Teaching needs to take these differences into account rather than try to force students into a single mold. In language teaching, this has led to an emphasis on developing students’ use and awareness of learning strategies.

6. Thinking skills: Language should serve as a means of developing higher-order thinking skills, also known as critical and creative thinking. In language teaching, this means that students do not learn language for its own sake but in order to develop and apply their thinking skills in situations that go beyond the language classroom.

7. Alternative assessment: New forms of assessment are needed to replace traditional multiple-choice and other items that test lower-order skills. Multiple forms of assessment (e.g.,

observation, interviews, journals, portfolios) can be used to build a comprehensive picture of what students can do in a second language.

8. Teachers as co-learners: The teacher is viewed as a facilitator who is constantly trying out different alternatives, i.e., learning through doing. In language teaching, this has led to an interest in action research and other forms of classroom investigation.

 

These changes in thinking have not led to the development of a single model of CLT that can be applied in all settings. Rather, a number of different language teaching approaches have emerged which reflect different responses to the issues identified above. While there is no single syllabus model that has been universally accepted, a language syllabus today needs to include systematic coverage of the many different components of communicative competence,

including language skills, content, grammar, vocabulary, and functions.

 

Different syllabus types within a communicative orientation to language teaching employ different routes to developing communicative competence. We will now examine some of the different approaches that are currently in use around the world and which can be viewed as falling within the general framework of communicative language teaching.

 

References

Littlewood, W. (1981). Communicative Language Teaching. New York:

Cambridge University Press.

Prabhu, N. S. (1987). Second Language Pedagogy. Oxford: Oxford University

Press.

Richards, Jack C., and Theodore Rodgers (2001). Approaches and Methods

in Language Teaching. Second Edition. New York: Cambridge University

Press.

Richards, Jack C., and Charles Sandy (1998). Passages. New York:

Cambridge University Press.