Our understanding of the processes of the second
language learning has considerably changed in the last 30 years, and Communicative Language Teaching is partly a
response to these changes.
Earlier views of language learning focuses primarily
on the mastery of grammatical competence. It was very much seen under the
control of the teacher. In fact, CLT sets its goals on communicative
competence.
While grammatical competence is an important dimension
of language learning , it is clearly not all that is involved in learning a
language. Since one can master the rules of sentence formation and not being
able to use the language in a meaningful communication.
Brief
history of CLT:
CLT origins, can be found in changes in the British
Language teaching tradition in the 1960s. Back then, the Situational Language teaching approach was the norm. SLT
consisted in internalizing the structures of a language. Mostly, learning
grammar rules without vocabulary development. The SLT did
not fill the need to develop language competence in Language teaching. A group of experts saw the need to focus in communicative proficiency
rather than mastery of structures. (Richards, J.C. & Rodgers, T.S. p.64) Sandra J. Savignon, Christopher Candlin, D.A. Wilkins and Henry
Widdowson along with others promoted the CLT approach. Along with the changes
in Europe it helped to reform the language teaching.
What is CLT?
-Communicative language teaching or Communicative
approach is an approach to language teaching that emphasizes interaction as
both the means and the ultimate goal of study.
CLT Approach’s
Principals:
-knowing how to use language for a range of different
purposes and functions
-let the students communicate fluently in the target
language
-knowing how to produce and understands different
types of texts( eg: narratives, reports, interviews, conversations)
-knowing how to vary our use of language according to
the setting and the participants (eg: knowing when to use formal and informal
speech)
The role of the teacher and the student:
|
Teacher role |
Learner role |
|
-Facilitator |
-Interactor |
|
-Needs analyst |
-Collaborator |
|
-Counselor |
-Discoverer |
|
-Provider or input |
-Self-assessor |
|
-Prompter |
-Problem-solver |
|
-Reflector |
-Questioner |
|
Learner |
|
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