communicative language teaching交际语言教学法

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communicativelanguageteaching交际语言教学法

Communicativelanguageteaching

FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Communicativelanguageteaching

(CLT),orthe

communicativeapproach,isan

\o"Language-teachingapproach"

approach

to

\o"Languageteaching"

languageteaching

thatemphasizes

\o"Interaction"

interaction

asboththemeansandtheultimategoalofstudy.LanguagelearnersinenvironmentsutilizingCLTtechniqueslearnandpracticethetargetlanguagethroughinteractionwithoneanotherandtheinstructor,studyof"authentictexts"(thosewritteninthetargetlanguageforpurposesotherthanlanguagelearning),anduseofthelanguageinclasscombinedwithuseofthelanguageoutsideofclass.Learnersconverseaboutpersonalexperienceswithpartners,andinstructorsteachtopicsoutsideoftherealmoftraditionalgrammarinordertopromotelanguageskillsinalltypesofsituations.Thismethodalsoclaimstoencouragelearnerstoincorporatetheirpersonalexperiencesintotheirlanguagelearningenvironmentandfocusonthelearningexperienceinadditiontothelearningofthetargetlanguage.

[1]

AccordingtoCLT,thegoaloflanguageeducationistheabilitytocommunicateinthetargetlanguage.

[2]

Thisisincontrasttopreviousviewsinwhich

\o"Grammar–translationmethod"

grammaticalcompetence

wascommonlygiventoppriority.

[3]

CLTalsofocusesontheteacherbeingafacilitator,ratherthananinstructor.Furthermore,theapproachisanon-methodicalsystemthatdoesnotuseatextbookseriestoteachEnglishbutratherworksondevelopingsoundoral/verbalskillspriortoreadingandwriting.

Contents

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1Background

1.1Societalinfluences

1.2Academicinfluences

2Classroomactivities

2.1Role-play

2.2Interviews

2.3Groupwork

2.4Informationgap

2.5Opinionsharing

2.6Scavengerhunt

3Critiques

4Seealso

5References

6Furtherreading

Background[

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Societalinfluences[

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Languageteachingwasoriginallyconsideredacognitivematter,mainlyinvolvingmemorization.Itwaslaterthought,instead,tobesocio-cognitive,meaningthatlanguagecanbelearnedthroughtheprocessofsocialinteraction.Today,however,thedominanttechniqueinteachinganylanguageiscommunicativelanguageteaching(CLT).

[4]

Itwas

\o"NoamChomsky"

NoamChomsky

'stheoriesinthe1960s,focusingoncompetenceandperformanceinlanguagelearning,thatgaverisetocommunicativelanguageteaching,buttheconceptualbasisforCLTwaslaidinthe1970sbylinguistsMichaelHalliday,whostudiedhowlanguagefunctionsareexpressedthroughgrammar,andDellHymes,whointroducedtheideaofawidercommunicativecompetenceinsteadofChomsky'snarrowerlinguisticcompetence.

[4]

TheriseofCLTinthe1970sandearly1980swaspartlyinresponsetothelackofsuccesswithtraditionallanguageteachingmethodsandpartlyduetotheincreaseindemandforlanguagelearning.InEurope,theadventofthe

\o"EuropeanCommonMarket"

EuropeanCommonMarket

,aneconomicpredecessortotheEuropeanUnion,ledtomigrationinEuropeandanincreasedpopulationofpeoplewhoneededtolearnaforeignlanguageforworkorforpersonalreasons.Atthesametime,morechildrenweregiventheopportunitytolearnforeignlanguagesinschool,asthenumberofsecondaryschoolsofferinglanguagesroseworldwideaspartofageneraltrendofcurriculum-broadeningandmodernization,andforeign-languagestudyceasedtobeconfinedtotheeliteacademies.InBritain,theintroductionof

\o"Comprehensiveschools"

comprehensiveschools

,whichofferedforeign-languagestudytoallchildrenratherthantotheselectfewintheelite

\o"Grammarschool"

grammarschools

,greatlyincreasedthedemandforlanguagelearning.

[5]

Thisincreaseddemandincludedmanylearnerswhostruggledwithtraditionalmethodssuchas

\o"Grammartranslation"

grammartranslation

,whichinvolvesthedirecttranslationofsentenceaftersentenceasawaytolearnlanguage.Thesemethodsassumedthatstudentswereaimingformasteryofthetargetlanguage,andthatstudentswerewillingtostudyforyearsbeforeexpectingtousethelanguageinreallife.However,theseassumptionswerechallengedbyadultlearners,whowerebusywithwork,andsomeschoolchildren,whowerelessacademicallygifted,andthuscouldnotdevoteyearstolearningbeforebeingabletousethelanguage.Educatorsrealizedthattomotivatethesestudentsanapproachwithamoreimmediatepayoffwasnecessary,

[6]

andtheybegantouseCLT,anapproachthatemphasizescommunicativeabilityandyieldedbetterresults.

