Competency-Based Language Teaching

Competency-Based Language Teaching

1. Eight key features

   • Focus on successful functioning in society
     • Focus on life skills
       • Task-or performer centered orientation
         • Modularized instruction
           • Outcomes that are made explicit a priori
             • Continuous and ongoing assessment
               • Demonstrated mastery of performance objectives
                 • Individualized, student – centered instruction

2. Domains

   • Knowledge and learning competencies
     • Oral competencies
       • Reading competencies
         • Writing competencies

3. Approach

   • CBLT is based on a functional and interactional perspective on the nature of language. It seeks to teach language in relation to the social contexts in which it is used.
     • CBLT is also built around the notion of communicative competence and seeks to develop functional communication skills in learners.

4. CBLT is an application of the principles Competency-Based Education to language teaching.

   • Such an approach had been widely adopted by the end of the 1970s, particularly for the design of work-related and survival-oriented language teaching programs for adults.

5. Role of the Teacher

   • The role of the teacher changes from one of being an information-giver to that of a facilitator
     • Teachers provide the materials, the activities, and the practice opportunities to their students
       • Teachers will have to devote large amounts of time to creating activities related to the specific skills necessary to fulfill the competency requirements

6. Role of the Student

   • Students may be resistant to this approach in the beginning, especially if they do not see any real need for learning the language.
     • Students take an active part in their own learning and work toward being autonomous learners.