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Communicative Language Teaching

Introduction
What is Communicative Language Teaching?

According to David Nunan (1999) the term Communicative Language Teaching

(CLT) covers a variety of approaches that all focus on helping learners to
communicate meaningfully in a target language. Early approaches downplayed the
importance of grammar, some even advocating the abandonment of any focus on
form. More recent approaches acknowledge the centrality of grammar (and try and
even teach learners the relationship between grammatical form and communicative
meaning).
Ann Galloway states that CLT “makes use of real-life situations that necessitate
communication”. The teacher tries to set up situations students may encounter in real
life. The audiolingual method relies on repetition and drills while the communicative
approach leaves the student in suspense as to the outcome of class exercise, which
may vary according to their reactions and responses. Students’ motivation to learn
comes from their desire to use communication in a meaningful way.

Since the 1970’s linguists were searching for answers to the nature of communication
and communicative competence. They also were looking for an explanation for the
interactive process of language. The communicative approach could be said to be the
product of educators and linguists who were dissatisfied with the audiolingual and
grammar-translated methods of foreign language instruction. Students had difficulty
engaging in real- life communication in the target language. They did not know how
to communicate using appropriate social language, gestures or appropriate
expressions.

Interest in and development of communicative- style teaching grew. Authentic

language use involving real communication became increasingly popular. Methods
that stressed the importance of the self-esteem of students and learning cooperatively
were favoured. According to Douglas Brown (1994) the main challenge was to move
beyond the teaching of rules, patterns definitions and other knowledge ‘about’
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language to teaching them to communicate genuinely, spontaneously and

meaningfully in the second language.

Strengths of the CLT Approach

Barry Taylor (1987) suggested that most current literature on language learning and
teaching indicated that acquisition of a second language is encouraged when learners
are exposed to and engage in contextually rich, genuine, meaningful communication
in that language. Research also revealed that some learners are successful at learning
grammar rules they have been taught, but they could not utilise their understanding of
grammar in real communication. It became evident that language could be
successfully acquired when it was not studied in a direct or explicit way. Learners
needed to be involved in accomplishing something via the language and have a
personal interest in the outcomes.

Li Xiaoju in her article entitled, In defence of the communicative approach p.59 stated
that ‘ the situation must be real, and the role must be real’. She believed that
communication competence does not mean the ability just to utter words and
sentences. It involves the ability to react mentally as well as verbally in
communication situations. She stated that mental reactions were the root of verbal
reaction. False situations do not produce mental reactions.

Gerard Counihan states in his articled “ Teach Students to Interact, Not Just Talk” that
interaction involves both social and personal input. He added that it forms the basis of
the vast majority of everyday talking done by native speakers. Interaction involves
emotions, creativity, agreement, disagreement, nodding, people waiting patiently to
say something etc. Interaction is not giving short, one- sentence answers to questions.
CLT encourages this meaningful interaction in real or near real situations.

In communicative classrooms, students ultimately have to use the language,

productively and receptively, in unrehearsed contexts. This encourages active learners
of language in more creative ways. Tasks also give learners practice in cooperating
with others learners and with their teachers, making creative use of language they
have learned. In this way the classroom acts as a bridge to the outside world rather
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than protect the learners from the risk of having genuine communication. Li Xiaoju
continues to add in her article that traditional text-analysis schools look upon
language teaching as a ‘knowledge-imparting’ process, and language learning as a
‘knowledge receiving’ process. This leads to learners who are passive and lack
initiative.

Authentic language also entails appropriacy of language used, the situation and the
role. Putting students into false situations can cause students to be confused about
what is appropriate and inappropriate for them. A similar situation is noticeable in
Hong Kong where the English language is not used with confidence in real
communication. Students still memorise key phrases and sentences and use it
inappropriately, more for the purpose of examinations. This divorces language from
communication.

