Communicative Language Teaching：5交际语言教学

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CommunicativeLanguageTeaching

Background

TheoriginsofCommunicativeLanguageTeaching(CLT)aretobefoundinthechangesintheBritishlanguageteachingtraditiondatingfromthelate1960s.Untilthen,SituationalLanguagerepresentedthemajorBritishapproachtoteachingEnglishasaforeignlanguage.InSituationalLanguageTeaching,languagewastaughtbypracticingbasicstructuresinmeaningfulsituation-basedactivities.

Britishappliedlinguistsemphasizedanotherfundamentaldimensionoflanguagethatwasinadequatelyaddressedincurrentapproachestolanguageteachingatthattime-thefunctionalandcommunicativepotentialoflanguage.Theysawtheneedtofocusinlanguageteachingoncommunicativeproficiencyratherthanonmeremasteryofstructures

AnotherimpetusfordifferentapproachestoforeignlanguageteachingcamefromchangingeducationalrealitiesinEurope.WiththeincreasinginterdependenceofEuropeancountriescametheneedforgreatereffortstoteachadultsthemajorlanguagesoftheEuropeanCommonMarketandtheCouncilofEurope,aregionalorganizationforculturalandeducationalcooperation.EducationwasoneoftheCouncilofEurope'smajorareasofactivity.Itsponsoredinternationalconferencesonlanguageteaching,publishedmonographsandbooksaboutlanguageteaching.Theneedtoarticulateanddevelopalternativemethodsoflanguageteachingwasconsideredahighpriority.

In1971agroupofexpertsbegantoinvestigatethepossibilityofdevelopinglanguagecoursesonaunit-creditsystem,asysteminwhichlearningtasksarebrokendowninto"portionsorunits,eachofwhichcorrespondstoacomponentofalearner'sneedsandissystematicallyrelatedtoalltheotherportions"(vanEkandAlexander1980:6).ThegroupusedstudiesoftheneedsofEuropeanlanguagelearners,andinparticularapreliminarydocumentpreparedbyaBritishlinguist,D.A.Wilkins(1972),whichproposedafunctionalorcommunicativedefinitionoflanguagethatcouldserveasabasisfordevelopingcommunicativesyllabusesforlanguageteaching.Wilkins'scontributionwasananalysisofthecommunicativemeaningsthatalanguagelearnerneedstounderstandandexpress.Ratherthandescribethecoreoflanguagethroughtraditionalconceptsofgrammarandvocabulary,Wilkinsattemptedtodemonstratethesystemsofmeaningsthatlaybehindthecommunicativeusesoflanguage.

TheworkoftheCouncilofEurope;thewritingsofWilkins,Widdowson,Candlin,ChristopherBrumfit,KeithJohnson,andotherBritishappliedlinguistsonthetheoreticalbasisforacommunicativeorfunctionalapproachtolanguageteaching;therapidapplicationoftheseideasbytextbookwriters;andtheequallyrapidacceptanceofthesenewprinciplesbyBritishlanguageteachingspecialists,curriculumdevelopmentcenters,andevengovernmentsgaveprominencenationallyandinternationallytowhatcametobereferredtoastheCommunicativeApproach,orsimplyCommunicativeLanguageTeaching.(Thetermsnotional-functionalapproachandfunctionalapproacharealsosometimesused.)AlthoughthemovementbeganasalargelyBritishinnovation,focusingonalternativeconceptionsofasyllabus,sincethemid-1970sthescopeofCommunicativeLanguageTeachinghasexpanded.BothAmericanandBritishproponentsnowseeitasanapproach(andnotamethod)thataimsto(a)makecommunicativecompetencethegoaloflanguageteachingand(b)developproceduresfortheteachingofthefourlanguageskillsthatacknowledgetheinterdependenceoflanguageandcommunication.

Howattdistinguishesbetweena"strong"anda"weak"versionofCommunicativeLanguageTeaching:

Thereis,inasense,a'strong'versionofthecommunicativeapproachanda'weak'version.Theweakversionwhichhasbecomemoreorlessstandardpracticeinthelasttenyears,stressestheimportanceofprovidinglearnerswithopportunitiestousetheirEnglishforcommunicativepurposesand,characteristically,attemptstointegratesuchactivitiesintoawiderprogramoflanguageteachingThe'strong'versionofcommunicativeteaching,ontheotherhand,advancestheclaimthatlanguageisacquiredthroughcommunication,sothatitisnotmerelyaquestionofactivatinganexistingbutinertknowledgeofthelanguage,butofstimulatingthedevelopmentofthelanguagesystemitself.Iftheformercouldbedescribedas'learningtouse'English,thelatterentails'usingEnglishtolearnit.'(1984:279)

FinocchiaroandBrumfit(1983)contrastthemajordistinctivefeaturesoftheAudiolingualMethodandtheCommunicativeApproach,accordingtotheirinterpretation:

Audio-lingualeMethod

CommunicativeLanguageTeaching

1.Attendstostructureandformmorethanmeaning.

