Jack C. Richards on Communicative Language Teaching

Summary

The video script discusses Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), an educational approach that emphasizes communication over grammar. CLT focuses on developing communicative competence as the primary goal, encouraging students to use language for real-life interactions. It advocates for classroom activities that facilitate communication, such as role plays and information sharing, to enhance language proficiency. CLT has evolved into various forms like task-based and content-based teaching, remaining relevant in modern language education.

Takeaways

• 📚 Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is an approach that focuses on teaching language for effective communication.
• 🔄 CLT emerged as a reaction to traditional methods that were grammar-focused and prioritized accuracy over communication.
• 🎯 The goal of CLT is to develop 'communicative competence', which is the ability to communicate effectively in real-world situations.
• 🗣️ CLT emphasizes that language learning should occur through communication, not just as a byproduct of it.
• 🏫 In CLT, the classroom activities are designed to enable students to practice communication in various forms.
• 📈 CLT activities are tailored to different language proficiency levels, allowing for progressive skill development.
• 🤝 CLT often involves tasks such as role plays and information sharing to encourage the use of communicative resources.
• 🌐 CLT has evolved over time, giving rise to various forms like task-based teaching, text-based teaching, and content-based teaching.
• 📚 CLT is not just a method but a set of principles that guide how communication can be central to language teaching and learning.
• 🔑 The key to CLT is providing opportunities for students to practice communication, which is believed to lead to the acquisition of communicative competence.

Q & A

What is communicative language teaching?

Communicative language teaching is an approach to language teaching that focuses on communication as the primary goal of language learning, emphasizing the development of communicative competence through classroom activities that encourage students to practice communication.

How did communicative language teaching develop?

It developed as a reaction away from grammar-focused teaching methods that prioritized accuracy and the sentence as the unit of presentation and practice.

What is the main goal of communicative language teaching?

The main goal is to develop communicative competence in students, which is achieved through activities that make communication the focus of the classroom.

How does communicative language teaching view language learning?

It argues that language is learned through communication, and that language is a byproduct of using it to communicate.

What types of activities are used in communicative language teaching?

Activities include tasks, role plays, information sharing, and others that require students to use their communicative resources to make communication possible.

How does communicative language teaching differ from traditional grammar-focused teaching?

It differs by focusing on communication rather than just accuracy, and by using classroom activities that are based on real-life communication scenarios rather than isolated grammar exercises.

What is the role of the teacher in communicative language teaching?

The teacher's role is to facilitate communication by developing activities that allow students to practice and improve their communicative skills.

How does communicative language teaching adapt to different proficiency levels?

It adapts by developing activities that enable students to practice communicating in different ways according to their language proficiency level.

What are some forms that communicative language teaching has taken in recent years?

It has led to task-based teaching, text-based teaching, and content-based teaching, among others.

Why is communicative language teaching still considered important today?

It is considered important because it aligns with the principle that language learning should be centered around real-world communication skills.

What are some examples of communicative language teaching in practice?

Examples include group discussions, debates, simulations, and projects that require students to use language to achieve a communicative goal.