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COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING
Mirzakamolova Maftuna Rahimjon kizi
Basic doctoral student of Namangan State University
Abstract:
This article studies the role of communicative language teaching approach in
education and for teaching and learning the English language. It is vital to mention that the work
is devoted to highlight the effects of this technique to improve learners’ speaking skill.
Keywords:
Communicative language teaching (CLT), EFL classroom, interactive activities, the
target language, an authentic way.
Introduction.
There are many ways to help the students to improve their speaking skill. One of
the ways is through communicative language teaching (CLT) approach. CLT is the approach in
which the students are asked to use the language for communication in real situation. Applebaum
states that using CLT will allow students the opportunity to use the target language in an
authentic and meaningful way. The approach focuses on the students. The teacher organizes
activities in such a way that the students can initiate and control the interaction. The teacher
functions as a facilitator. According to Larsen-Freeman, the principles of CLT emphasize the
importance of using a language to communicate in order to learn it. He stresses, “Being able to
communicate requires more than linguistic competence; it requires communicative competence”.
Language (oral and written) functions to serve authentic purposes by facilitating meaningful
communication.
Materials and methods
. Relating to some facts above, two types of speaking activities in CLT
can be used. They are information-gap and role-play. Harmer states that in line to CLT the
pedagogical solution to the problems of getting students to speak the target language in large
EFL classrooms is to engage learners in meaningful activities such as information-gap and role-
play activities. This approach has been previously successful in ESL situations. However, in
introducing these activities into the EFL classroom, the pedagogical solution presents two quite
sharp challenges: to create meaningful situations for language use and to overcome affective
barriers within the activity on the classroom.
Information-gap and role-play activities can be applied to all level of students and they can be
applied based on the level of difficulty of the materials. Pair and group activities are purposed to
be used because they gave learners gave opportunity to use the language and to develop fluency.
CLT will allow students to have the opportunity to use the target language. In the early 70’s a
new approach was developed to focus more on student production based on a different theory of
language acquisition. The theory states that students want to communicate and that dialogues
should be based on real life situation The material used should be authentic and meaningful. It is
also believed that in order to communicate in the target language the speaker should have more
than just linguistic competence but also communicative competence. This theory produced the
approach that we know today as Communicative Language Teaching.
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There are basically five characteristics that make CLT different from other approaches like
Audio-Lingual Method or traditional approaches like GrammarTranslation Method. They are as
follows:
1. Taught in the target language;
2. Introduction of authentic text and materials in the lesson. An emphasis on learning to
communicate through interaction with other students;
3. opportunities for learners to focus, not only on the target language, but also on the learning
process itself;
4. Learner’s experiences are an important part of the classroom learning situation;
5. An attempt to link learning in the classroom to authentic usage outside the classroom.
The teacher must keep these principles in mind when planning and teaching a lesson using the
CLT approach. There are many activities the teacher can use incorporating CLT. He/ She can
find them on websites, in activity books or from other teachers at conferences and workshops.
However, when choosing or creating an activity the teacher must keep three things in mind . The
activity must (1) use authentic language, materials and language situations, (2) have a purpose
that the teacher can state and be achievable and (3) allow for freedom and unpredictability.
In using authentic language and materials the teacher must consider the students he/she is
teaching. The teacher must consider what students will be using English for. This will dictate the
choice of materials used. A class of high school students preparing to study at universities in
America will not be interested in the studying the same material used to teach adults studying
English at a continuing education class so they can use English when they travel on vacation or
vice versa. The teacher must also incorporate activities using situations students might actually
find themselves in after accomplishing their English study.
The teaching must be purposeful. Students must be in a situation in their learning and activities
where they need to communicate with each other in order to accomplish their task in the activity.
This will also allow them to use each other as resources and learn from each other. Use will not
be unlike what their situations could be in real life. In real life they will learn through practice in
using the language in purposeful way. They will also learn from their experience through
interacting with other English speaker. In having freedom and in predictability in the classroom
student have the freedom to make their own choices in using the target language. Often, when
traditional teachers do interactive activities they allow students to only to use specific answers,
for example either affirmative or negative response to a specific statement or question. Allowing
unpredictability the activity becomes more interesting and challenging and much more like real
life. The activities do not have to be acting out a real life situation but can also be light and fun
like a game. This could appeal to adult learners as well as young ones. There are many choices
the teacher can make in selecting activities for use in the classroom.
Result and discussion
. According to Richards, there are ten core assumption of current
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communicative language teaching:
1. Second language learning, is facilitated when learners are engaged in interaction and
meaningful communication.
2. Effective classroom learning tasks and exercises provide opportunities for students to
negotiate meaning, expand their language resources notice how language is used, and take part in
meaningful interpersonal exchange.
3. Meaningful communication results from students processing content that is relevant,
purposeful, interesting, and engaging,
4. Communication is a holistic process that often calls upon the use of several language skills or
modality.
5. Language learning is facilitated both by activities that involve inductive or discovery learning
of underlying rules of language use and organization, as well as by those involving language
analysis and reflection.
6. Language learning is a gradual process that involves creative use of language, and trial and
error. Although errors are a normal product of learning, the ultimate goal of learning is to be able
to use the new language both accurately and fluently.
7. Learners develop their own routes to language learning, progress at different rates, and have
different needs and motivations for language learning.
8. Successful language learning involves the use of effective learning and communication
strategies.
9. The role of the teacher in the language classroom is that of a facilitator, who creates a
classroom climate conducive to language learning and provides opportunities for students to use
and practice the language and to reflect on language use and language learning.
10. The classroom is a community where learners learn through collaboration and sharing.
Conclusion.
In short, communicative language teaching makes use of real-life situations that
necessitate communication. The teacher sets up a situation that students are likely to encounter in
real life. The communicative language teaching approach can leave students in suspense as to the
outcome of a class exercise, which will vary according to their reactions and responses. The real-
life simulations change from day to day. Students’ motivation to learn comes from their desire to
communicate in meaningful ways about meaningful topics. For those reasons the writer is
interested in discussing whether the information-gap and role-play speaking activity as a part of
CLT are good to apply in teaching speaking and how the procedure of teaching speaking using
those techniques.
REFERENCES:
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1.
Applebaum, Bruce. 2007. Communicative Language Teaching: Theory, Practice, and
Personal Experience. Mandiri,9 (4), 266-270.
2.
Harmer, J. 2001. The Practice of English Language Teaching. Harlow: Pearson Education
Limited
3.
Nunan, David. 1991. Communicative Tasks and the Language Curriculum. TESOL.
Quarterly, 25 (2), 279-295. Retrieved from : Http://www.yahoo.com/asian-ef-journal.com
Accessed on November 22, 2009.