Students can also develop the ability to produce grammatically correct sentences yet
not be able to perform a simple communicative task. Michael Swan quotes the
example of such a student, who asks, “ Have you fire?” when he needs a light. CLT
encourages students to understand commonly used expressions, idioms and slang.
Such language learning moves beyond just grammatically correct sentences as it
allows greater exposure to language. Of course, learners will need time before they
can make the finer distinctions in language. They will make grammatical and
structural errors. Teachers need to be tolerant towards these errors to encourage
learners to use language more freely and spontaneously. The ultimate goal is to enable
the learner to communicate with others in the world beyond the classroom where they
will not have a teacher on hand. In helping learners to achieve this goal, however
teachers have redefined their teaching approach and CLT has contributed largely to
re-evaluating effective teaching approaches.

CLT considers the students’ communicative attempts in the target language as the
starting point for our language instruction, rather than the rules or the structure of the
language. It requires us to look at different students as people with different
communicative requirements. This should be reflected in both the contents of the
curriculum and learning processes. There is a strong relationship between the
classroom interaction and atmosphere, curriculum, content and focuses on the need to
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students to feel secure and non-threatened. When a teacher provides opportunities for
students to participate with support, allow students to choose activities and decide
what they want to practise, students have a stake in the outcomes. Their interest and
motivation are likely to be higher. In addition, CLT stresses the need to teach what is
needed and when it is needed. The teacher has to be tuned into what is happening in
the classroom and respond to the needs of the students. CLT is certainly a student-
centred approach to teaching language.

CLT created a strong movement away from highly structured, pre-planned, teacher-
centred, and grammar-based teaching. Allwright (1979) stated that the teacher’s
responsibility includes providing samples of the target language, providing support,
feedback and classroom management.

Li Xiaoju added that to learn the language, the students themselves must go through
the process of learning. The teacher must provide the conditions for this process, set it
going, observe it, give guidance, analyze and evaluate it. This makes the teacher’s job
interesting, creative and releases students from passive roles in learning. Because of
increased responsibility to participate, students may find they gain confidence in using
the target language in general. Students are more responsible managers of their own
learning (Larsen-Freeman, 1986).

The teacher creates a positive supportive class environment that encourages learners
to take risks, actively participate and enjoy growing success. The teaching material
should encourage students to engage in real communicative skills in small groups or
whole class. The real language experience is what is most important. Activities can
be undertaken not only in class, but out of class as well. It should be designed to
incorporate practice in any of the language skills and encourage spontaneous
communication. Throughout this process, they remain in a state of uncertainty
regarding what they will hear and they therefore experience the freedom to choose
what they consider to be the most appropriate response. This gives them practice to
engage in purposeful extended discourse our time.

The skills developed through the application of active, cooperative learning principles
can extend to other subjects as well. CLT encourages the development of skills such
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as of prediction, cooperative group/pair work, problem solving, reporting that can be

used in other subjects in the school curriculum.

Grammar and vocabulary are also taught communicatively. Grammatical patterns are
matched to particular communicative meanings so that learner can see the connection
between form and function. Learners learn how to choose the right pattern to express
the ideas and feelings that they want to express. They learn how to use grammar to
express different communicative meanings. Words are grouped meaningfully and are
taught through tasks involving mapping, classifying, etc. Such methodology enables
learners to recombine the familiar in different ways and thus achieve creativity in
language use.

CLT breaks away from the traditional textbook to the use of authentic material. It
provides the reader (or listener) with the opportunity to gain genuine information.
Instead of reading a graded text with fictional characters in whom the learner has little
or no interest, he or she is encouraged to read the latest news, or plan a real journey
using timetables, traffic information and so on. This enables the learners to interact
with authentic texts in much the same way that native-speakers react to texts in the
first language. Reading authentic texts also gives the learner a clear purpose for
reading e.g. gaining information. The teacher should carefully consider the linguistic
abilities of the learners and select material that would motivate instead of frustrate the
learner.

One of the greatest strengths of CLT is the integration of all four major skills while
learning that target language. Using authentic reading texts and situations means that
the learner develops the skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking. Li Xiaoju
states that in using the CLT approach in China, “W did not design a reading course,
but an integrated course.” The major skills were constantly combined and integrated
in use. The skills were not developed separately, but rather composite skills involving
one or sometimes two or more skills. Integrating skills also enable the learner to
transfer learnt vocabulary and language structures when speaking or writing. The
added benefit is that the same context is retained. In Hong Kong, most schools still
follow the traditional teaching approach and each skill is taught in a separate
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compartment. Students have little opportunity to consolidate skills and language as

the contexts change constantly. The overall result is poor oral and writing skills.

