New Experiment in Old Laboratory
by G.ManjulathaDevi, Asst Prof English, Jyothishmathi Institute of Technology &Science, Karimnagar, Ph.D scholar, Kakatiya University.
E-mail: gmanjulatha@gmail.com or manjuratna1812@gmail.com
Abstract
New techniques are never incontentious in teaching for the objective of teaching is to provide everything to students they require to learn and apply what they learn. Language learning has often been argued as something that can be learnt instead of being taught. Traditional methods of teaching would acquaint the students to rules that are essential to follow while using the language, but provide little possibilities to apply what they have learned in the supervision of the taskmaster, who affectionately corrects their mistakes and teaches how to present themselves immaculately. A new approach has been longed for that would bolster confidence in learners and continue any recipe of learning not as a tedious labour but as a jovial and admiring activity. Communicative Language Approach has thus achieved significance as its salient feature is to involve the students in activities and therefore help them hone their skills by strengthening their morale to interact with people which is done in amicable teaching-learning environment.
Introduction
The glimpses at teaching methods, since we have started either to outwit or to fawn on the teaching techniques or strategies, which have been attributed to teaching a language, will unfold the fact that no teaching method is self-perpetuating. But undeniably, when students experiment with what they are learning from instruction, and discovering from exposure to the examples that are provided by the teachers, they become adept. It is only through such experimentation that students become able practitioners of language. Hence the responsibility of the instructor is to foster a practice-based study environment with orientation towards “more participatory experimental techniques.” (Knowles 1970, p. 45)
Objective of Communicative Approach
The main objective of Communicative Approach is to introduce opportunities in the classroom to communicate in second or foreign language to impart the ability to students to communicate in it in the real life situations. Traditional and Grammar-Translation methods have fulfilled the purpose of language learning to some extent and to compensate this deficiency, Communicative Method has been initiated as a new endeavour, through which the students acquire the consciousness of their body language, which will of course, leave a mark on the communicatees to study the mind of the speaker. The approach heartens the judicious use of the language and exchange of knowledge and therefore broadens the thinking faculty of the learners to strengthen their expression.
Communicative activity enlightens students’ responsibility in the participation of a performance the class, so the communicative class is generally in hurly-burly situation. It is largely done through speech and therefore, students’ raise of voice to make it audible to every presenter in the classroom, might present a picture of chaos to the classroom “Because of the increased responsibility to participate, students may feel they gain confidence in using the target language in general, students are more responsible managers of their own learning.” (Larsen-Freeman 1986 )
Obviously learner is the leading light in learning process and fruits of learning are witnessed when the process of learning is not felt as a onerous activity. The complexity in learning, apart from being handicapped with poor or inadequate facilities, has its roots in the psychological state of the learner. Identification of the learners with a bend of reluctance and antipathy towards learning will efface their grudge or inferiority complex, when they are affectionately encouraged to take part in using the language.
The learners feel thrilled to participate in the activities that are set by the teachers, which they usually encounter in their regular life.. This is the method, through which, many of their doubts regarding facing certain situations, are clarified. Students feel contented because their communication problems, which make them embarrassed, are solved. The teacher continues to create more and more real life situations in the classroom and train the students to make themselves affable through spoken language and communicative language. Margie S. Berns states,” language is interaction; it is interpersonal activity and has a clear relationship with the society. In this light, language study has to look at the use (function) of language in context, both its linguistic context (what is uttered before and after given piece of discourse) and its social, or situational context (who is speaking, what their social roles are, why they have come together to speak)” (Berns, 1984;p. 5 ) to study the minds of the speaker and develop communicative competence of students.
The performance of the job of learning ought to be allowed to be done by the learners themselves and the instructor should just be a facilitator of any intricacies that the process of learning might contain. This ‘learning by experience’ certainly offers its fruits of success in learning programme.Besides, identifying the obstacles that would obstruct learning need to be understood by the teacher to help the students obviate them to make their way clear for learning.
Not concentrating on the mistakes of students, acknowledging their achievements, maintaining rapport with them, and pronouncing endearments to students, are the dazzling characteristics of the instructor in Communicative Language Teaching which, with all its fixation on a student, does not seem to him a reproacher of his/her deficiencies. The invitation for the students’ total involvement in the activities with the kind extension of the cooperation of the instructor is strikingly observable in Communicative Approach which is, of course, done with a high ambition of making the students capable of expressing themselves in order to get the response.
