Communicative Language Teaching

[Sanjay Nannaparaju]

COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING (CLT)

Communicative English stands in contrast with Structural English, with emphasis on Speaking, Listening, Reading, and Writing in the former, and Grammar in the latter.

Communicative English is based on expression and experience. Expression means speaking fluently. Experience supports expression.

The problem lies in change of culture which determines the use of language. This problem could be understood on two levels.

1. WORD : In English, there is no one-to-one relation between spelling-meaning-pronunciation. Eg. break/brake, minute/minute.
2. WORD ORDER: The word order in English is different from that in Indian languages. Eg. Come here(English)/Yahan Aana(Hindi). In English the Verb is followed by an Adverb, but in Hindi (a dominant Indian language) the Adverb is followed by the Verb.

So, to develop fluency/conversational skills in English it is needful to follow the 4 Principles.

PRINCIPLES OF FLUENCY
1. Think in English before you speak in English
2. Think twice before you speak
3. Expect the unexpected
4. Language and environment

Principle 1: THINK IN ENGLISH BEFORE YOU SPEAK IN ENGLISH

The problem with our regional medium participants is that, before they try to speak in English, they first think in their mother tongue, change it into English, and try to speak out.

They cannot do so. Even if they do so, it effects their fluency, seen as broken sentences and confused expression.

Principle 2. THINK TWICE BEFORE YOU SPEAK

Thinking twice before speaking means to ensure clarity in INFORMATION conveyed and LANGUAGE used.

INFORMATION: Check for its relevance in relation with a particular presentation. LANGUAGE: Check all relevant mistakes, at the end of the presentation. Make your students look for clarity in CONTENT and LANGUAGE
Errors or mistakes during a presentation are to be noted by the trainer.

The students should be made aware of their mistakes only at the end of the session.

Principle 3. EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

Be prepared with a right mindset to absorb / accept anything the situation demands. An idea accepted unanimously, that expression must be immediate and instant. While speaking in their mother tongue our students are well acquainted with expecting the unexpected, and giving the right answer for the right question.

Principle 4. LANGUAGE AND ENVIRONMENT

My question to you is, “What is your knowledge of your mother-tongue, in terms of grammar and structures?”
Nothing, but still, we are able to speak fluently.

HOW?

It means that, we have acquired command over our mother-tongue naturally, by experience and expression in a conducive environment.

CONCLUSION

Language or expression is an art, and a treasured possession of the human race. The easiest way to master it, is by expression and experience, as we did with our mother-tongue.

(You can contact me at risens@lycos.com)

[Carbonarius]

I've been trained to teach Spanish both with a communicative method and a task-based method. I have to say that it would have been great to have been taught English that way. I remember being able to read some Virginia Wolf's texts, while I didn't know how to ask for something in a shop in English. Even now, my fluency is not as good as my grammar-level is.

The problem is that I've used many English textbooks, and even though they claim to be communicative, they usually are estructural.

I didn't understand the way you explained what a communicative method is, Sanjay. I was taught to give classes in Spanish another way. I'll try and explain it:

You split the class in four parts:
-Warm-up: the student's start practicing Spanish with a short game, about 5 minutes.
-Language presentation:You teach the students the vocabulary, grammar and functions you want them to learn.
-Controlled practice (there must be another name for it in English, I'm translating from the Spanish): the students practice the language they've been taught. Every mistake must be corrected at once. Only one answer is tolerated, the correct one. If they fail too many times, it's very likely that the exercise is not good, or that the teacher didn't explain the language correctly in the previous part.
-Free practice: the student's are given another exercise, but this time they are encouraged to use not only the language they've been taught in this class, but all the words and expressions that they may need. Corrections must be made at the end of the class, and the teacher shouldn't correct anything apart from the language which has been taught in this class.

Everything must be taught in a very motivated way. Actually, when I was trained to give classes this way, I sometimes felt that with this method the students are seen as a bunch of lazy people who must be treated very sweatly. It sometimes was too much.

I wrote about the functions, and some people may don't know what they are. Let's give an example: an English friend of mine told me once that I was the most polite Spaniard he'd ever met. But he told me that in English I sometimes was rude: "Why?", I asked him. And he told me that I used to ask for things using the imperative. That's how we do it in Spanish, and as long as you say "please" at the end, there's no problem in most situations. But he told me that in English the imperative was much less used than in Spanish. He taught me to say: "could you please...?" And then more expressions which can sometimes be too polite: "I was wondering if you..., excuse me, I wonder if you could..., would you mind...?"

What I mean is that with grammar you learn to join a word with the next, and that way you're assured to form sentences that are grammatically correct. But they may sound strange, or they may even be unpolite, as it was my case.

I'm sure that the most structural method take these things into account, but they don't give them the importance they have.

[Narayanan Krishnaswamy]

Hello,

What is happening?
How can a person think twice before speaking?
Will people wait for one to compse his essay and later devour his words? Is everyone a Caesar, for people to wait for him to open his mouth.
How long will the audience wait?
Has the person extending this advice ever tried to put 'thinking twice before speaking ' into test by adopting it himself- either when speaking to his friends or in the classroom or on a platform? This may provide the strange sight of a man standing, looking at you intently whithout saying anything or replying, or one opening and closing his mouth like a fish because he had not completed thinking and has not come to a conclusion on what words to use and is not ready to add sound to his words.
Expect for the first, all others are useless. These may sound good in a useless term paper or theses.
Even the first, if meant to develop 'double-think' should be avoided like plague.
Let him who propounds, first try these and then suggest them to others.
They are impractical, class room gimmickes used to attract non-native speakers as learners, who are, at present, worth their weight in gold.
All other branches of knowledge seem to have something to teach. But when you start teaching any language, you find most of the learners disinterested. So such high sounding sentences are used to create an awe amoung mature learners.
Fluent speech, in any language, is possble only when it is done without thinking. Seems stange?
When I say without thinking, I mean a sort of automatic reply which is normal whatever language you speak. A reply in a language to a question asked in that language.
Except this and such others like speaking to friends, gossiping and discussing things with the boss and others in one's office, all others can only be strained expressions.