Meaningisparamount.

2.Demandsmemorizationofstructure-baseddialogs.

Dialogs,ifused,centeraroundcommunicativefunctionsandarenotnormallymemorized.

3.Languageitemsarenotnecessarilycontextualized.

Contextualizationisabasicpremise.

4.Languagelearningislearningstructures,sounds,orwords.

Languagelearningislearningtocommunicate.

5.Mastery,or"over-learning"issought.

Effectivecommunicationissought.

6.Drillingisacentraltechnique.

Drillingmayoccur,butperipherally.

7.Native-speaker-likepronunciationissought.

Comprehensiblepronunciationis

sought.

8.Grammaticalexplanationisavoided.

Anydevicewhichhelpsthelearners

isaccepted—varyingaccordingto

theirage,interest,etc.

9.Communicativeactivitiesonlycomeafteralongprocessofrigiddrillsandexercises

Attemptstocommunicatemaybe

encouragedfromthevery

beginning.

10.Theuseofthestudent'snativelanguageisforbidden.

Judicioususeofnativelanguageis

acceptedwherefeasible.

11.Translationisforbiddenatearlylevels

Translationmaybeusedwhere

studentsneedorbenefitfromit.

12.Readingandwritingare

deferredtillspeechismastered.

Readingandwritingcanstartfrom

thefirstday,ifdesired.

13.Thetargetlinguisticsystemwillbelearnedthroughtheovertteachingofthepatternsofthesystem.

Thetargetlinguisticsystemwillbe

learnedbestthroughtheprocess

ofstrugglingtocommunicate.

14.Linguisticcompetenceisthedesiredgoal.

Communicativecompetenceisthedesiredgoal(i.e.theabilitytousethelinguisticsystemeffectivelyandappropriately).

15.Varietiesoflanguageare

recognizedbutnotemphasized.

Linguisticvariationisacentralconceptinmaterialsandmethodology.

16.Thesequenceofunitsis

determinedsolelybyprinciplesoflinguisticcomplexity.

Sequencingisdeterminedbyanyconsiderationofcontent,function,ormeaningwhichmaintainsinterest.

17.Theteachercontrolsthelearnersandpreventsthemfromdoinganythingthatconflictswiththetheory.

Teachershelplearnersinanywaythatmotivatesthemtoworkwiththelanguage.

18."Languageishabit"soerrorsmustbepreventedatallcosts.

Languageiscreatedbytheindividualoftenthroughtrialanderror.

19.Accuracy,intermsofformalcorrectness,isaprimarygoal.

Fluencyandacceptablelanguageistheprimarygoal:accuracyisjudgednotintheabstractbutincontext.

20.Studentsareexpectedtointeractwiththelanguagesystem,embodiedinmachinesorcontrolledmaterials

Studentsareexpectedtointeractwithotherpeople,eitherintheflesh,throughpairandgroupwork,orintheirwritings.

21.Theteacherisexpectedtospecifythelanguagethatstudentsaretouse.

Theteachercannotknowexactlywhatlanguagethestudentswilluse.

22.Intrinsicmotivationwillspringfromaninterestinthestructureofthelanguage.

Intrinsicmotivationwillspringfromaninterestinwhatisbeingcommunicatedbythelanguage.

(1983:91-3)

Approach

Theoryoflanguage

Thecommunicativeapproachinlanguageteachingstartsfromatheoryoflanguageascommunication.ThegoaloflanguageteachingistodevelopwhatHymes(1972)referredtoas"communicativecompetence."HymescoinedthisterminordertocontrastacommunicativeviewoflanguageandChomsky'stheoryofcompetence.Chomskyheldthat

linguistictheoryisconcernedprimarilywithanidealspeaker-listenerinacompletelyhomogeneousspeechcommunity,whoknowsitslanguageperfectlyandisunaffectedbysuchgrammaticallyirrelevantconditionsasmemorylimitation,distractions,shiftsofattentionandinterest,anderrors(randomorcharacteristic)inapplyinghisknowledgeofthelanguageinactualperformance.(Chomsky1965:3)

