ELTWeekly Vol. 4 Issue#4 | January 23, 2012 | ISSN 0975-3036
Abstract
This article critically reviews the feasibility of two prominent contemporary language teaching methods in foreign language class rooms in the Middle East- the Communicative Approach and the Community Language Learning method- to show to the readers the effectiveness of these methods and the enormous flexibilities that these two methods offer to the Foreign Language teachers who teach in the Middle East.
Index terms
notional syllabus, linguistic behaviours, human computers, integrative test, teacher- learner centred, native language translation, reflect on experience, interviews, information gaps, games language exchanges and surveys
Introduction
An understanding of second language acquisition can improve the ability of mainstream teachers to serve the culturally and linguistically diverse students in their classrooms (Fillmore & Snow, 2002; Hamayan, 1990). While significant professional development is necessary to gain a full understanding of second language acquisition theory, some key concepts can be quickly understood and applied in the classroom. Current theories of second language acquisition are based on years of research in a wide variety of fields, including linguistics, psychology, sociology, anthropology, and neurolinguistics (Freeman & Freeman, 2001). One concept endorsed by most current theorists is that of a continuum of learning—that is, predictable and sequential stages of language development, in which the learner progresses from no knowledge of the new language to a level of competency closely resembling that of a native speaker. Quite often teachers look to theory to inform their practice in the classroom. However, in language learning, the basic theories about the nature and nurture of language are still widely debated and thus it is often quite difficult to pinpoint exactly how teachers can make the best use of the results of research. However, quite exceptionally, the two language acquisition theories referred here- the Communicative Approach and the Community Language Learning Method prove to be very effective and more transparent, and the success rate these methods have produced in the language class rooms recently in the Middle East, is the reason why they are reviewed here
Communicative Approach
Communicative Approach, also called ‘Communicative Approach to the Teaching of Foreign Language, is an approach which emphasizes that the goal of language learning is communicative competence. This approach, developed by the British Applied Linguists, was a result of an angry reaction against the then existing grammar-based approaches. Interaction in the target language is the key objective of this approach and, the teaching materials are generally used to teach,
a. the language needed to express and understand different kinds of functions, such as
requesting, describing, expressing likes and dislikes, etc;
b. a notional syllabus or some other communicatively organised syllabus;
c. the processes of communication, such as using language appropriately in different
types of situations, to perform different kinds of tasks, e.g. to solve puzzles, to get
information etc, also to use language for social interaction with other people.
The Communicative Approach emerged in the 1970s as a result of an inadequate language teaching method called The Audio-lingual method. In the Audio-lingual method, lessons were organised by grammatical structure and presented through short dialogues. The learners listened to the dialogues and mimicked pronunciation and the grammatical structures in these dialogues. Critics of the Audio-lingual method noticed that this over-emphasis on repetition and accuracy did not help the learners achieve communicative competence in the target language. Noam Chomsky also opposed this approach and argued that ‘Language is not a habit of structure”. He also stated that “ordinary linguistic behaviours characteristically involve innovation, formation of new sentences and patterns in accordance with rules of great abstractness and intricacy” (Noam Chomsky, 1993). So, the critics who were opposing the Audio-lingual method, formulated a notional-functional syllabus as an alternative method and eventually, it gave way to the present Communicative Approach.
A notional-functional syllabus is a way of organising a language curriculum. Accordingly, instructions are organised in terms of notions (context) and functions (purpose). For example, the notion ‘shopping’ requires a lot of language functions such as asking for prices, features of a product, bargains etc. So, in this approach, the learners get opportunities to learn the language features as per their requirements.
The Communicative Approach is often defined as a list of general principles or features. David Nunan has suggested the following best five features:
- an emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target language,
- the introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation,
- the provision of opportunities for learners to focus both on language as well as
on the learning management process,
- an enhancement of the learner’s own personal experiences as important, contributing elements to classroom learning, and
- an attempt to link classroom language learning with language activities outside
the classroom (David Nunan, 1991).
As a result of these above principles, in the Communicative Approach classrooms, role plays, pair and group works, interviews, information gaps, games language exchanges and surveys, play a major role in helping learners develop their level of communicative competence.
Over the years, many interesting observations have been made by researchers and teachers. The following list of these observations on Communicative Approach will, help to measure its effectiveness.
* Communicative Approach focuses on (target) language as a medium of
communication and it also recognises that all communication has a
social purpose.
* Communicative Approach implies that communication embraces a
whole spectrum of functions such as , seeking information,
apologising, expressing likes and dislikes etc, and notions like apologising
for being late, asking where the nearest railway station is and so on.
* In Communicative Approach, classroom activities maximise opportunities
for learners to use the target language in a communicative way for
meaningful activities. It is much more pupil-oriented because it is dictated
by pupil’s needs and interests.
* Communicative Approach gives more emphasis on active modes of
learning including pair works and group works.
* Communicative Approach encourages the learners to learn and use idiomatic
and everyday language, even slangs, to understand the social context.
* Grammar is taught but less systematically.
