Communicative Language Teaching

Communicative Language and Teaching in Action: Putting Principles to Work serves as an engaging and informative guide for second and foreign language teachers in training or for those pursuing a new career as language educators. The text demonstrates principles and practices of communicative and task-based language teaching, equipping readers with an innovative and effective approach to language instruction. The conceptual foundation of the book is based upon theoretical and empirical findings drawn from second language acquisition research, cognitive psychology, and brain research. It emphasizes successful instructional practices in a communicative and task-based approach to language learning. The book features copious examples of learning activities in different languages and lessons developed by experienced language teachers. Dedicated chapters cover the principles of communicative language teaching and task-based instruction; lesson planning; vocabulary and grammar in language learning; feedback and error correction; the development of listening, oral communication, reading, and writing skills; and assessment. The second edition features updated literature review in all chapters, new and dynamic teacher-training tasks, and reorganized and fresh content throughout the text, as well as a new chapter on writing and language learning. Communicative Language Teaching in Action is an ideal resource for courses and programs in foreign language education.

An introduction to communicative language teaching for practising classroom teachers.

The emergence of English as a global language, along with technological innovations and the growing need for learner autonomy, is changing language teaching rapidly and profoundly. With these changes come new demands and challenges for teaching education programs. This authoritative collection of writings highlights some of the best work being done today in the United States and abroad to make communicative competence an attainable goal. The contributors examine what has come to be known as communicative language teaching, or CLT, from the perspectives of teachers and teacher educators. The book documents current reform initiatives in Japan, the United States, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and continental Europe to provide a global perspective on language teaching for communicative competence. Four major themes recur throughout the volume: the multifaceted nature of language teaching; the highly contextualized nature of CLT; the futility of defining a “native speaker” in the postcolonial, postmodern world; and the overwhelming influence of high-stakes tests on language teaching. The book is a useful and valuable tool for language teachers, teacher educators, and policymakers.

The introduction of communicative competence as the goal of second and for eign language teaching has led to recognition of the role of context in language learning and use. As communicative competence is defined by the social and cultural contexts in which it is used, no single communicative competence can serve as the goal and model for all learners. This recognition has had an impact on program design and materials development. One significant change is that the choice of a teaching method is no longer the primary concern. Instead, the first step for the program designer is becoming familiar with the social and cultural features of the context of the language being taught. This includes a consideration of the uses speakers make of the language, their reasons for using it, and their attitudes toward it. Contexts of Competence: Social and Cultural Considerations in Commu nicative Language Teaching explores the relationship between context and com petence from a theoretical and practical perspective. Its audience is applied linguists in general and language teaching practitioners in particular. The overall aim of its five chapters is to provide a framework for consideration of various contexts of language learning and use and to guide the implementation and development of models of communicative language teaching that are responsive to the context-specific needs of learners.

This book documents the efforts of Scottish comprehensive school teachers implementing a communicative approach in the early years of secondary schools.

Table of contents

Studienarbeit aus dem Jahr 2007 im Fachbereich Englisch - Pädagogik, Didaktik, Sprachwissenschaft, Note: 13, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main (Institut für England- und Amerikastudien), Veranstaltung: The Secret Formula, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: Nowadays it is necessary to be able to speak english, because this language is getting more and more important and it is the basis of international communication. So pupils have to learn as early as possible to have a strong command of this language and to use it effectively. Communicative language teaching (CLT) emphasizes communicative skills and wants communicative practise at the centre of classroom learning. According to Savignon, communicative competence is the central theoretical concept of CLT (2004). She defines this competence with the terms of expressions, interpretation and negociation of meaning. Hedge says that it is important for CLT to encourage pupils to communicate their needs, ideas and opinions and also that they are able to operate effectively in the real world (2000:44-45). She writes that in the communicative language classroom pupils have to learn to use that language in certain settings and authentic situations. According to both authors, CLT helps to develop certain communicative skills and to come to terms with the language without any grave problems of expressing thoughts, wishes, opinions, etc. The language learner has to indentify him with that language so that he can apply his knowledge without any fear and uncertainity. And it is important that the teacher applies grammar based exercises as an integral part of real live tasks. Otherwise the learners could get bored, detered or even overtaxed with grammatical units. Hedge claims too, that a teacher`s intervention to correct should be as minimal as possible (2000:58). We can integrate grammatical units in activities where learners are supposed to talk about their next holiday plans and therefore they need to use several f