[7]

Additionally,thetrendof

\o"Progressivism"

progressivism

ineducationprovidedfurtherpressureforeducatorstochangetheirmethods.Progressivismholdsthatactivelearningismoreeffectivethanpassivelearning,

[6]

andasthisideagainedtractioninschoolstherewasageneralshifttowardsusingtechniqueswherestudentsweremoreactivelyinvolved,suchasgroupwork.Foreign-languageeducationwasnoexceptiontothistrend,andteacherssoughttofindnewmethods,suchasCLT,thatcouldbetterembodythisshiftinthinking.

[6]

Academicinfluences[

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Thedevelopmentofcommunicativelanguageteachingwasbolsteredbynewacademicideas.Beforethegrowthofcommunicativelanguageteaching,theprimarymethodoflanguageteachingwassituationallanguageteaching.Thismethodwasmuchmoreclinicalinnatureandreliedlessondirectcommunication.InBritain,appliedlinguistsbegantodoubttheefficacyofsituationallanguageteaching.ThiswaspartlyinresponsetoChomsky'sinsightsintothenatureoflanguage.Chomskyhadshownthatthestructuraltheoriesoflanguageprevalentatthetimecouldnotexplainthevarietyfoundinrealcommunication.

[8]

Inaddition,appliedlinguistssuchasChristopherCandlinand

\o"HenryWiddowson"

HenryWiddowson

observedthatthecurrentmodeloflanguagelearningwasineffectiveinclassrooms.Theysawaneedforstudentstodevelopcommunicativeskillandfunctionalcompetenceinadditiontomasteringlanguagestructures.

[8]

In1966,linguistandanthropologist

\o"DellHymes"

DellHymes

developedtheconceptof

\o"Communicativecompetence"

communicativecompetence

.Communicativecompetenceredefinedwhatitmeantto"know"alanguage;inadditiontospeakershavingmasteryoverthestructuralelementsoflanguage,theymustalsobeabletousethosestructuralelementsappropriatelyinavarietyofspeechdomains.

[2]

ThiscanbeneatlysummedupbyHymes'sstatement,"Therearerulesofusewithoutwhichtherulesofgrammarwouldbeuseless."

[5]

TheideaofcommunicativecompetencestemmedfromChomsky'sconceptofthe

\o"Linguisticcompetence"

linguisticcompetence

ofanidealnativespeaker.

[2]

Hymesdidnotmakeaconcreteformulationofcommunicativecompetence,butsubsequentauthorshavetiedtheconcepttolanguageteaching,notablyMichaelCanale.

[9]

CanaleandSwain(1980)definedcommunicativecompetenceintermsofthreecomponents:grammaticalcompetence,

\o"Sociolinguistic"

sociolinguistic

competence,andstrategiccompetence.Canale(1983)refinedthemodelbyaddingdiscoursecompetence,whichcontainstheconceptsof

\o"Cohesion(linguistics)"

cohesion

and

\o"Coherence(linguistics)"

coherence

.

[9]

Aninfluentialdevelopmentinthehistoryofcommunicativelanguageteachingwastheworkofthe

\o"CouncilofEurope"

CouncilofEurope

increatingnewlanguagesyllabi.Whencommunicativelanguageteachinghadeffectivelyreplacedsituationallanguageteachingasthestandardbyleadinglinguists,theCouncilofEuropemadeanefforttoonceagainbolsterthegrowthofthenewmethod.ThisledtotheCouncilofEuropecreatinganewlanguagesyllabus.EducationwasahighpriorityfortheCouncilofEurope,andtheysetouttoprovideasyllabusthatwouldmeettheneedsofEuropeanimmigrants.

[8]

AmongthestudiesusedbythecouncilwhendesigningthecoursewasonebytheBritishlinguist,D.A.Wilkins,thatdefinedlanguageusing"notions"and"functions",ratherthanmoretraditionalcategoriesofgrammarandvocabulary.Thenewsyllabusreinforcedtheideathatlanguagecouldnotbeadequatelyexplainedbygrammarandsyntax,andinsteadreliedonrealinteraction.

[8]

Inthemid1990s,theDogme95manifestoinfluencedlanguageteachingthroughthe

\o"Dogmelanguageteaching"

Dogmelanguageteaching

movement.Thisproposedthatpublishedmaterialsstiflethecommunicativeapproach.Assuch,theaimoftheDogmeapproachtolanguageteachingistofocusonrealconversationsaboutpracticalsubjects,wherecommunicationistheengineoflearning.TheideabehindtheDogmeapproachisthatcommunicationcanleadtoexplanation,whichwillleadtofurtherlearning.Thisapproachistheantithesisofsituationallanguageteaching,whichemphasizeslearningthroughtextandprioritizesgrammarovercommunication.

