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select, read and make a summary in note form of a reading source that is
relevant to an audience of peers on the course
2.
3.
4.
5.
Select a reading source that you feel is interesting and useful to other
course members. The reading text can be taken from a practical teaching
magazine, an extract from a book or an academic journal (e.g. ELT
Journal) or an internet source. The source text or extract should not be
longer than 1,000 1,500 words and must have professional relevance.
Produce a summary in note form of the main ideas or argumentation of
the text. You may use diagrams or tables to summarize the main ideas in
the extract or article you have chosen. You may include one or two short
quotations from the reading source in your presentation. Make sure you
can explain or exemplify any technical terms or concepts in the article /
extract.
Prepare two questions on your selected text which will be useful to
stimulate discussion of key aspects of the text with your peer group.
Give an oral presentation of your selected source to your peer group using
your notes from stage 2 above. Try to introduce and contextualize the
topic presented. The aim of the presentation is to facilitate your audiences
understanding of the main points / issues and to use accurate oral
language, as well as pronunciation and prosodic features (stress, juncture
and intonation) to good effect.
After your oral presentation of the reading source, use your discussion
questions (stage 3) to initiate a brief discussion of the points selected.
NOTE: You should hand in a referenced copy of the original text and your
summary to your course tutor(s)
The theories underlying the audiolingual method and the situational language
teaching were widely criticized during the 1960s. Noam Chomsky, for instance,
rejected the structuralist view of language and demonstrated that there is a
distinction between performance and competence. The goal of the linguist is to
study the linguistic competence native speakers are endowed with. He also
showed, rightly, that structuralism and behaviorism were unable to account for one
fundamental aspect of language, namely the creativity and uniqueness of
individual sentences. A child is able to produce an infinite number of sentences that
s/he has never encountered. This makes the factors of imitation, repetition and
habit formation weak arguments to account for any language learning theory.
A shift towards communicative proficiency
The increasing interdependency between the European countries necessitated a
need for a greater effort to teach adults the principal languages of the continent.
New goals were set in language teaching profession:
to get things,
to control behavior,
to learn,
to communicate information.
Learning theory
According to the the communicative approach, in order for learning to take place,
emphasis must be put on the importance of these variables:
Acquiring or learning?
Stephen Krashen later advocated in his language learning theory that there should
be a distinction between learning and acquiring. He sees acquisition as the basic
process involved in developing language proficiency and distinguishes this process
from learning. Acquisition is an unconscious process that involves the naturalistic
development of language proficiency while learning is the conscious internalisation
of the rules of language. It results in explicit knowledge about the forms of
language and the ability to verbalize this knowledge. Learning according to
Krashen can not lead to acquisition.
Syllabus
Communicative language teaching syllabus organizes the teaching according to
the notional and functional categories of language rather than according to its
structures.It concentrates on the following:
Merits of CLT
There are many advantages in teaching according to the communicative approach:
Criticism
Notional syllabus was criticized as merely replacing one kind of list, namely
out.
The approach relies extensively on the functional-notational syllabus which
In spite of its critics, CLT has gained widespread acceptance in the world of
language study. CLT can succeed, as long as teachers dont completely reject the
need for the structure provided by grammar. Teachers must strive for moderation
and dont neglect the merits of other methods. CLT, in the hands of a balanced
teacher, can bring new life and joy to the classroom. Its vitality makes it an
important contributor to language learning approaches.
Read more on the Communicative Approach. Check Richards & Rogers book:
Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching (Cambridge Language Teaching
Library)
References
H. Douglas Brown (1987).Principles of language learning and teaching. Englewood
Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice Hall
Richards, Jack C. and Theodore S. Rodgers (1986). Approaches and methods in
language teaching: A description and analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press
Other sources: Wikipedia CLT
Communicative Language Teaching (The Communicative Approach) by
Mohammed Rhalmi September 2, 2009
http://www.myenglishpages.com/blog/communicative-language-teachingcommunicative-approach/#.VGlUcv50ywk
Last Visit: 19/10/14.
Communicative Language Teaching
Summary
Some important theorists, but mainly Chumsky in the 1960s doubted about the
effectiveness of the Audio Lingual Method ALM, and Situational Language
Teaching SLT, which did not completely demonstrate the faculty to promote
accuracy in learning a second language. Therefore, the inception of a more
fashionable theory appeared as a promissory alternative to achieve effectively the
goal of communication in the acquisition of L2 since it has proved that CLT
integrates both style and the final aim, which leads the learner to communicate
effectively in L2.
The background of CLT is a consequence of ALM and the expansion of the
Notional Functional Syllabus (NFS). Along with CLT a new more current refinement
has also gained great notoriety. Task-based Learning.
Chomsky stated that there is a difference between performance and competence
with the language. ALM and SLT were widely criticized because of that mechanical
and controlled behavior of the language and both of them were found incapable to
demonstrate how L1 speakers are capable to produce utterances naturally without
being conscious of accuracy. Then, the main purpose of the linguistic is to analyze
how that natural ability can be applicable to L2 learners.
Communication
Tasks
Meaning
CLT CRITICS
Notional syllabus received criticism due to the fact that it is said that lists of
grammatical structures were substituted by lists of functions and notions. On the
other hand, there might be negative results because of the lack of grammar rules
and formal structures since the communicative approach is more focused on the
usage of language in daily situations and functionality.
There is a great emphasis on learners necessities so it means a huge demand
from learners and a big duty for teachers to adapt daily sessions and teaching aids.
Despite receiving critics, CLT has been widely accepted in educational
programmes. CLT promises to be a quite successful method in acquiring L2.
Nonetheless, it requires an open mind to accept other methodologies which may
be also a complement of CLT. A well-balanced planning class might hopefully lead
our classrooms to a blissful place to learn under the terms of a new communicative
approach, CLT.
Questions
1. How could communicative approach be adapted to young learners?
2. Does a learner who received formal grammar background in a language is
more capable to develop language competence in learning a second
language?