Many teachers lack confidence in the area of assessment and evaluation. The
traditional approach may have been more straightforward as structured tests and
examinations produced a score that determined the learner’s assessment. However
CLT, with its learner-centred curriculum model, involves both teachers and learners
in evaluation. According to the David Nunan in “Learner-Centred Curriculum”
(1989) “self-assessment by the learners can be an important supplement to teacher
assessment.” He continues to add that self-assessment provides one of the most
effective means of developing critical awareness of the learning process.

In addition continuous assessment and evaluation focuses on language and language

learning. There is little scope for using memorized or drilled language. Moreover,
the teacher keeps in mind the clear objective he/she had in mind for the course.
Teachers aim to test what has been taught. Xiao Qing Liao stated in her article, What
Influenced Teachers’ Adoption of the Communicative Approach in China (2000/2001)
that the widespread use of the traditional grammar-orientated method produced
unsatisfactory teaching results. Students became almost “structurally competent but
communicatively incompetent” (Johnson and Morrow, P1981). There was call for
change and adoption of the CLT approach but teachers were more familiar with the
traditional approach. The final high school examination included a language section
and teachers began to teach to the test or examination. Again, a similar trend is seen
in Hong Kong. Passing the Form 7 examination that enables students to enter tertiary
institutions is the most important consideration. Any English teaching in the last four
years at high school is in preparation for the examination. As a result students leave
school with limited ability to communicate in the oral or written form. Real language
learning does not take place if assessment and evaluation drive the curriculum.

Another strength of CLT was the focus of language teaching was on real
communication, so content instead of grammar was emphasized. According to Barry
P. Taylor (1989) recent research in second language acquisition has questioned the
value of explicit, sequential grammar component in language teaching. The following
four observations are pertinent to the issue:
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1. Most learners are unable to successfully transfer their mechanical control of

grammatical patterns to real communicative situations (d’Anglejan, 1978; Long et
al., 1976).
2. Acquisition of syntax appears to be a natural developmental process in learners
and may have its own timetable (Krashen, 1979).
3. Order of acquisition of grammar rules may be determined more by communicative
need than by the teaching order (Kessler et al., 1979; Taylor, 1981).
4. Consider variation among learners in the manner in which they acquire
grammatical forms: some can profit from rules, some cannot; some can use forms
quickly; others need more time; students need to see how the form is used in a
number of different contexts (Krashen, 1977; Bodman 1979; Taylor, 1982).

These observations suggest that it is unlikely that all of our students will be at the
same learning stage at the same time. A sequenced presentation of grammar may not
meet their needs. Just because an item is next on the syllabus, it does not mean a
student is ready to receive that information. With the CLT approach, students need all
the structures simultaneously if they are going to be able to meet the real
communicative needs of everyday.

When an explanation of a new linguistic form is offered at a time when it is needed,

“learners are able to focus on active, communicatively based, self-invested learning”
(Barry P. Taylor p.55 “Methodology in TESOL”). He continued to add there is
greater impact on the learning outcomes if there is immediate communicative utility
of a new form than when language forms are presented in a prescribed order and then
practised through contrived activities. Teaching any structure should be a resource to
communicate meaningfully. Explicit grammar can be taught within a communicative,
needs-based context.

Li Xiaoju also believes the communicative approach help learners to grow and
mature. In a narrow sense communicative competence is developed and in a broader
sense the learner develops as an intelligent being who acquires language for life.
He/she becomes a fuller person who can play a really useful role in international
communication between cultures.
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Weaknesses of the communicative approach of Language

CLT involves the integration of all four skills of language- reading, writing, listening
and speaking. While this can be imperative for language learning (especially native
speakers), it can present difficulties for Speakers of Other languages. CLT assumes
that the learner has the necessary skills to be fully involved in the communicative
process. CLT dilutes the skills needed in ESL teaching. The learner needed special
skills taught before he/ she can use it with confidence. Each of the four language skills
needs special focus and development.