ForChomsky,thefocusoflinguistictheorywastocharacterizetheabstractabilitiesspeakerspossessthatenablethemtoproducegrammaticallycorrectsentencesinalanguage.Hymesheldthatsuchaviewoflinguistictheorywassterile,thatlinguistictheoryneededtobeseenaspartofamoregeneraltheoryincorporatingcommunicationandculture.Hymes'stheoryofcommunicativecompetencewasadefinitionofwhataspeakerneedstoknowinordertobecommunicativelycompetentinaspeechcommunity.InHymes'sview,apersonwhoacquirescommunicativecompetenceacquiresbothknowledgeandabilityforlanguageusewithrespectto

1.whether(andtowhatdegree)somethingisformallypossible;

2.whether(andtowhatdegree)somethingisfeasibleinvirtueofthemeansofimplementationavailable;

3.whether(andtowhatdegree)somethingisappropriate(adequate,happy,successful)inrelationtoacontextinwhichitisusedandevaluated;

4.whether(andtowhatdegree)somethingisinfactdone,actuallyperformed,andwhatitsdoingentails.

(Hymes1972:281)

ThistheoryofwhatknowingalanguageentailsoffersamuchmorecomprehensiveviewthanChomsky'sviewofcompetence,whichdealsprimarilywithabstractgrammaticalknowledge.

AnotherlinguistictheoryofcommunicationfavoredinCLTisHalliday'sfunctionalaccountoflanguageuse."Linguistics...isconcerned...withthedescriptionofspeechactsortexts,sinceonlythroughthestudyoflanguageinuseareallthefunctionsoflanguage,andthereforeallcomponentsofmeaning,broughtintofocus"(Halliday1970:145).Inanumberofinfluentialbooksandpapers,Hallidayhaselaboratedapowerfultheoryofthefunctionsoflanguage,whichcomplementsHymes'sviewofcommunicativecompetenceformanywritersonCLT(e.g.,BrumfitandJohnson1979;Savignon1983).Hedescribed(1975:11-17)sevenbasicfunctionsthatlanguageperformsforchildrenlearningtheirfirstlanguage:

1.theinstrumentalfunction:usinglanguagetogetthings;

2.theregulatoryfunction:usinglanguagetocontrolthebehaviorofothers;

3.theinteractionalfunction:usinglanguagetocreateinteractionwithothers;

4.thepersonalfunction:usinglanguagetoexpresspersonalfeelingsandmeanings;

5.theheuristicfunction:usinglanguagetolearnandtodiscover;

6.theimaginativefunction:usinglanguagetocreateaworldoftheimagination;

7.therepresentationalfunction:usinglanguagetocommunicateinformation.

LearningasecondlanguagewassimilarlyviewedbyproponentsofCommunicativeLanguageTeachingasacquiringthelinguisticmeanstoperformdifferentkindsoffunctions.

Attheleveloflanguagetheory,CommunicativeLanguageTeachinghasarich,ifsomewhateclectic,theoreticalbase.Someofthecharacteristicsofthiscommunicativeviewoflanguagefollow.

1.Languageisasystemfortheexpressionofmeaning.

2.Theprimaryfunctionoflanguageisforinteractionandcommunication.

3.Thestructureoflanguagereflectsitsfunctionalandcommunicativeuses.

4.Theprimaryunitsoflanguagearenotmerelyitsgrammaticalandstructuralfeatures,butcategoriesoffunctionalandcommunicativemeaningasexemplifiedindiscourse.

Theoryoflearning

IncontrasttotheamountthathasbeenwritteninCommunicativeLanguageTeachingliteratureaboutcommunicativedimensionsoflanguage,littlehasbeenwrittenaboutlearningtheory.NeitherBrumfitandJohnson(1979)norLittlewood(1981),forexample,offersanydiscussionoflearningtheory.ElementsofanunderlyinglearningtheorycanbediscernedinsomeCLTpractices,however.Onesuchelementmightbedescribedasthecommunicationprinciple:Activitiesthatinvolverealcommunicationpromotelearning.Asecondelementisthetaskprinciple:Activitiesinwhichlanguageisusedforcarryingoutmeaningfultaskspromotelearning(Johnson1982).Athirdelementisthemeaningfulnessprinciple:Languagethatismeaningfultothelearnersupportsthelearningprocess.Learningactivitiesareconsequentlyselectedaccordingtohowwelltheyengagethelearnerinmeaningfulandauthenticlanguageuse(ratherthanmerelymechanicalpracticeoflanguagepatterns).Theseprinciples,wesuggest,canbeinferredfromCLTpractices(e.g.,Little-wood1981;Johnson1982).Theyaddresstheconditionsneededtopromotesecondlanguagelearning,ratherthantheprocessesoflanguageacquisition.

