Communicative

language
teaching

plan

Introduction
Historical background
Theory of language
Characteristics of the communicative view of language
Theory of learning
Objectives
The syllabus
The activities
Teacher/students roles
The instructional materials
Conclusion: advantages/ disadvantages

Introduction

 Clt

marks the beginning of a major paradigm

shift within lge teaching in the 20TH C.
Clt principles have been widely accepted
around the world
Its philosophy implemented in different
teaching practices

The historical background

Criticism

levelled at ALM
Chomskys criticism of structural
linguistics
current standard structural theories of
lge were incapable of accounting for the
basic characteristic of lge : the creativity
and uniqueness of sentences .

British applied linguists emphasize new

dimensions : the functional and communicative
dimensions of lge: they saw the need to focus
in lge teaching on communicative proficiency
rather than structures especially with the
interdependence of European countries (the
European common Market and the Council of
Europe )

Wilkins (1972)

Proposed a functional and communicative definition of

lge to develop communicative syllabuses for lge teaching
Attempted to demonstrate the systems of meaning
behind the communicative uses of lge
So he described two types of meaning :
Notional categories ( concepts as time, quantity,
frequency )
Categories of communication function (requests , offers,
denials )
His sementic communicative analysis was incooperated
by the Council of Europe in a set of specifications that
influenced the design of communication lge programs
and textbooks in Europe

Is it an approach or method ?
American

and British proponents see clt as an

approach not a method that aims to:
Make communicative competence the goal of
lge teaching
Develop procedures to teach the 4 skills of lge
that acknowledge the interdependence of lge
and communication
So clt is about using English to learn it =
communication is a mean to an end

Clt theory of lge

Clt

starts from a theory of lge that views

lge as communication
The goal of LT is to develop
communicative competence
Communicative competence is defined in
terms of the expressions, interpretations
and negotiation of meaning

Hymes(1972)

His theory of communicative competence was a

definition of what a speaker needs to know in order to
be communicatively competent in a speech community
So a person who acquires communicative competence
acquires both knowledge and ability for lge use with
respect to whether sth is :
Formally possible
Feasible in virtue of the means of implementation
available
Appropriate in relation to a context
In fact done and what its doing entails

Halliday(1975)

o
o
o
o
o
o
o

Claims that lge use has many functions:

The instrumental F: using lge to get things
The regulatory F: using lge to control the behavior of
others
The interactional F: using lge to create interaction with
others
The personal F: using lge to express personal feelings &
meanings
The heuristic F: using lge to learn & discover
The imaginative F: using lge to create a world of the
imagination
The representational F: using lge to communicate
information
Therefore , learning a second lge is acquiring the
linguistic means to perform these functions

widdowson
Presented

a view of the relationship between

linguistic systems & their communicative
values in text & discourse
He focused on the communicative acts that is
the ability to use lge for different purposes

Swain(1980)

Says that communicative competence has four

dimensions:
Grammatical c : refers to what Chomsky calls linguistic
competence and what Hymes means by what is formally
possible.
Sociolinguistic c: refers to an understanding of the social
context in which communication takes place
Discourse c: refers to the interpretation of message
elements and how meaning is represented in
relationship to the entire discourse or text
Strategic c: refers to the strategies that communicators
employ to initiate, terminate, maintain, repair, and
redirect communication

Characteristics of the
communicative view of lge
Lge

is used to express meaning

The primary function of lge is to allow
interaction & communication
The structure of lge reflects its functional and
communicative uses
The primary units of lge are not only its
grammatical and structural features but also
categories of functional and communicative
meaning(discourse)

Theory of learning

A.
B.
C.

Although little has been written about learning

theory ; it is possible to discern some elements of
theory in some clt practices:
The communication principle: activities that involve
real communication
The task principle: activities in which lge is used
for carrying out meaningful tasks
The meaningful principle: lge that is meaningful to
the learner supports the learning process
These principles descibe the conditions under
which SLL is promoted

Design
Objectives

Piepho(1981) sets CLT objectives in terms of the

following levels:
Integrative and content level ( lge as a means of
expression )
Linguistic and instructional level ( lge as an
object of learning )
Effective level of interpersonal relationships
and conduct ( lge as a means of expressing
values and judgments about oneself and others)
Level of individual learning needs ( responds to
learners needs )
General educational level of extralinguistic
goals (lge learning within the school curriculum )

The syllabus

It includes a description of the objectives of foreign

lanuage courses such as: the situations in which the
learners might typically need to use a foreign language
(e.g., travel, business), the topics they might need to talk
about (e.g., personal identification, education, shopping),
the functions they needed language for (e.g., describing
something, requesting information, expressing
agreement and disagreement), the notions made use of
in communication (e.g., time, frequency, duration), as
well as the vocabulary and grammar needed.

Activities
A variety

of games, role plays, simulations,

and task-based communication activities
have been prepared to support
Communicative Language Teaching classes.

Students roles
The

emphasis in Communicative Language

Teaching on the processes of
communication, rather than mastery of
language.

Teachers roles
Several

roles are assumed for teachers in

Communicative Language Teaching:

The first role is to facilitate the communication

process between all the participants in the
classroom.
The teacher is a needs analyst:
The CLT teacher assumes a responsibility for
determining and responding to learner language
needs.

The instructional materials

Text-based

materials:
There are numerous textbooks designed to
direct and support Communicative Language
Teaching.

Realia

The use of "authentic," "from-life" materials

in the classroom such as:
magazines, advertisements, and
newspapers, or graphic and visual
sources(maps,pictures,symboles,charts...)

Conclusion

The advantages
The

most obvious advantage in

Communicative Language Teaching is that of
the increase of fluency in the L2.
CLT enables the teacher to observe
individual learning through various tasks.

Disadvantages
A big

disadvantage might be that it is difficult

for the teacher alone to check the language
use of every student, especially in a big
class.
CLT focuses on fluency not accuracy.