Michael Swan (1990) states that CLT does not take into consideration the learner’s
first language. Meanings, uses and communication skills are approached as if they
have to be learnt from scratch. Communicative methodology stresses the English-
only approach. Mother tongue plays an important part in learning a foreign language.
Students are always translating into and out of their own languages- and teachers tell
them not to. Interlanguages often contain errors, which are caused by interference
from the mother tongue. Of course, a large number of correct features in
interlanguage also contain a mother tongue element. It is difficult to learn a foreign
language without making correspondences between the mother tongue and the foreign
language. So, if the mother tongue is central to the process of learning a foreign
language, Michael Swan asks why it is absent from the theory and methodology of the
Communicative approach?

The CLT approach advocates that learners need to be placed in ‘ real’ communication
situations to encourage oral interaction. We see our jobs as teachers to teach students
to convey and elicit information, to describe, make requests, establish rapport and so
on. However, this functional requirement assumes that the student has enough English
to achieve this. When we have taught students what they need to know to carry out
the main communicative functions, we still have most of the language left to teach.
Students need to learn the vocabulary and expressions, which are used in the context
in question. This is also the case when authentic material is used for CLT. While real
news and events are useful for the learner, without specific help from the teacher,
many learners will try reading word by word. Problems will arise, as a result of their
lack of vocabulary and the task can become frustrating. Thus, if learners are to be
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encouraged to read authentic material, they will need some learner training (perhaps
in the first language) in how to best approach the text.

Michael Swan also feels that the teaching of grammar in language courses is
necessary, especially for ESL students. He states how we integrate the teaching of
structure and meaning will depend to the extent on the particular language items
involved. Some problematic structural points present difficulties of form as well as
meaning e.g. comparison of adjectives, word order in phrasal verbs, etc. He feels it is
best to deal with such problems of form before students do communicative work in
which they have to mix many structures. A good language course is likely to include
lessons, which concentrate on particular structures, lessons on vocabulary, functions,
pronunciation, situation based lessons, lessons on productive and receptive skills and
several other components.

Stephen B .Ryan from the Yamagata University identified some problems of the CLT
approach in the context of his EFL class in a Japanese university. Today’s
communicative approach is learner centred and emphasizes fluency over accuracy. He
agrees that fluency is needed but his difficulty was providing concrete feedback for
learners to correct their mistakes and keep focused on the immediate classroom task at
hand. If students do not receive sufficient feedback, they may lose interest and
motivation. He also felt that learners needed constant monitoring and feedback that
can continue to motivate them as opposed to assessing them with a single final
semester test.

He also stated that another weakness of CLT is that learners are not always given
direction about what they will be learning about. Students will benefit more if they
know specifically on a class by class basis what language they are trying to practise
and in what context. Teachers who adopt the CLT approach, base lessons on students’
needs or choose an authentic news item / reading text for language development.
Ryan feels that learners can be kept motivated if they have set small achievable goals
on a daily basis and help learners aware of how they are to accomplish these goals.

Ryan continues to add that CLT creates a division in teaching style. Teachers, in
Asian countries especially, are expected to be strict about certain aspects such as
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regular attendance and punctuality. On the other hand they have to assume the role of
friend-coach to encourage students to speak without being afraid of making mistakes.
There is a contrast between a teacher who does not allow for mistakes and one who
encourages. Learners may feel betrayed if they score poorly on a test but do well in
the classroom.

The CLT approach may be more difficult to implement in some countries because of
cultural differences. Ryan mentions it is important for the teacher” to recognize
potential negative culturally based perceptions of their learners and vice versa”. He
found it was common to be met with silent expressionless students in Japan. This can
be interpreted as a lack of interest. Silence is relative to Western and Asian cultures.
This is also noticed in Hong Kong where students have difficulty adapting to teaching
methodology that are outside the traditional approach. Ryan explains that the
instructor does not necessarily have to be interculturally competent to be an effective
teacher. He feels it would be more effective to adopt a consistent, familiar style of
instruction to allow learners (especially ESL students) to adapt within bounds of their
own personalities and cultural values. David Nunan (1999) stated in Second
Language Teaching and Learning, “ From time to time, claims appear that
communicative language teaching, with its experiential learning- by- doing
philosophy, and assumptions about learners as active constructors of their own
knowledge, is inappropriate in many non-Western contexts”. (P.156).

