ISSN:
2181-3906
2024
International scientific journal
«MODERN SCIENCE АND RESEARCH»
VOLUME 3 / ISSUE 3 / UIF:8.2 / MODERNSCIENCE.UZ
114
COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING APPROACH IN TEACHING
ENGLISH
Kurbanbaeva Mirigul
student of Foreign Languages Faculty, NSPI.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10779274
Abstract.
The origins of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) are to be found in the
changes in the British language teaching tradition dating from the late 1960s. Until then,
Situational Language represented the major British approach to teaching English as a foreign
language. In Situational Language Teaching, language was taught by practicing basic structures
in meaningful situation-based activities.
Key Words:
Linguistic Theory of Communication, Language Acquisition, Second
Language Acquisition, Grammatical Knowledge.
КОММУНИКАТИВНЫЙ ПОДХОД ОБУЧЕНИЯ АНГЛИЙСКОМУ ЯЗЫКУ
Аннотация.
Истоки коммуникативного преподавания языка (CLT) можно найти в
изменениях в британской традиции преподавания языка, начиная с конца 1960-х годов. До
этого ситуационный язык представлял собой основной британский подход к преподаванию
английского языка как иностранного. В рамках ситуационного преподавания языка язык
преподавал путем отработки базовых структур в значимых ситуативно-
ориентированных действиях.
Ключевые слова:
лингвистическая теория коммуникации, овладение языком,
овладение вторым языком, грамматические знания.
Introduction.
Communicative language teaching (CLT) is an approach to language
teaching that emphasizes interaction as both the means and the ultimate goal of study. CLT
emerged in the 1970s as a reaction to the perceived shortcomings of traditional grammar-
translation language teaching methods. Traditional methods focused on teaching grammar and
vocabulary in isolation, with little emphasis on the communicative use of the language. CLT, on
the other hand, focuses on the development of students’ ability to communicate effectively in real-
life situations.
The teacher in a communicative language classroom acts as a guide or facilitator and
students engage in class activities to learn the language. Development of Language Teaching The
communicative approach in language teaching starts from a theory of language as communication.
The goal of language teaching is to develop what Hymes referred to as "communicative
competence." Hymes coined this term in order to contrast a communicative view of language and
Chomsky's theory of competence. Chomsky held that linguistic theory is concerned primarily with
an ideal speaker-listener in a completely homogeneous speech community, who knows its
language perfectly and is unaffected by such grammatically irrelevant conditions as memory
limitation, distractions, shifts of attention and interest, and errors (random or characteristic) in
applying his knowledge of the language in actual performance.
For Chomsky, the focus of linguistic theory was to characterize the abstract abilities
speakers possess that enable them to produce grammatically correct sentences in a language.
ISSN:
2181-3906
2024
International scientific journal
«MODERN SCIENCE АND RESEARCH»
VOLUME 3 / ISSUE 3 / UIF:8.2 / MODERNSCIENCE.UZ
115
Hymes held that such a view of linguistic theory was sterile, that linguistic theory needed
to be seen as part of a more general theory incorporating communication and culture. Hymes's
theory of communicative competence was a definition of what a speaker needs to know in order
to be communicatively competent in a speech community. [11:235]
In Hymes's view, a person who acquires communicative competence acquires both
knowledge and ability for language use with respect to
1. Whether (and to what degree) something is formally possible;
2. Whether (and to what degree) something is feasible in virtue of the means of
implementation available;
3. Whether (and to what degree) something is appropriate (adequate, happy, successful) in
relation to a context in which it is used and evaluated;
4. Whether (and to what degree) something is in fact done, actually performed, and what it
is doing entails.
In a number of influential books and papers, a second element is the task principle:
Activities in which language is used for carrying out meaningful tasks promote learning.
A third element is the meaningfulness principle: Language that is meaningful to the learner
supports the learning process. Learning activities are consequently selected according to how well
they engage the learner in meaningful and authentic language use (rather than merely mechanical
practice of language patterns). These principles, we suggest, can be inferred from CLT practices.