The attractive feature of CLT as Larsen states is that, “Activities in Communicative approach often carried out by students in small groups.” (Larsen-Freeman sighted in Rao capital 2002, P. 87) These activities provide students opportunities to communicate actively and meaningfully in a second or a foreign language class
Another noteworthy attribute of CLT is “its learner centered and experience based teaching.” (Richards and Rodgers cited in Rao, 2002, p. 88) In the CLT class the teachers, along with the students are managers of learning. The teacher does not play the role of a dictator, orator, administrator or ruler but an organizer, facilitator and enlightener and saviour, therefore the students feel relaxed and confident and learning under such circumstances gains momentum.
The Application of Communicative Approach
“Teachers in communicative classroom will find themselves talking less and listening more- becoming more facilitators of their students, learning.” (Larsen-Freeman,1986) Any approach to language teaching will be effective, when the learners are involved in learning programme. According to Littlewood ‘many aspects of language will take place only through natural process, which operate when a person is involved in using the language for communication'( Littlewood, 1981) There is actually no scope for any chagrin to the educators, when they realize the root cause for the undercurrent of antipathy to learning among student community, which is because of the students’ nil participation and teachers’ total participation that ought to be vice-versa in attaining the objectives of learning.
Woddowson points out the root of the problem, ‘the learners’ deficiency in the ability to actually use the language lies in the approach itself’. (Woddowson, 1972) The learners will reveal the fund of their knowledge, when they are the participants in the activities, and it cannot be denied that their amount of learning which a consequence of their understanding is conditioned by their reading or listening. Ellis says whether the learner is a good or a poor one depends largely on his/her understanding of the language. (Ellis,1997) In Communicative Approach the learners take control of their learning and assume responsibility for their success or failure.
Reading in Communicative Approach
In Communicative Approach the traditional procedure of reading done by the teacher, while the students listen shifting their attention from observing the words printed as long as the teacher reads to listen to explanation following reading is edified. Students and teachers read together the reading material. Later they discuss together what they have read. This is to ensure that the students have comprehended the global structure of the reading material. Predictive reading activity and jigsaw reading activity can be organized to improve reading clarity of discussion about discursive and grammatical structure of the reading material and develop ability to predict.
a) Predictive reading activity
This is suitable to improve narrative comprehension. Students in groups read the narrative. Then they are asked to predict what happens next. Students in groups discuss among themselves and come to an understanding. Every group reads out its predictions to other groups. The other groups feel amused if they find their predictions similar, otherwise they argue to convince why their predictions are agreeable and others disagreeable. This is how the whole class is involved in communicative activity. All students, through exchange of ideas will improve their skill.
ii) Jigsaw reading activity
The reading material is given in paragraphs to all groups of students in the class. Each group has to identify the main ideas in the paragraphs given to it or predict what could be there in the antecedent paragraph. The group has to identify the cohesion among the sentences in the paragraph. Students do this activity by discussing with their group mates. Later one group will read out what their main ideas are and other groups will take a note of them. Likewise every group will prepare the main ideas and predictions and while they read out the other groups will prepare a report. At the end they will sum up their predictions and main ideas for global understanding.
iii Follow-up activities
The teacher asks questions about the material to get the feedback from students after their reading activity.
Tests to Improve Communicative Competence
A good test will measure the goals and objectives of the course. Assessment should test how well the learners fare when using English in their target situation. Students should be clear about what they are expected of when being tested. They should be informed in what communicative activity they are tested and what language item is tested, whether it is pronunciation or clarity or brevity of speech or intonation or vocabulary or stress. They are meant to be objective. However, Ellis and Johnson point out: “the assessment of oral communication skills- usually by giving an oral test is by its very nature subjective.” (Ellis and Johnson,1994:46) Communicative skills are tested in the way communicative language simulates real life communicative situations.
The objectives and reasons in the test should be clear to the tester and testeein the following way:
1. The purpose of the test
2. The learner’s standard
3. The length of time
4. The type of skills tested.
5. The tasks required.
6. The test methods used.
7. The way the test is assessed
Benefits of Communicative Approach
Communicative refers to activities of different types. These activities may be mere dialogues which are generally presented in usual situations.(For example, enquires of train or bus or
flight timings at bus station or railway station or air port, school admission, referring to fees and other details, route enquires like way to post-office or police-station etc.) In other case the term communicative refers to open dialogue activities (conversations) Hence the approach is as :
Ø Interaction
Ø Application of grammar
Ø Skill
a) Communicative Approach as Interaction
Communicative approach eliminates harangues of a teacher. It is an attempt to explode the hidden worthy ideas, abilities of students which is made by both parties; the learners and the pedagogues after making which, both the parties will enjoy the benefit of extra learning.