MorerecentaccountsofCommunicativeLanguageTeaching,however,haveattemptedtodescribetheoriesoflanguagelearningprocessesthatarecompatiblewiththecommunicativeapproach.Savignon(1983)surveyssecondlanguageacquisitionresearchasasourceforlearningtheoriesandconsiderstheroleoflinguistic,social,cognitive,andindividualvariablesinlanguageacquisition.Othertheorists(e.g.,StephenKrashen,whoisnotdirectlyassociatedwithCommunicativeLanguageTeaching)havedevelopedtheoriescitedascompatiblewiththeprinciplesofCLT.Krashenseesacquisitionasthebasicprocessinvolvedindevelopinglanguageproficiencyanddistinguishesthisprocessfromlearning.Acquisitionreferstotheunconsciousdevelopmentofthetargetlanguagesystemasaresultofusingthelanguageforrealcommunication.Learningistheconsciousrepresentationofgrammaticalknowledgethathasresultedfrominstruction,anditcannotleadtoacquisition.Itistheacquiredsystemthatwecallupontocreateutterancesduringspontaneouslanguageuse.Thelearnedsystemcanserveonlyasamonitoroftheoutputoftheacquiredsystem.Krashenandothersecondlanguageacquisitiontheoriststypicallystressthatlanguagelearningcomesaboutthroughusinglanguagecommunicatively,ratherthanthroughpracticinglanguageskills.

Johnson(1984)andLittlewood(1984)consideranalternativelearningtheorythattheyalsoseeascompatiblewithCLT-askill-learningmodeloflearning.Accordingtothistheory,theacquisitionofcommunicativecompetenceinalanguageisanexampleofskilldevelopment.Thisinvolvesbothacognitiveandabehavioralaspect:

Thecognitiveaspectinvolvestheinternalisationofplansforcreatingappropriatebehaviour.Forlanguageuse,theseplansderivemainlyfromthelanguagesystem—theyincludegrammaticalrules,proceduresforselectingvocabulary,andsocialconventionsgoverningspeech.Thebehaviouralaspectinvolvestheautomationoftheseplanssothattheycanbeconvertedintofluentperformanceinrealtime.Thisoccursmainlythroughpracticeinconvertingplansintoperformance.(Littlewood1984:74)

Thistheorythusencouragesanemphasisonpracticeasawayofdevelopingcommunicativeskills.

Design

Objectives

Piepho(1981)discussesthefollowinglevelsofobjectivesinacommunicativeapproach:

1.anintegrativeandcontentlevel(languageasameansofexpression)

2.alinguisticandinstrumentallevel(languageasasemioticsystemandanobjectoflearning);

3.anaffectivelevelofinterpersonalrelationshipsandconduct(languageasameansofexpressingvaluesandjudgmentsaboutoneselfandothers);

4.alevelofindividuallearningneeds(remediallearningbasedonerroranalysis);

5.ageneraleducationallevelofextra-linguisticgoals(languagelearningwithintheschoolcurriculum).

(Piepho1981:8)

Theseareproposedasgeneralobjectives,applicabletoanyteachingsituation.ParticularobjectivesforCLTcannotbedefinedbeyondthislevelofspecification,sincesuchanapproachassumesthatlanguageteachingwillreflecttheparticularneedsofthetargetlearners.Theseneedsmaybeinthedomainsofreading,writing,listening,orspeaking,eachofwhichcanbeapproachedfromacommunicativeperspective.Curriculumorinstructionalobjectivesforaparticularcoursewouldreflectspecificaspectsofcommunicativecompetenceaccordingtothelearner'sproficiencylevelandcommunicativeneeds.