They address the conditions needed to promote second language learning, rather than the
processes of language acquisition. More recent accounts of Communicative Language Teaching,
however, have attempted to describe theories of language learning processes that are compatible
with the communicative approach. Savignon surveys second language acquisition research as a
source for learning theories and considers the role of linguistic, social, cognitive, and individual
variables in language acquisition. [11:76]
Other theorists (e.g., Stephen Krashen, who is not directly associated with Communicative
Language Teaching) have developed theories cited as compatible with the principles of CLT.
Krashen sees acquisition as the basic process involved in developing language proficiency
and distinguishes this process from learning. Acquisition refers to the unconscious development
of the target language system as a result of using the language for real communication.
Learning is the conscious representation of grammatical knowledge that has resulted from
instruction, and it cannot lead to acquisition. It is the acquired system that we call upon to create
utterances during spontaneous language use. The learned system can serve only as a monitor of
the output of the acquired system. [3]
Krashen and other second language acquisition theorists typically stress that language
learning comes about through using language communicatively, rather than through practicing
language skills Johnson and Littlewood consider an alternative learning theory that they also see
as compatible with CLT-a skill-learning model of learning. According to this theory, the
acquisition of communicative competence in a language is an example of skill development.
[4:541]
This involves both a cognitive and a behavioral aspect: The cognitive aspect involves the
internalization of plans for creating appropriate behavior. For language use, these plans derive
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VOLUME 3 / ISSUE 3 / UIF:8.2 / MODERNSCIENCE.UZ
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mainly from the language system — they include grammatical rules, procedures for selecting
vocabulary, and social conventions governing speech. The behavioral aspect involves the
automation of these plans so that they can be converted into fluent performance in real time. This
occurs mainly through practice in converting plans into performance. This theory thus encourages
an emphasis on practice as a way of developing communicative skills.
Communicative Principles
1. Language learning is learning to communicate using the target language.
2. The language used to communicate must be appropriate to the situation, the roles of the
speakers, the setting and the register. The learner needs to differentiate between a formal and an
informal style.
3. Communicative activities are essential.
Activities should be presented in a situation or context and have a communicative purpose.
Typical activities of this approach are: games, problem-solving tasks, and role-play. There should
be information gap, choice and feedback involved in the activities.
4. Learners must have constant interaction with and exposure to the target language.
5. Development of the four macro skills — speaking, listening, reading and writing — is
integrated from the beginning, since communication integrates the different skills.
6. The topics are selected and graded regarding age, needs, level, and students’ interest.
7. Motivation is central. Teachers should raise students’ interest from the beginning of the
lesson.
8. The role of the teacher is that of a guide, a facilitator or an instructor.
9. Trial and error is considered part of the learning process.
10. Evaluation concerns not only the learners’ accuracy but also their fluency.
Communicative Features
1. Meaning is paramount.
2. Dialogues, if used, enter around communicative functions and are not normally
memorized.
3. Contextualization is a basic premise. (Meaning cannot be understood out of context.
Teachers using this approach will present a grammar topic in a meaningful context.
Example: If the new topic to teach is Present Continuous, the teacher will not mime the
action of ‘walking’ and ask: What am I doing? I am walking. Instead, the teacher will show, say,
pictures of her last trip and tell the students something like: I have pictures of my vacation. Look,
in the picture I am with my friends. We are having lunch at a very expensive restaurant. In this
other picture, we are swimming at the beach.
4. Language learning is learning to communicate and effective communication is sought.
(When learners are involved in real communication, their natural strategies for language
acquisition will be used, and this will allow them to learn to use the language.)
5. Drilling may occur, but peripherally.
6. Comprehensible pronunciation is sought.
7. Translation may be used where students need or benefit from it.
8. Reading and writing can start from the first day.
ISSN:
2181-3906
2024
International scientific journal
«MODERN SCIENCE АND RESEARCH»
VOLUME 3 / ISSUE 3 / UIF:8.2 / MODERNSCIENCE.UZ
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9. Communicative competence is the desired goal (i.e., the ability to use the linguistic
system effectively and appropriately).
10. Teachers help learners in any way that motivates them to work with the language.
11. Students are expected to interact with other people, either in the flesh, through pair and
group work, or in their writings.