Peter Medgyes in his article Queries from a communicative teacher (1990) states “ the
communicative classroom requires a teacher of extraordinary abilities”. He/she has to
be highly skilled to organize and teach a learner- centred programme. Teachers
should no longer be encouraged and trained to impose their own view of learner’s
needs. They need to know and cater for specific needs of the group as whole. This is
not an easy task as groups are not homogeneous. There are huge differences in the
group’s age, interest, cultural and educational backgrounds, linguistic ability,
intelligence, etc. This has led to much confusion and anxiety, especially amongst non-
native teachers. Prior to CLT, English teachers had to impart knowledge about the
English language. Now, teachers have to create conducive conditions for real
communication to take place. They have to initiate stimulating activities to encourage
interaction and involvement of all their students. In addition they must know their
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individual students and provide programmes to meet their needs. They have to
abandon their safe position of general language monitor to the role of co-
communicator. All this can be overwhelming for teachers trained for the traditional
teaching approach. For similar reasons man non native teachers often get frustrated
and revert to traditional methods. Insufficient levels of English can compound their
problem. These teachers can no longer rely on a prescribed sequence of material
dictated by a syllabus.

With CLT advocating the use of authentic resources, the textbook’s place is
questioned. The arguments against it were numerous- it was too general, boring
restricted activity to language presentation and controlled practice instead of
stimulating real interaction. There was a call to do away with textbooks. Teachers
have the dilemma of letting go of the textbook or retaining it as it offers a wealth of
information, discipline of structure and easy access. Non-native teachers gravitate
towards textbooks as it ensures a great deal of linguistic safety.

CLT cannot be expected to be successful without adequate teacher training. Even with
re-training, older teachers find it difficult to make radical changes to their entrenched
teacher- centred approach. In China, according to Xiao Qing Liao , extensive teacher
training was conducted, as teachers’ inability to do their jobs well was a reason to
reject reform. Most Chinese teachers, especially in rural schools lack a sufficient level
of English proficiency.

Conclusion

A critical look at CLT reveals it has greater strengths than weaknesses. Despite some
of its shortcomings, it has made huge impact on methodology for teaching English to
speakers of other languages. Its greatest relevance lies in the fact that it engages
learners in authentic communication. It has also led to the development of other
subsequent effective methodology or approaches for ESL students. It has made us
aware of the lack of productivity of passive learners who merely rote learn
expressions and repeat them, even if inappropriate. Teachers now allow students to be
more involved, interact, make decisions, negotiate with activities that involve carrying
out meaningful tasks, thus promoting learning.
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MI-Young Kim and Charles E Heerman (Kansas State University) found in their
study that most ESL teachers supported the CLT approach in the field of ESL. It can
be applied to new methods, material and even syllabi for language teaching and
learning. Teachers today do not feel tied to one true method. They are free to follow
research and theory and develop their own set of hypothesis about language
acquisition.

In his provocative article A critical look at the communicative approach Michael

Swan agrees that CLT has directed our attention to other aspects of language besides
propositional meaning and helped us to analyze and teach the language of interaction.
He continues to add, “ Whatever the defects of the communicative theory of language
and syllabus design, the last fifteen years or so have seen enormous improvements in
our methodology.”(P.92)

With time, new language teaching approaches will evolve. Teachers try out new
techniques without giving up useful, older methods. New insights can certainly help
us teach more systematically and effectively. We have to realize that no one approach
will be answer to teaching English to speakers of other languages. Skilled teachers
understand the principles of Second language teaching and use a variety of
approaches to meet the needs of the learner.

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5. Galloway, A. (1993). Communicative Language Teaching :An
Introduction and Sample Activities. Washington. ERIC Digest.
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