The Background of Communicative Language Teaching Theoretical school

The Background of Communicative Language Teaching Theoretical school of thought: Social constructivism (applied to language and to learning, among many other fields). -learning happens through interaction -language (and all communication) is constructed through interaction -social issues become important (not just linguistic or cognitive ones).

Developments in language study as a result of social constructivism ► The conception/definition of communicative competence (knowing about language is different than knowing how to use it). ► Competence can be different depending on the context. ► Models of communicative competence demonstrate that successful communication includes linguistic factors, cognitive factors AND social (contextual) factors.

New fields in applied linguistics influenced by communicative competence ► Functional/notional language teaching. ► Discourse analysis/Conversation analysis. ► Corpus linguistics. ► Pragmatics. ► Nonverbal communication. ► Communicative language teaching (CLT) and task-bask instruction.

Discourse Analysis: related disciplines -Conversation analysis focuses on oral communication-beyond what is just said. -Pragmatics is related as it deals with skills and conventions used for specific communicative purposes (such as politeness, disagreement, etc. ). -“Pragmatic competence” has to be explicitly taught. How is this important in ESL classrooms?

Corpus linguistics ► Generalisations about language (such as grammar rules) used to be made based on native speaker intuitions of how we use language. BUT How we actually use it is different than how we THINK we use it. ► Computers analyse corpora of real language to find out how we really use language. ► New dictionaries are now based on corpora. How is this important in ESL classrooms?

Paralinguistic Behaviour language (kinesics), eye contact, proxemics, kinesthetics. ► Body Cannot be understated as a contributor to communicative competence AND is also culturally dependent. *Communication, conversation, and public speaking courses and skills, for example, given even at the university levels. How is this important in ESL classrooms?

Biggest result of the acceptance of communicative competence: Communicative Language Teaching!

Key Elements of CLT (seen more as an approach than a method) ► Authentic language IN CONTEXT. ► Cooperative and Collaborative learning. ► Goal is to achieve communicative competence (measured less by accuracy and more by successful communication). ► Students learn not just forms but language for different social circumstances (e. g. different apologies for different situations). ► Teacher is a facilitator of communication, scaffolds the learning process, manages it, controls it, encourages meaningful negotiation, but is no longer at the centre of everything that is going on in classroom.

Evolution of CLT ► In late 70’s/early 80’s: NO explicit grammar teaching or error correction. ► Now: Some need to “focus on form” (i. e. , explicit ► Task-based teaching is a form of CLT (to be seen later this semester). ► THREE features of communicative activities: information gap , choice and feedback. grammar teaching) and error correction (see Michael Swan ‘s Grammar, for instance).

The relationship of CLT to task-based teaching and content-based teaching (immersion) LANGUAGE CLT CONTENT Task-based Immersion -ALL are about authentic communication in L 2 -CLT teachers’ goal—to teach L 2 (through content); Immersion teachers—to teach content (through L 2); Taskbased teaching: language teaching BUT concentration on completing task as much as language. *Original Power. Point document provided by Beverly-Anne Baker-Mc. Gill University. Thank you Beverly!

CLT In a Nutshell -A major shift in what aspects of language to teach and also in how to teach. -What to teach = focus is on function of language rather than form. -Based on the notion that language learning will take care of itself and that exposure to language and opportunities to use it are crucial to students’ learning the language and developing their listening and speaking skills (Watch out! Sometimes controversial). -Activities will typically involve students in realistic situations. Applicable to the “real” world in and out of school. Role-play is an appropriate and popular example.

Communicative Approach (con’t) -Students should have the desire to communicate something. -They should have a purpose for communicating. -Focus on content of what they are saying and not on the form. -Teacher doesn’t stop students or intervene during most activities. -Materials used should not dictate what forms should be used. -Activities should attempt to replicate real communication.

Video—Contextualisation of language

The Early Days of CLT– David Little http: //vimeo. com/35598089 Part 2 http: //vimeo. com/35603870 CLT classroom http: //vimeo. com/33852519 Contextualising Language: To view in class http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Qu 2 JRq. Tdt. GQ Pep talk http: //www. ted. com/talks/kid_president_i_think_we_all_ need_a_pep_talk#