Communicative Language Teaching theoretical basis

Toward the late-twentieth century, increased opportunities for communication among L1-L2, and/or L2-L2 speakers showed that L2 teaching methods tended to produce grammatically prepared students, but communicatively incompetent L2 users (Larsen-Freeman and Anderson, 2011). As a result, EFL instructors’ interest in the use of authentic, pragmatic, meaningful class activities grew considerably during the 1970s and 1980s. This movement, helped by the work of many British linguistics on the development of communicative syllabuses (i.e. Wilkins 1976, citied in Ellis, 2003:30-31; Munby, 1978; Widdowson, 1979; Candlin, 1984), was institutionalised by several European authorities, such as the Council of Europe, German, and British governments, that took steps forward to reform the teaching of modern languages in their respective countries.

Communicative Competence, a sociolinguistic theory about language use, constitutes the theoretical basis of CLT. The notion of communicative competence is founded on the claim that a successful L2

49

speaker must use his/her “competence for use” (Hymes, 1972) in addition to his/her “linguistic competence” (Chomsky, 1965). The former is the L2 speaker’s socio-cultural knowledge of how a language is used to indicate attitudes, culture, background, and social position, within the particular context of the discourse; the latter is the L2 speaker’s behavioural speech learned by the study of linguistic rules. Canale (1983) further elaborates and divides the concept of “communicative competence” into four subcomponents, namely, “linguistic and grammatical competence”, “discourse competence”, “sociocultural competence”, and “strategic skills” – a schematic representation is included in Appendix 1. “Linguistic and grammatical competence” is the learned knowledge of lexical items and rules of grammar, syntax and morphology, while the “strategic skills” category represents the learner’s capability to learn efficiently by applying strategies that worked in the past to their current learning situation. The other two subcomponents are concerned with abilities acquired by a learner to produce and recognise coherent and cohesive text, and socially appropriate language within a given socio-cultural context (Canale and Swain, 1980). The four categories proposed by Canale were further elaborated by Widdowson (1989) who drew the distinction between “grammatical competence” (usage) and “pragmatic competence” (use).

Social interactionism, an approach to language acquisition that emphasises the environment and the context in which the language is being used, has also provided a more recent theoretical basis for CLT. The research and the writings of Vygotsky laid the basis of social interactionism. Vygotsky (1978) was one of the firsts to draw the distinction between lower mental properties (i.e. unconscious perceptual systems) and higher mental functions (i.e. intellectual mental activities). In his view, culture, social interaction and the historical dimension (i.e. the circumstances under which the individual development occurs) heavily interact with the intellectual development of an individual. More precisely, Socio-Cultural Theory (SCT) maintains that while interacting with a more competent other, often in practices for which the child does not have a full understanding (“naive participation”, Fernyhough, 2004) – the child develops cognitively and learns new things, provided that the new concept(s) is within his/her pre-existing cognitive capacities, also known as Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD5)_{), and he/she is given the right guidance (the expert’s role).}

As the child connects external and internal world and mediates social and individual functions, cognitive development occurs. Central to this creative process is the use of language, both inner and

---

5) _{ZDP is “the distance between a child’s actual development as determined by independent problem}

solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers” (Vygotsky, 1978:86).

50

external speech6)_{, other conceptual artifacts, such as concepts, forms of logic and rationality, and}

material tools, such as toys, objects, and so on.

The basic appeal of social interactionism in EFL classes is the equally weighted importance given to four main factors: 1) the teacher - seen as a facilitator7) _{who helps learners to discover and make}

their own learning experiences; 2) the learners - seen as individuals who bring their own learning history, life experiences, and beliefs into the process of learning; 3) the task8) _{- seen as the}

experience of learning, through which learners create their new knowledge while interacting with each other, and/or the teacher; and 4) the classroom - seen as the place where the learning is situated, which embeds the learner’s intrapersonal and cultural world, as well as other physical properties. A schematic representation of this learning/teaching model, taken from Williams and Burden (1997), is included in Appendix 2.

A practical application of social interactionism in EFL classes is Communicative Language Teaching. CLT means different things for different people. Many experts (Nunan, 1991; Rodgers, 2001; Richards and Rogers, 2001; Spada, 2007) argue that CLT usually supports a wide variety of teaching techniques. Brown (2001) proposes the following four characteristics as a description of CLT:

1. Content-based. Typically, L2 language is used as a vehicle for L2 learning in CLT classes. Students focus on the use of language rather than on the process of language learning. This is achieved through the use of challenging and informative tasks that engage learners in communicative, real-world situations where they genuinely use L2 to agree/disagree, complain, make suggestions, give advice, and so on.

2. Whole language-based. Ideally, a CLT practitioner would see L2 as a complete communication system with four interacting aspects, i.e. phonological, syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic, that equally contribute to the basic function of making meaning. To develop students’ knowledge, teachers make use of language activities that integrate different skills, and invite learners to discover new lexical, grammatical, sociolinguistic, and discourse

---

6) _{“Inner speech is not the interior aspect of external speech - it is a function in itself. It still remains}

speech, i.e., thought connected with words. But, where in external speech thought is embodied in words, in inner speech words die as they bring forth thought. Inner speech is to a large extent thinking in pure meanings" (Vygotsky, 1962:149).

7) _{Bernstein (1990) rejects this term and emphasizes the active role of practitioners in students’}

learning. He argues (ibid, 1990: 64) that “the relationship basic to cultural reproduction or transformation is essentially pedagogical and the pedagogical relation consists of transmitters and acquirers”.

8) _{“Tasks are activities where the target language is used by the learner for a communicative purpose in}

51

features with the ultimate goal of increasing their meaning-based communicative competence.

3. Learner-centred. A non-traditional role is given to students, and EFL teachers in a CLT class. The former are seen as individuals who bring their own learning history to class, capable of improving their L2 language proficiency while actively giving and receiving information in communicative activities. Students are also believed to be capable of selecting effective strategies in the process of transmitting and receiving information. Whereas the latter, also known as “facilitators”, talk less and listen more in a CLT class. Teachers assume the role of a coach who provides plenty of opportunities for learners to use their language, motivates them to engage and perform the task, creates a non-threatening environment, and so on. 4. Cooperative. Typically, L2 students will work in pairs of two or groups of three/four

students in a CLT class. Underlying this procedure, there is the belief that languages are best learned with the help of the others through use and exposure. Donato (1994) researched this issue and found that collective scaffolding9) _{was a very common pattern in CLT classes}

in the classes he researched in the USAwhere the seating was arranged in a way that allows learners to clearly see and hear each other. There are usually 12-15 students in a CLT class. The use of this approach in L2 classes can be advantageous for students. Firstly, CLT can stimulate students’ motivation (Savignon, 2010). As students are engaged in meaningful activities in CLT classes, they are more likely to enjoy this way of learning. Secondly, it helps learners to build their confidence as tasks are often carried out in small groups, and students feel no real need to talk in front of the whole class (Belchamber, 2007). Thirdly, because the learning is carried out mainly by the learners themselves, they are likely to develop “the ability to continue learning after the end of their formal education” Littlewood (1999:71).