COMMUNICATIVE

LANGUAGE TEACHING
AND

P4C
WILMA C. DE CASTRO DISCUSSANT
 If one learns from others but
does not think, one will be
bewildered. If, on the other
hand, one thinks but does not
learn from others, one will be in
peril.

Confucian Analects 11.15

P4C
COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE
TEACHING
&
PHILOSOPHY FOR CHILDREN
P4C
FLEXIBLE APPROACH OF TEACHING
Richards and Rodgers, Cambridge,1986
Communicative Teaching Today
J. Richards, Cambridge University

WILMA C. DE CASTRO
PRESENTER
P4C is an approach to teaching
and learning that drives better
thinking, communication and
collaboration.
 P4C - built on three principles:
* Pupils tackle profound philosophical
questions.

* Pupils take leadership of the lesson.

* Pupils learn respect and resilience to

challenge
 Philosophy for Children is NOT:
- an ‘out of the box’ program
- a completely ‘random’ discussion
- reliant on getting a definitive ‘right’
answer
- the same as circle time
- teacher centered
 Philosophy for Children IS:
- an approach to education based on group
enquiry, reflection and developing skills
- a structured method
- reliant on the creative questions, critical
responses and imagination of pupils
- focused on a community of enquirers, who are
working together towards better understanding of
‘big questions’
- democratic and pupil-led
P4C IS ABOUT:

EEFFECTIVE
QUESTIONING
 P4C IS ALL ABOUT:

-Questions that seek clarification.

-Questions that probe reasons and
evidence.
- Questions that explore alternative
views.
- Questions that test implications and
consequences.
- Questions about the question /
discussion.
“It is not instruction,” said
Ralph Waldo Emerson, “but
provocation that I can most
accept from another soul.”

COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING

CLT
1. People learn a language best when using it to do
things rather than through studying how
language
works and practicing rules.
2. Grammar is no longer important in language
teaching.
3. People learn a language through communicating
in it.
4. Errors are not important in speaking a language.
5. CLT is only concerned with teaching speaking.
6. Classroom activities should be
meaningful and involve real
communication.
7. Dialogs are not used in CLT.
8. Both accuracy and fluency are goals in
CLT.
9. CLT is usually described as a method
of teaching.
 The Goals of Language
Teaching
Communicative language
teaching sets as its goal the
teaching of communicative
competence.
 Goals of Communicative Teaching
- Communicative competence
- To enable the students to communicate
in the target language
- To enable the students to differentiate
both the formal and informal language
and be able to use each appropriately
Communicative Language Teaching
a set of principles about :
- the goals of language teaching

- how learners learn a language

- the kinds of classroom activities that
best facilitate learning
- the roles of teachers and learners in
the classroom
-CLT - a language teaching
approach based on
Communication Theory of
Linguistic Competence
- Communication - involves using
language functions as well as
grammar structures
 CLT- APPROACH
Represents philosophy of teaching
Based on language
- based on communicative
competence
 Main Features:
1. Meaning – primary importance
- construction upon the basis of :
Notion Function
* Students should be given opportunity to
negotiate meaning to try to make
themselves understood
 2. Contextualization – basic
principle
- Language is used in a social
context and should be appropriate
to setting topics and participants
 EMPHASIS:
Notional concepts and Functional concepts
- Attempts by the learners to communicate in
the language upon the start of the classes
- New language system will be learned but by
struggling to communicate one’s own
meaning and by negotiation of meaning
through interaction with others
 Materials
Determined By:
Content, Function and/or meaning that will
maintain students interest
Reasonable use of native tongue in the
classroom
Activities and strategies for learning are varied
And according to learner preference and needs
 Communication Principle

- Activities that involve real

communication promote learning
 Task Principle
Activities in which language is used in carrying
out meaningful task promote learning

Meaningfulness Principle
Language that is meaningful to the learner
supports the learning process
 Learning Activities
consequently selected as to how well
the learners are engaged in meaningful
and authentic language use
Classroom Activities that are
representative of CLT:
- Interactive Language Games
- Information Sharing Activities
- Task – based Activities
- Social Interaction
 The Role of Teacher
– Facilitator
Responsibilities:
- Giving advice
- monitoring student performance
 The Role of Student
- Communicator
- Actively using speaking skills in
order to be understood and to
understand other students as well
Important Skills that Students Exercise:
Speaking T
Listening H
Reading I
Writing N
Viewing KING
 Language Elements
1.Grammar
2.Vocabulary
3.Fluency
 Students’ Native Language
- Students are allowed to use their
native language but they are hoped
to communicate in the target
language as much as possible
 Students’ Errors
- Seen as natural outcomes
and the teacher may note
students’ errors and give
feedback to the students
 - Students should be able to
express their opinions and state
their ideas and feelings, i. e.
learning to communicate through
communicating
 Methods or Strategies
- Scrambled Sentences
e. g. car is. The blue
- Picture Strip
- Role Play – gives students an
opportunity to practice communication
in social role
Grammatical Competence
vs.
Communicative
Competence
 Grammatical competence - accounts for our ability
to produce sentences in a language

- knowledge of the building blocks of sentences

(e.g., parts of speech, tenses, phrases, clauses,
sentence
patterns) and how sentences are formed.

- unit of analysis and practice is typically the

sentence
 Communicative competence includes:
- Knowing how to use language for a range of
different purposes and functions
- Knowing how to vary our use of language
according to the setting and the participants
(e.g., knowing when to use formal and
informal speech or when to use language
appropriately for written as opposed to
spoken communication)
Knowing how to produce and understand
different types of texts (e.g., narratives,
reports, interviews, conversations)

Knowing how to maintain communication

despite having limitations in one’s
language knowledge (e.g., through using
different kinds of communication
strategies)
Thank you