Thesyllabus

DiscussionsofthenatureofthesyllabushavebeencentralinCommunicativeLanguageTeaching.Wehaveseenthatoneofthefirstsyllabusmodelstobeproposedwasdescribedasanotionalsyllabus(Wilkins1976),whichspecifiedthesemantic-grammaticalcategories(e.g.,frequency,motion,location)andthecategoriesofcommunicativefunctionthatlearnersneedtoexpress.TheCouncilofEuropeexpandedanddevelopedthisintoasyllabusthatincludeddescriptionsoftheobjectivesofforeignlanguagecoursesforEuropeanadults,thesituationsinwhichtheymighttypicallyneedtouseaforeignlanguage(e.g.,travel,business),thetopicstheymightneedtotalkabout(e.g.,personalidentification,education,shopping),thefunctionstheyneededlanguagefor(e.g.,describingsomething,requestinginformation,expressingagreementanddisagreement),thenotionsmadeuseofincommunication(e.g.,time,frequency,duration),aswellasthevocabularyandgrammarneeded.TheresultwaspublishedasThresholdLevelEnglish(vanEkandAlexander1980)andwasanattempttospecifywhatwasneededinordertobeabletoachieveareasonabledegreeofcommunicativeproficiencyinaforeignlanguage,includingthelanguageitemsneededtorealizethis"thresholdlevel."

Typesoflearningandteachingactivities

Therangeofexercisetypesandactivitiescompatiblewithacommunicativeapproachisunlimited,providedthatsuchexercisesenablelearnerstoattainthecommunicativeobjectivesofthecurriculum,engagelearnersincommunication,andrequiretheuseofsuchcommunicativeprocessesasinformationsharing,negotiationofmeaning,andinteraction.Classroomactivitiesareoftendesignedtofocusoncompletingtasksthataremediatedthroughlanguageorinvolvenegotiationofinformationandinformationsharing.

Learnerroles

TheemphasisinCommunicativeLanguageTeachingontheprocessesofcommunication,ratherthanmasteryof

Teacherroles

SeveralrolesareassumedforteachersinCommunicativeLanguageTeaching,theimportanceofparticularrolesbeingdeterminedbytheviewofCLTadopted.BreenandCandlindescribeteacherrolesinthefollowingterms:

Theteacherhastwomainroles:thefirstroleistofacilitatethecommunicationprocessbetweenallparticipantsintheclassroom,andbetweentheseparticipantsandthevariousactivitiesandtexts.Thesecondroleistoactasanindependentparticipantwithinthelearning-teachinggroup.Thelatterroleiscloselyrelatedtotheobjectivesofthefirstroleandarisesfromit.Theserolesimplyasetofsecondaryrolesfortheteacher;first,asanorganizerofresourcesandasaresourcehimself,secondasaguidewithintheclassroomproceduresandactivitiesAthirdrolefortheteacheristhatofresearcherandlearner,withmuchtocontributeintermsofappropriateknowledgeandabilities,actualandobservedexperienceofthenatureoflearningandorganizationalcapacities.(1980:99)

Otherrolesassumedforteachersareneedsanalyst,counselor,andgroupprocessmanager.

NEEDSANALYST

TheCLTteacherassumesaresponsibilityfordeterminingandrespondingtolearnerlanguageneeds.Thismaybedoneinformallyandpersonallythroughone-to-onesessionswithstudents,inwhichtheteachertalksthroughsuchissuesasthestudent'sperceptionofhisorherlearningstyle,learningassets,andlearninggoals.Itmaybedoneformallythroughadministeringaneedsassessmentinstrument,suchasthoseexemplifiedinSavignon(1983).Typically,suchformalassessmentscontainitemsthatattempttodetermineanindividual'smotivationforstudyingthelanguage.Forexample,studentsmightrespondona5-pointscale(stronglyagreetostronglydisagree)tostatementslikethefollowing.

IwanttostudyEnglishbecause...

1.Ithinkitwillsomedaybeusefulingettingagoodjob.

2.itwillhelpmebetterunderstandEnglish-speakingpeopleandtheirwayoflife.

3.oneneedsagoodknowledgeofEnglishtogainotherpeople'srespect.

4.itwillallowmetomeetandconversewithinterestingpeople.

5.Ineeditformyjob.

6.itwillenablemetothinkandbehavelikeEnglish-speakingpeople.

Onthebasisofsuchneedsassessments,teachersareexpectedtoplangroupandindividualinstructionthatrespondstothelearners'needs.

counselor

AnotherroleassumedbyseveralCLTapproachesisthatofcounselor,similartothewaythisroleisdefinedinCommunityLanguageLearning.Inthisrole,theteacher-counselorisexpectedtoexemplifyaneffectivecommunicatorseekingtomaximizethemeshingofspeakerintentionandhearerinterpretation,throughtheuseofparaphrase,confirmation,andfeedback.

