communicative language teaching交际语言教学法.docx

1、communicative language teaching交际语言教学法Communicative language teachingFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaCommunicative language teaching(CLT), or thecommunicative approach, is anapproachtolanguage teachingthat emphasizesinteractionas both the means and the ultimate goal of study. Language learners

2、in environments utilizing CLT techniques learn and practice the target language through interaction with one another and the instructor, study of authentic texts (those written in the target language for purposes other than language learning), and use of the language in class combined with use of th

3、e language outside of class. Learners converse about personal experiences with partners, and instructors teach topics outside of the realm of traditional grammar in order to promote language skills in all types of situations. This method also claims to encourage learners to incorporate their persona

4、l experiences into their language learning environment and focus on the learning experience in addition to the learning of the target language.1According to CLT, the goal of language education is the ability to communicate in the target language.2This is in contrast to previous views in whichgrammat

5、ical competencewas commonly given top priority.3CLT also focuses on the teacher being a facilitator, rather than an instructor. Furthermore, the approach is a non-methodical system that does not use a textbook series to teach English but rather works on developing sound oral/verbal skills prior to r

6、eading and writing.Contentshide 1Backgroundo 1.1Societal influenceso 1.2Academic influences 2Classroom activitieso 2.1Role-playo 2.2Interviewso 2.3Group worko 2.4Information gapo 2.5Opinion sharingo 2.6Scavenger hunt 3Critiques 4See also 5References 6Further readingBackgroundeditSocietal influencese

7、ditLanguage teaching was originally considered a cognitive matter, mainly involving memorization. It was later thought, instead, to be socio-cognitive, meaning that language can be learned through the process of social interaction. Today, however, the dominant technique in teaching any language is c

8、ommunicative language teaching (CLT).4It wasNoam Chomskys theories in the 1960s, focusing on competence and performance in language learning, that gave rise to communicative language teaching, but the conceptual basis for CLT was laid in the 1970s by linguists Michael Halliday, who studied how langu

9、age functions are expressed through grammar, and Dell Hymes, who introduced the idea of a wider communicative competence instead of Chomskys narrower linguistic competence.4The rise of CLT in the 1970s and early 1980s was partly in response to the lack of success with traditional language teaching m

10、ethods and partly due to the increase in demand for language learning. In Europe, the advent of theEuropean Common Market, an economic predecessor to the European Union, led to migration in Europe and an increased population of people who needed to learn a foreign language for work or for personal r

11、easons. At the same time, more children were given the opportunity to learn foreign languages in school, as the number of secondary schools offering languages rose worldwide as part of a general trend of curriculum-broadening and modernization, and foreign-language study ceased to be confined to the

12、 elite academies. In Britain, the introduction ofcomprehensive schools, which offered foreign-language study to all children rather than to the select few in the elitegrammar schools, greatly increased the demand for language learning.5This increased demand included many learners who struggled with

13、traditional methods such asgrammar translation, which involves the direct translation of sentence after sentence as a way to learn language. These methods assumed that students were aiming for mastery of the target language, and that students were willing to study for years before expecting to use t

14、he language in real life. However, these assumptions were challenged by adult learners, who were busy with work, and some schoolchildren, who were less academically gifted, and thus could not devote years to learning before being able to use the language. Educators realized that to motivate these st

15、udents an approach with a more immediate payoff was necessary,6and they began to use CLT, an approach that emphasizes communicative ability and yielded better results.7Additionally, the trend ofprogressivismin education provided further pressure for educators to change their methods. Progressivism h

16、olds that active learning is more effective than passive learning,6and as this idea gained traction in schools there was a general shift towards using techniques where students were more actively involved, such as group work. Foreign-language education was no exception to this trend, and teachers so

17、ught to find new methods, such as CLT, that could better embody this shift in thinking.6Academic influenceseditThe development of communicative language teaching was bolstered by new academic ideas. Before the growth of communicative language teaching, the primary method of language teaching was sit

18、uational language teaching. This method was much more clinical in nature and relied less on direct communication. In Britain, applied linguists began to doubt the efficacy of situational language teaching. This was partly in response to Chomskys insights into the nature of language. Chomsky had show

19、n that the structural theories of language prevalent at the time could not explain the variety found in real communication.8In addition, applied linguists such as Christopher Candlin andHenry Widdowsonobserved that the current model of language learning was ineffective in classrooms. They saw a need

20、 for students to develop communicative skill and functional competence in addition to mastering language structures.8In 1966, linguist and anthropologistDell Hymesdeveloped the concept ofcommunicative competence. Communicative competence redefined what it meant to know a language; in addition to spe

21、akers having mastery over the structural elements of language, they must also be able to use those structural elements appropriately in a variety of speech domains.2This can be neatly summed up by Hymess statement, There are rules of use without which the rules of grammar would be useless.5The idea

22、of communicative competence stemmed from Chomskys concept of thelinguistic competenceof an ideal native speaker.2Hymes did not make a concrete formulation of communicative competence, but subsequent authors have tied the concept to language teaching, notably Michael Canale.9Canale and Swain (1980) d

23、efined communicative competence in terms of three components: grammatical competence,sociolinguisticcompetence, and strategic competence. Canale (1983) refined the model by adding discourse competence, which contains the concepts ofcohesionandcoherence.9An influential development in the history of c

24、ommunicative language teaching was the work of the Council of Europe in creating new language syllabi. When communicative language teaching had effectively replaced situational language teaching as the standard by leading linguists, the Council of Europe made an effort to once again bolster the grow

25、th of the new method. This led to the Council of Europe creating a new language syllabus. Education was a high priority for the Council of Europe, and they set out to provide a syllabus that would meet the needs of European immigrants.8 Among the studies used by the council when designing the course

26、 was one by the British linguist, D. A. Wilkins, that defined language using notions and functions, rather than more traditional categories of grammar and vocabulary. The new syllabus reinforced the idea that language could not be adequately explained by grammar and syntax, and instead relied on rea

27、l interaction.8In the mid 1990s, the Dogme 95 manifesto influenced language teaching through theDogme language teachingmovement. This proposed that published materials stifle the communicative approach. As such, the aim of the Dogme approach to language teaching is to focus on real conversations abo

28、ut practical subjects, where communication is the engine of learning. The idea behind the Dogme approach is that communication can lead to explanation, which will lead to further learning. This approach is the antithesis of situational language teaching, which emphasizes learning through text and pr

29、ioritizes grammar over communication.10A survey of communicative competence by Bachman (1990) divides competency into the broad headings of organizational competence, which includes both grammatical and discourse (or textual) competence, and pragmatic competence, which includes both sociolinguistic

30、and illocutionary competence.11Strategic competence is associated with the interlocutors ability in using communication strategies.11Classroom activitieseditCLT teachers choose classroom activities based on what they believe is going to be most effective for students developing communicative abiliti

31、es in the target language (TL). Oral activities are popular among CLT teachers, as opposed to grammar drills or reading and writing activities, because they include active conversation and creative, unpredicted responses from students. Activities vary based on the level of language class they are be

32、ing used in. They promote collaboration, fluency, and comfort in the TL. The six activities listed and explained below are commonly used in CLT classrooms.6Role-playeditRole-play is an oral activity usually done in pairs, whose main goal is to develop students communicative abilities in a certain setting.5Example:1. The instructor sets the scene: where is the conversation taking place? (E.g., in a caf, in a park, etc.)2. The instructor defines the goal of the students conversation.