Communicative Language Teaching

Abstract: As long as the Communicative Language Teaching was introduced into China， it had been applied to language teaching immediately and gradually subsitute for our traditional teaching methods. This passage first introduce the definition， characteristics of communicative language teaching， then go on to deal with the new roles students and teachers should act in this teaching approach and list some useful class activities that may utilize in the teaching process. At last， the passage also give some comments on this new approach.

Key Words: communicative language teaching， the role of teachers and students， class activities， evaluations

摘 要：交際教學法把英語的交際能力作為英語教學的最終目的，提倡通過交際來學習外語，強調培養學生的英語交際能力。隨著交際法英語教學引入我國以來，它已經逐漸取代傳統的英語教學模式并受到越來越多的關注。本文第一章介紹交際教學法的定義及特點。第二章及第三章著重介紹教師及學生在交際教學法中的角色轉變及有效的課堂活動。第四章為結論部分，對交際教學法的效果及作用做出了一些評價。

關鍵詞：交際法 英語教學 師生角色 課堂活動

[中圖分類號]：G424.21 [文獻標識碼]：A [文章編號]：1002-2139(2010)-20-0084-02

Chapter One Background Information and Definition of CLT

1.1 Definition of CLT

Communicative Language Teaching is an approach to the teaching of second and foreign languages that emphasizes interaction as both the means and the ultimate goal of learning a language.

1.2Basic Features of CLT

David Nunan (1991:279) lists five basic characteristics of Communicative Language Teaching:

(1) An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target language.

(2) The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation.

(3) The provision of opportunities for learners to focus， not only on the language but also on the learning process itself.

(4) An enhancement of the learner's own personal experiences as important contributing

(5) An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activation outside the classroom.

Chapter Two The Roles of Teachers and Learners in the Classroom

2.1 The Role of the Teachers

Communicative language teaching is the generally accepted norm in the field of second language teaching. In CLT the teacher serves as more of a facilitator， allowing students to be in charge of their own learning.

2.1.1 Organizer

In the communicative language teaching， the teacher should organize the communicative activities， during which the students can have interactions according to the topics. Consequently， at the beginning of each class， the teacher should design various communicative activities that can arouse students’ interests.

2.2.2 Adviser

During the classroom communicative activities， the students may encounter different kinds of expressing difficulties， or sometimes even can not continue their conversation due to the limits of their language skills or lack of certain knowledge. When this happened， the teacher should help the students either by giving them the direct expressing or inspire them to express their ideas in another way.

2.2.3 Facilitator and Participant

Breen and Candlin pointed out that in communicative language teaching， there are two important roles the teacher should act as. The first role is to facilitate the communication process between all participants in the classroom， and between these participants and the various activities and texts. The second role is to act as an independent participant within the learning-teaching group. The latter role is closely related to the objectives of the first role and arises from it.

2.2 The Role of the Students

In CLT， students practice real-life situations. In these exercises， the goal is for the student to communicate his or her needs and thoughts， without worrying about having perfect grammar. Consequently， in interactive classroom teaching， students can act as the master， cooperator and respondent in the classroom teaching activities.

2.2.1 Manager

In CLT， the classroom is like a public place; every student can have a discussion on a certain topic or make a role play according to one situation. CLT can give students access to a chance of free learning. In this kind of class， the learning and communicating of students become an active and meaningful process.

2.2.2 Participant

During the process of communicative activities， students learn and use language by discussing， communicating and cooperating. That means， the language learning depends on the cooperation with other students. One’s expression or discussion can have an influence on others as well as being inspired by others. Thus， the whole process of learning a language is also the course of cooperation.

Chapter Three Classroom Activities in CLT

A wild variety of materials can be used to support communicative approaches to language teaching. The followings are some methods we can utilize during the communicative language teaching.

3.1 Scrambled sentences

The students are given a passage in which the sentences are in a scrambled order. This may be a passage they have worked with or one they have not seen before. They are told to unscramble the sentences so that the sentences are restored to their original order. This type of exercise teaches students about the cohesion and coherence properties of language.

3.2 Picture strip story

Many activities can be done with picture strip stories. In the activity， one student in a small group can be given a strip story. He shows the first picture of the story to the other members of his group and asks them to predict what the second picture would look like. An information gap exists-the students in the groups do not know what the picture contained. They have a choice as to what their prediction would be and how they would word it.

3.3 Role play

Role plays are very important in CLT because they give students an opportunity to practice communicating in different social contexts and in different social roles. Role plays can be set up so that they are very structured or in a less structured way. The latter is more in keeping with CLT， of course， because it gives the students more of a choice.

Chapter Four Evaluations of CLT

Communicative Language Teaching focus on student-centered teaching practice. It simulates various situations according to real life， provides opportunities for students to communicate with each other.

4.1 The Advantages of CLT

The interaction between teachers and students are greatly enhanced in CLT. One of the obvious characteristic of CLT is that the students are more responsible of their own learning than in a traditional teacher-centered classroom. The relationship between students and teachers is interactive and harmonious.

Comminicative language teaching is a new approach in China， it emphasizes on the communicative competence and can stimulate students interest more than traditional teaching methods. However， it also has some shortcomings.

4.2 The disadvantages of CLT

Overdoing certain CLT features， for example engaging in real-life authentic language to the exclusion of helpful devices such as controlled practice， or vice versa. Moderation is needed in combination with common sense and a balanced approach.

Conclusion

In present English teaching in China， Communicative Approach is a widely spread teaching method， but it still needs improving. Students' need of language input and practice of language required teachers to balance. In teaching language skills， listening and speaking are much more emphasized than reading and writing. Through discussing aspects of teaching of English language system and skills， the dissertation shows that when helping students build a language system， teachers may adopt cognitive method in language teaching.

Bibliography

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