GROUPPROCESSMANAGER

CLTproceduresoftenrequireteacherstoacquirelessteacher-centeredclassroommanagementskills.Itistheteacher'sresponsibilitytoorganizetheclassroomasasettingforcommunicationandcommunicativeactivities.Guidelinesforclassroompractice(e.g.,Littlewood1981;Fin-occhiaroandBrumfit1983)suggestthatduringanactivitytheteachermonitors,encourages,andsuppressestheinclinationtosupplygapsinlexis,grammar,andstrategybutnotessuchgapsforlatercommentaryandcommunicativepractice.Attheconclusionofgroupactivities,theteacherleadsinthedebriefingoftheactivity,pointingoutalternatives

andextensionsandassistinggroupsinself-correctiondiscussion.Criticshavepointedout,however,thatnon-nativeteachersmayfeellessthancomfortableaboutsuchprocedureswithoutspecialtraining.

ThefocusonfluencyandcomprehensibilityinCommunicativeLanguageTeachingmaycauseanxietyamongteachersaccustomedtoseeingerrorsuppressionandcorrectionasthemajorinstructionalresponsibility,andwhoseetheirprimaryfunctionaspreparinglearnerstotakestandardizedorotherkindsoftests.Acontinuingteacherconcernhasbeenthepossibledeleteriouseffectinpairorgroupworkofimperfectmodelingandstudenterror.Althoughthisissueisfarfromresolved,itisinterestingtonotethatrecentresearchfindingssuggestthat"datacontradictsthenotionthatotherlearnersarenotgoodconversationalpartnersbecausetheycan'tprovideaccurateinputwhenitissolicited"(Porter1983).

Theroleofinstructionalmaterials

Awidevarietyofmaterialshavebeenusedtosupportcommunicativeapproachestolanguageteaching.Unlikesomecontemporarymethodologies,suchasCommunityLanguageLearning,practitionersofCommunicativeLanguageTeachingviewmaterialsasawayofinfluencingthequalityofclassroominteractionandlanguageuse.Materialsthushavetheprimaryroleofpromotingcommunicativelanguageuse.WewillconsiderthreekindsofmaterialscurrentlyusedinCLTandlabelthesetext-based,task-based,andrealia.

TEXT-BASEDMATERIALS

TherearenumeroustextbooksdesignedtodirectandsupportCommunicativeLanguageTeaching.Theirtablesofcontentssometimessuggestakindofgradingandsequencingoflanguagepracticenotunlikethosefoundinstructurallyorganizedtexts.Someoftheseareinfactwrittenaroundalargelystructuralsyllabus,withslightreformattingtojustifytheirclaimstobebasedonacommunicativeapproach.Others,however,lookverydifferentfrompreviouslanguageteachingtexts.MorrowandJohnson'sCommunicate(1979),forexample,hasnoneoftheusualdialogues,drills,orsentencepatternsandusesvisualcues,tapedcues,pictures,andsentencefragmentstoinitiateconversation.Watcyn-Jones'sPairWork(1981)consistsoftwodifferenttextsforpairwork,eachcontainingdifferentinformationneededtoenactroleplaysandcarryoutotherpairactivities.TextswrittentosupporttheMalay-sianEnglishLanguageSyllabus(1975)likewiserepresentadeparturefromtraditionaltextbookmodes.Atypicallessonconsistsofatheme(e.g.,relayinginformation),ataskanalysisforthematicdevelopment(e.g.,understandingthemessage,askingquestionstoobtainclarification,askingformoreinformation,takingnotes,orderingandpresentinginformation),apracticesituationdescription(e.g.,"Acalleraskstoseeyourmanager.Hedoesnothaveanappointment.Gatherthenecessaryinformationfromhimandrelaythemessagetoyourmanager."),astimuluspresentation(intheprecedingcase,thebeginningofanofficeconversationscriptedandontape),comprehensionquestions(e.g.,"Whyisthecallerintheoffice?"),andparaphraseexercises.

TASK-BASEDMATERIALS

Avarietyofgames,roleplays,simulations,andtask-basedcommunicationactivitieshavebeenpreparedtosupportCommunicativeLanguageTeachingclasses.Thesetypicallyareintheformofone-of-a-kinditems:exercisehandbooks,cuecards,activitycards,pair-communicationpracticematerials,andstudent-interactionpracticebooklets.Inpair-communicationmaterials,therearetypicallytwosetsofmaterialforapairofstudents,eachsetcontainingdifferentkindsofinformation.Sometimestheinformationiscomplementary,andpartnersmustfittheirrespectivepartsofthe"jigsaw"intoacompositewhole.Othersassumedifferentrolerelationshipsforthepartners(e.g.,aninterviewer