[10]

AsurveyofcommunicativecompetencebyBachman(1990)dividescompetencyintothebroadheadingsof"organizationalcompetence",whichincludesbothgrammaticalanddiscourse(ortextual)competence,and"pragmaticcompetence",whichincludesbothsociolinguisticand"

\o"Illocutionaryact"

illocutionary

"competence.

[11]

Strategiccompetenceisassociatedwiththeinterlocutors'abilityinusingcommunicationstrategies.

[11]

Classroomactivities[

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CLTteacherschooseclassroomactivitiesbasedonwhattheybelieveisgoingtobemosteffectiveforstudentsdevelopingcommunicativeabilitiesinthetargetlanguage(TL).OralactivitiesarepopularamongCLTteachers,asopposedtogrammardrillsorreadingandwritingactivities,becausetheyincludeactiveconversationandcreative,unpredictedresponsesfromstudents.Activitiesvarybasedontheleveloflanguageclasstheyarebeingusedin.Theypromotecollaboration,fluency,andcomfortintheTL.ThesixactivitieslistedandexplainedbelowarecommonlyusedinCLTclassrooms.

[6]

Role-play[

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Role-playisanoralactivityusuallydoneinpairs,whosemaingoalistodevelopstudents'communicativeabilitiesinacertainsetting.

[5]

Example:

Theinstructorsetsthescene:whereistheconversationtakingplace?(E.g.,inacafé,inapark,etc.)

Theinstructordefinesthegoalofthestudents'conversation.(E.g.,thespeakerisaskingfordirections,thespeakerisorderingcoffee,thespeakeristalkingaboutamovietheyrecentlysaw,etc.)

Thestudentsconverseinpairsforadesignatedamountoftime.

ThisactivitygivesstudentsthechancetoimprovetheircommunicationskillsintheTLinalow-pressuresituation.Moststudentsaremorecomfortablespeakinginpairsratherthaninfrontoftheentireclass.

[5]

Instructorsneedtobeawareofthedifferencesbetweenaconversationandanutterance.Studentsmayusethesameutterancesrepeatedlywhendoingthisactivityandnotactuallyhaveacreativeconversation.Ifinstructorsdonotregulatewhatkindsofconversationsstudentsarehaving,thenthestudentsmightnotbetrulyimprovingtheircommunicationskills.

[5]

Interviews[

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Aninterviewisanoralactivitydoneinpairs,whosemaingoalistodevelopstudents'interpersonalskillsintheTL.

[12]

Example:

Theinstructorgiveseachstudentthesamesetofquestionstoaskapartner.

Studentstaketurnsaskingandansweringthequestionsinpairs.

Thisactivity,sinceitishighly-structured,allowsfortheinstructortomorecloselymonitorstudents'responses.Itcanzoneinononespecificaspectofgrammarorvocabulary,whilestillbeingaprimarilycommunicativeactivityandgivingthestudentscommunicativebenefits.

[12]

Thisisanactivitythatshouldbeusedprimarilyinthelowerlevelsoflanguageclasses,becauseitwillbemostbeneficialtolower-levelspeakers.Higher-levelspeakersshouldbehavingunpredictableconversationsintheTL,whereneitherthequestionsnortheanswersarescriptedorexpected.Ifthisactivitywereusedwithhigher-levelspeakersitwouldn'thavemanybenefits.

[12]

Groupwork[

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GroupworkisacollaborativeactivitywhosepurposeistofostercommunicationintheTL,inalargergroupsetting.

[13]

Example:

Studentsareassignedagroupofnomorethansixpeople.

Studentsareassignedaspecificrolewithinthegroup.(E.g.,memberA,memberB,etc.)

Theinstructorgiveseachgroupthesametasktocomplete.

Eachmemberofthegrouptakesadesignatedamountoftimetoworkonthepartofthetasktowhichtheyareassigned.

Themembersofthegroupdiscusstheinformationtheyhavefound,witheachotherandputitalltogethertocompletethetask.

Studentscanfeeloverwhelmedinlanguageclasses,butthisactivitycantakeawayfromthatfeeling.Studentsareaskedtofocusononepieceofinformationonly,whichincreasestheircomprehensionofthatinformation.Bettercomprehensionleadstobettercommunicationwiththerestofthegroup,whichimprovesstudents'communicativeabilitiesintheTL.

[13]

Instructorsshouldtobesuretomonitorthateachstudentiscontributingequallytothegroupeffort.Ittakesagoodinstructortodesigntheactivitywell,sothatstudentswillcontributeequally,andbenefitequallyfromtheactivity.

[13]

Informationgap[

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\o"Informationgapactivity"

Informationgap

isacollaborativeactivity,whosepurposeisforstudentstoeffectivelyobtaininformationthatwaspreviouslyunknowntothem,intheTL.

