Language teachingLesson 1 of 2 in the course Communicative approach

Communicative Language Teaching: Principles, Activities, and Critiques

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 4 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

Communicative language teaching (CLT), also called the communicative approach, treats interaction as both a way to learn a language and the goal of learning it. This lesson introduces CLT’s central purpose and the social changes that helped it develop.

CLT is an approach to language teaching that emphasizes interaction in the target language. Its central goal is learners’ ability to communicate, rather than grammatical competence as the sole or highest priority. Grammar remains relevant, but learners are also expected to use language meaningfully with other people.

All flashcards

Communicative language teaching (CLT)
An approach that develops learners’ ability to use a target language through meaningful interaction.
Authentic text
A text created for a purpose other than language instruction.
Communicative competence
The ability to use language appropriately and effectively in social and communicative contexts.
Information-gap activity
A task in which learners exchange information that their partners do not have.
Dogme language teaching
An approach that foregrounds real conversation and treats communication as an engine of learning.

Quiz questions

  1. What did Dell Hymes add to the idea of knowing a language?Answer: Knowing how to use language appropriately in social situations.
  2. Which component did Canale add to the communicative competence model in 1983?Answer: Discourse competence, which concerns connections across spoken or written contributions.
  3. What distinguishes an information-gap activity from a task where partners share the same information?Answer: Each partner has information the other needs to obtain.
  4. Which learners are interviews especially useful for in CLT?Answer: Lower-level learners who benefit from structured questions and answers.
  5. What risk did Michael Swan identify when CLT gives too much priority to communicative function?Answer: Learners may develop gaps in formal language knowledge.

Based on the Wikipedia article Communicative language teaching, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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