Communicative Approaches
As the language theories underlying the Audio-lingual method and the Situational method
were questioned by prominent linguists like Chomsky during the 1960s, a new trend of language
teaching paved its way into classrooms. Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), which is an
approach to the teaching of second and foreign languages, emphasizes interaction as both the
means and the ultimate goal of learning a language. It is also referred to as “Communicative
Approach”. Historically, CLT has been seen as a response to the Audio-Lingual Method (ALM),
and as an extension or development of the Notional-Functional Syllabus. Task-based language
learning, a more recent refinement of CLT, has gained considerably in popularity.
Structuralism And Behaviorism The theories underlying the audio-lingual method and the
situational language teaching were widely criticized during the 1960s. Noam Chomsky, for
instance, rejected the structuralism 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. Proficiency of Communicative 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:
The paramount importance of communication aspects of language.
The increasing interest in meaningful learning. c. The growing centrality of the learner in
teaching processes. d. The subordinate importance of structural teaching of language. Notional
language Applied linguists and philosophers addressed another fundamental dimension of
language: the functional and communicative potential of language. The speech act theory showed
that we do something when we speak a language. We use language
to get things,
to control behavior,
to create interaction with others,
to express personal feelings,
to learn,
to create a world of imagination,
to communicate information.
Besides applied linguists emphasized a teaching of language based on communicative
proficiency rather than mastery of structures. Instead of describing the core of language through
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traditional concepts of grammar and vocabulary, they attempted to show the systems of meaning
underlying the communicative use of language. They described two kinds of meanings.
Notional categories: concepts such as time, sequence; quantity, location, frequency.
Functional categories: requests offers, complaints, invitation … In other words, a “notion”
is a particular context in which people communicate. A “function” is a specific purpose for a
speaker in a given context. For example, the “notion,” of shopping requires numerous language
“functions,” such as asking about prices or features of a product and bargaining.
Language Competence
For Chomsky the focus of linguistics was to describe the linguistic competence that enables
speakers to produce grammatically correct sentences. Dell Hymes held, however, that such a view
of linguistic theory was sterile and that it failed to picture all the aspects of language. He advocated
the need of a theory that incorporate communication competence. It must be a definition of what
a speaker needs to know in order to be communicatively competent in a speech community.
Grammatical competence: refers to what Chomsky calls linguistic competence.
Sociolinguistic competence: refers to an understanding of the social context in which
communication takes place (role relationships, shared beliefs and information between participants
…)
Discourse competence: refers to the interpretation of individual message elements in terms
of their interconnectedness and how meaning is represented in relationship to the entire discourse
or text.
Strategic competence: refers to the coping strategies that participants use to initiate
terminate, maintain, repair and redirect communication Learning Theory According to the
communicative approach, in order for learning to take place, emphasis must be put on the
importance of these variables:
Communication: activities that involve real communication promote learning.
Tasks: An activity in which language is used to carry out meaningful tasks supports the
learning process.
Meaning: language that is meaningful and authentic to the learner boosts 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
internalization 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 cannot lead to
acquisition. Advantages of Teaching. There are many advantages in teaching according to the
communicative approach:
CLT is a holistic approach. It does not focus only on the traditional structural syllabus. It
takes into consideration communicative dimension of language. [6:279]
CLT provides vitality and motivation within the classroom.
CLT is a learner-centered approach. It capitalizes on the interests and needs of the learner.
[6:279]
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In a world where communication of information and information technology has broken
new considerable ground, CLT can play an important role in education.
Conclusion
. In sum up
CLT is the best considered an approach rather than a method.
Thus although a reasonable degree of theoretical consistency can be discerned at the levels
of language and learning theory, at the levels of design and procedure there is much greater room
for individual interpretation and variation than most methods permit. It could be that one version
among the various proposals for syllabus models, exercise types, and classroom activities may
gain wider approval in the future, giving Communicative Language Teaching a status similar to
other teaching methods. On the other hand, divergent interpretations might lead to homogeneous
subgroups.
Communicative Language Teaching appeared at a time when British language teaching
was ready for a paradigm shift. Situational Language Teaching was no longer felt to reflect a
methodology appropriate for the seventies and beyond. CLT appealed to those who sought a more
humanistic approach to teaching, one in which the interactive processes of communication
received priority., language specialists, publishers, as well as institutions, such as the British
Council.
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