[14]

Example:

Theclassispairedup.OnepartnerineachpairisPartnerA,andtheotherisPartnerB.

AllthestudentsthatarePartnerAaregivenasheetofpaperwithatime-tableonit.Thetime-tableisfilledinhalf-way,butsomeoftheboxesareempty.

AllthestudentsthatarePartnerBaregivenasheetofpaperwithatime-tableonit.TheboxesthatareemptyonPartnerA'stime-tablearefilledinonPartnerB's.TherearealsoemptyboxesonPartnerB'stime-table,buttheyarefilledinonPartnerA's.

Thepartnersmustworktogethertoaskaboutandsupplyeachotherwiththeinformationtheyarebothmissing,tocompleteeachother'stime-tables.

Completinginformationgapactivitiesimprovesstudents'abilitiestocommunicateaboutunknowninformationintheTL.Theseabilitiesaredirectlyapplicabletomanyreal-worldconversations,wherethegoalistofindoutsomenewpieceofinformation,orsimplytoexchangeinformation.

[14]

Instructorsshouldnotoverlookthefactthattheirstudentsneedtobepreparedtocommunicateeffectivelyforthisactivity.Theyneedtoknowcertainvocabularywords,certainstructuresofgrammar,etc.Ifthestudentshavenotbeenwellpreparedforthetaskathand,thentheywillnotcommunicateeffectively.

[15]

Opinionsharing[

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Opinionsharingisacontent-basedactivity,whosepurposeistoengagestudents'conversationalskills,whiletalkingaboutsomethingtheycareabout.

[15]

Example:

Theinstructorintroducesatopicandasksstudentstocontemplatetheiropinionsaboutit.(E.g.,dating,schooldresscodes,globalwarming)

Thestudentstalkinpairsorsmallgroups,debatingtheiropinionsonthetopic.

Opinionsharingisagreatwaytogetmoreintrovertedstudentstoopenupandsharetheiropinions.Ifastudenthasastrongopinionaboutacertaintopic,thentheywillspeakupandshare.

[15]

Respectiskeywiththisactivity.Ifastudentdoesnotfeelliketheiropinionisrespectedbytheinstructorortheirpeers,thentheywillnotfeelcomfortablesharing,andtheywillnotreceivethecommunicativebenefitsofthisactivity.

[15]

Scavengerhunt[

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Ascavengerhuntisaminglingactivitythatpromotesopeninteractionbetweenstudents.

[16]

Example:

Theinstructorgivesstudentsasheetwithinstructionsonit.(e.g.Findsomeonewhohasabirthdayinthesamemonthasyours.)

Studentsgoaroundtheclassroomaskingandansweringquestionsabouteachother.

Thestudentswishtofindalloftheanswerstheyneedtocompletethescavengerhunt.

Indoingthisactivity,studentshavetheopportunitytospeakwithanumberofclassmates,whilestillbeinginalow-pressuresituation,andtalkingtoonlyonepersonatatime.Afterlearningmoreabouteachother,andgettingtoshareaboutthemselves,studentswillfeelmorecomfortabletalkingandsharingduringothercommunicativeactivities.

[16]

Sincethisactivityisnotasstructuredassomeoftheothers,itisimportantforinstructorstoaddstructure.Ifcertainvocabularyshouldbeusedinstudents'conversations,oracertaingrammarisnecessarytocompletetheactivity,theninstructorsshouldincorporatethatintothescavengerhunt.

[16]

Critiques[

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AlthoughCLThasbeenextremelyinfluentialinthefieldoflanguageteaching,itisnotuniversallyacceptedandhasbeensubjecttosignificantcritique.

[17]

InhiscritiqueofCLT,

\o"MichaelSwan(writer)"

MichaelSwan

addressesboththetheoreticalandpracticalproblemswithCLT.Inhiscritique,hementionsthatCLTisnotanaltogethercohesivesubject,butoneinwhichtheoreticalunderstandings(bylinguists)andpracticalunderstandings(bylanguageteachers)differgreatly.CritiqueofthetheoryofCLTincludesthatitmakesbroadclaimsregardingtheusefulnessofCLTwhilecitinglittledata,thatitusesalargeamountofconfusingvocabulary,andthatitassumesknowledgethatispredominatelylanguagenon-specific(ex.theabilitytomakeeducatedguesses)islanguagespecific.

[17]

SwansuggeststhatthesetheoreticalissuescanleadtoconfusionintheapplicationofCLTtechniques.

[18]

WhereconfusionintheapplicationofCLTtechniquesisreadilyapparentisinclassroomsettings.SwansuggeststhatCLTtechniquesoftensuggestprioritizingthe"function"ofalanguage(whatonecandowiththelanguageknowledgeonehas)overthe"structure"ofalanguage(thegrammaticalsystemsofthelanguage).

\l"