Communicative Methods

Communicative Methods

1. Task-Based Language Teaching

   • Characteristics
     • -Tasks provide both the input and output processing necessary for language acquisition, -Task activity and achievement are motivational, -Learning difficulty can be negotiated and finetuned for particular pedagogical purposes
   • Materials
     • -Newspapers, Internet, Television, Audios, Pedagogic materials with conversation.
   • Activities
     • Six task types proposes by Willis (1996)
       • 1. listing, 2. ordering and sorting 3, comparing, 4. problem solving, 5. sharing personal experiences, 6. creative tasks
     • Pica, Kanagy, and Falodun (1993) classify tasks according to the type of interaction
       • 1.Jigsaw tasks, 2. Information-gap tasks, 3. Problem-solving tasks, 4. Decision-making tasks, 5. Opinion exchange tasks
   • Learner Roles
     • Group participant, Monitor, Risk-taker and innovator
   • Teacher Roles
     • Selector and sequencer of tasks, Preparing learners for tasks, Consciousness-raising

2. Communicative Language Teaching

   • Characteristics
     • Activities that involve real communication promote learning, Activities in which language is used for carrying out meaningful tasks promote learning (Johnson 1982), Language that is meaningful to the learner supports the learning process
   • Teacher Roles
     • The teacher has two main roles: the first role is to facilitate the communication process between all participants in the classroom, and between these participants and the various activities and texts. The second role is to act as an independent participant within the learning-teaching group.
       • These roles imply a set of secondary roles for the teacher
         • First, as an organizer of resources and as a resource himself, second as a guide within the classroom procedures and activities.A third role for the teacher is that of researcher and learner, with much to contribute in terms of appropriate knowledge and abilities, actual and observed experience of the nature of learning and organizational capacities. (1980: 99)
   • Learner Roles
     • The role of learner as negotiator – between the self, the learning process, and the object of learning – emerges from and interacts with the role of joint negotiator within the group and within the classroom procedures and activities which the group undertakes. The implication for the learner is that he should contribute as much as he gains, and thereby learn in an interdependent way. (1980: 110)
   • Activities
     • Outof-Focus slides which the students attempt to identify, Wright (1976)
       • Plans and diagrams which students have to complete by asking for information. Byrne (1978)
         • Place objects in a certain pattern is then communicated to students behind the screen. Allwright (1977)
           • Listening in which students listen to different taped materials and then communicate their content to others in the class. Geddes and Sturtridge (1979)
             • Littlewood (1981) distinguishes between functional communication activities, social interaction activities
   • Materials
     • Text-based materials There are numerous textbooks designed to direct and support Communicative Language Teaching.
     • Task-based materials A variety of games, role plays, simulations, and task-based communication activities have been prepared to support Communicative Language Teaching classes.
     • realia Many proponents of Communicative Language Teaching have advocated the use of “authentic,” “from-life” materials in the classroom.