* Communicative Approach uses authentic texts to teach
communicative competence. In ESL/EFL classrooms, these authentic texts
serve as partial substitute for community of native speakers. Newspaper
and magazine articles, poems, manuals, recipes, telephone directories,
videos, news bulletins etc, are used in the classrooms effectively.
The above observations, mostly observed by the language teachers, provide a clear- cut view on the effectiveness of the Communicative Approach. Thus, it remains the most effective method, available for teaching communicative competence, today.
Community Language Learning
Community Language Learning is an ESL/EFL teaching method developed by Charles A. Curran. “It is an application of ‘counselling learning’ to second and foreign language teaching and learning. The method makes use of group learning in small or large groups. These groups are the community,” (The Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics, 1993). The Community Language Learning method emphasizes on the learners’ personal feelings and their reactions to language learning. Learners say things which they want to talk about, in their native language. The teacher plays the role of a counsellor and he translates the learners’ sentences into the foreign language, and each learner then repeats these sentences to other members of the group.
The Community Language Learning Approach treats the teacher and the student as the ‘knower’ and the ‘learner’ respectively. Sometimes their roles change from a ‘knower’ to a ‘counsellor’ and a ‘learner’ to a ‘client’. According to Curran a counsellor is a person who helps the client understand his/her own problems better by “capturing the essence of the client’s concern and relating the client’s affect to cognition” in effect, understanding the client and responding in a detached yet considerate manner (Charles A. Curran, 1991).
The general tasks allotted to the learners, as per the Community Language Learning Approach include the following:
- to apprehend the sound system of the language
- to assign fundamental meanings to individual lexical units, and
- to construct a basic grammar.
To help the learners complete these tasks successfully, the teacher adopts the following techniques in the language classrooms:
- building relationships among learners;
- explain the procedure to complete the task successfully;
- set the time limit;
- provides language for communication
- works as a human computer
- teacher stands behind the learners,
- teacher repeats, doesn’t correct,
- interaction among learners
- Native language translation
- reflect on experience, talk about feelings,
- teacher plays the role of a counsellor, understands, listens,
- one task at a time,
- cooperation, no competition.
- teacher- learner centred: both are decision-makers,
- syllabus designed by the learners at the beginning
- creative thinking and self-evaluation
- integrative test; paragraph writing or oral interview.
Presently, the social networking technologies and internet have helped a large group of people try Communicative Language Learning Approach, by means of information sharing and collaboration tools. The users can mutually help each other to learn the target language by direct communication or mutual correction of language exercises.
Critical Review
Community Language Learning Method is one of the appropriate methods to teach foreign language. The advanced level learners in theMiddle Eastwill find it quite suitable for the course. The teacher who adopts this method will be a ‘knower’ first, and a ‘counsellor’ then and would stand behind the learners to help them understand their problems in their fluency and in their accuracy domains of the foreign language. Sometimes in the language classrooms in theMiddle East, the learners feel unsecured and uncomfortable when asked to participate in group discussions. Communicative Language Learning provides many ideas to overcome this fear to acquire the target language with ease.
One of the post-lesson activities of this method is Human Computer. During this phase, the teacher gets an opportunity to correct and solve the pronunciation problems. In the group work that follows, the learners will be asked to create new sentences based on the transcript and this is an effective activity to develop their discourse competence. Arabic could be used by the learners, and they get the authentic translation also instantly from the teacher. The spirit of the target language will be maintained by this and the learners could also understand the socio-cultural feature of it. The problem of communicative breakdowns could easily be solved as the teacher always stands behind them. Thus, Community Language Learning method could be comfortably adopted in theMiddle East, to teach effectively the foreign language to the advanced level learners.
On the other hand, the Communicative Approach provides enormous amount of scope to the learners to develop their communicative competence. The authentic texts used in Communicative Approach classrooms will help the learners to understand the socio-cultural functions of the language. As this approach doesn’t give much importance to frequent corrections in the classrooms, there is absolutely no chance of communication-breakdowns. Grammar is taught inductively, and this is good for developing their grammatical competence, too. In Communicative Approach, the learners also get opportunities to use their acquired language in the production of oral speech or a written text, and this will further pave way for the development of their competence in the learned foreign language. In short, as Communicative Approach was formulated just to teach foreign language, it could also be adopted in the classrooms to develop the overall language competence level of the advanced level learners in theMiddle East.
Suggestions
Whatever methods adopted in the language class rooms, it is very important that students be encouraged to continue their native language development. When parents ask about the best ways they can help their child at home, you can reply that the child should have the opportunity to read extensively in her own language. You could suggest that parents make some time every evening to discuss with their child, in their native language, what she has done in school that day: ask her to talk about the science experiment she did, question her about her understanding of primary and secondary sources of historical information, have her explain how she has solved a math problem etc. As Cummins (2000) states: “Conceptual knowledge developed in one language helps to make input in the other language comprehensible.” If a child already understands the concepts of “justice” or “honesty” in her own language, all she has to do is acquire the label for these terms in English. She has a far more difficult task, however, if she has to acquire both the label and the concept in her second language.
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