Communication happens after the input has been delivered. This is the production of language in groups. Students during interaction will produce the language that may need refinement. They may use vocabulary improperly, for example; ‘The construction of my house is in climax stage.’ Careful observation of teacher is to take a mental note of the quality of language produced, and instant implementation of methods to make it intact would help the students to greater extent. They realize not any kind of production is communicative, it should be meaningful also. Saying about anything in pairs or groups is not enough to make the utterance communicative. The interaction needs to be meaningful.
b) Communicative Approach as Application of Grammar
In communicative approach there is stress on the proficiency rather than on knowledge of second language. Most text books contain grammar headers in their tables of contents, which seems to be in contradiction with communicative manifesto. There is a big effort in language acquisition and not on learning that has priority in this teaching strategy.
“Proficiency or communicative competence is the availability to understand and convey information and feelings in a particular situation for a give purpose. In the Natural Approach we determine, for example, if the student is about to ask a native speaker how to get from one location to another understand the directions given by the native speaker. Accuracy is a small part of proficiency, but in no sense is it the only goal on not available course or even a prerequisite for the development of communicative proficiency.”
Terrell (2002)
There is no language without grammar component in it. Since it determines the correction of the language before communicative activity either grammar input is given and through output it can be assessed or later the activity, finding the need, grammar can be taught as per requirement where it is neglected because of which the language is impaired. Both strategies fetch satisfactory results in communicative approach.
Communicative Approach as skill
Krashen and Terrell argue that to acquire communicative competence the key component of the course must be to allow the student to use the language for real communication, and the exercise and drill are neither necessary nor sufficient. (Krashen &Terrell 1983)
It is almost impossible to single text book revolving round the four language skills. (Listening, speaking, reading and writing) They can be considered communicative the way they are traditionally used in classroom: “speaking, reading, writing or listening without purpose cannot be communicative […] to be communicative, an activity in the classroom must have some informational outcome or social purpose.”(Van Patten)
Nunan stipulates that if language is a system for expressing meanings and if different learners have different communicative ends in the view, then surely their different communicative ends should be reflected in the things that learners are taught. (Nunan 1999) Language is a skill. It is developed only through practice. It is necessary to make the students read, write and speak the language as much as possible. The mistakes of the students should be carefully noted and be given explanation about the correctness of the language. They should be allowed to win the battle of learning and therefore develop confidence in themselves.
Conclusion
Although traditional grammar translation method is lampooned, it cannot be concluded that CLT is suitable for all studies in all areas. It will be more troublesome to those students who have studied in rural areas, where they have no sufficient exposure to language, and therefore cannot participate in activities that are meant for enhancing their communication skills. They feel inferior and long for the expiry of the hour. They are more convenient to listen and reproduce than to create and interact. Hence it is necessary for teachers to decide which teaching methods are to be implemented to benefit the language learners.
References
Knowles, M. (1970) The modern practice of adult education. New York: Association Press
Richards, J.C. and Rodgers, T. (1986), Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching: A Description and Analysis, Cambridge University Press. Cambridge
Littlewood, W. (1981), Communicative Language Teaching. New York: Cambridge University Press
Widdowson, HG (1972), “The Teaching of English as Communication.” English Language Teaching 27, 7: 15-19 Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Ellis, R.C. (1997), Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Krashen, S. (1988), The Input Hypothesis: Issues and Implications. London: Longman
Numan, D. 1999 Second Language Teaching &Learning. Boston: Heinle &Heinle Publication
Krashen, S. &Terrell,T.D. (1983), The Natural Approach, Pergamon
Larsen-Freeman.D. (1986) “Techniques and principles in language teaching.”Oxford University Press
Berns, M.S.(1984). Functional approaches to language and language teaching: Another look. In S.Savignon & M.S.Berns (Eds). “Initiatives in communicative language teaching.A book of readings”(pp,3-21). Reading MA: Addison-Wesley.
**ELTWeekly would like to thank G.ManjulathaDevi for contributing this research paper.