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Communicative Language Teaching
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History
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It shifted in the field from a linguistic structure-centered approach to
a Communicative Approach in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
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Goal
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To enable the students to communicate in the target language. To teach
students linguistics forms, meanings and functions.
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Role of the teacher
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The teacher facilitates communication in the classroom. Sometimes the
teacher acts as an advisor and other times as a co-communicator.
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Role of students
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Students are communicators; they learn to negotiate meaning in order to
understand even if they do not know something.
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Characteristics
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Activities must present information gap, choice and feedback.
True communication is purposeful.
Authentic materials.
Small groups.
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Nature of teacher´s interaction
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The teacher presents part of the lesson. At other times, he is a
facilitator of the activities.
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Nature of student´s interaction
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Students interact in pairs, triads and small groups.
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Feeling
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Communication is so useful, that promotes motivation.
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View of Language and Culture
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Language is for communication.
The use of the language depends on the context.
Culture is the everyday lifestyle of people who use the language.
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Areas and Skills
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Language functions.
Cohesion and coherence.
Fours skills.
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Role of the native language
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Judicious use of the student´s native language.
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Evaluation
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Informal evaluation; teachers is an advisor or co-communicator.
Formal Evaluation: an integrative test which demands real communication.
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Students Errors
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They are tolerated.
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Techniques
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Authentic Materials (newspapers articles, weather forecast)
Scrambled Sentences: to unscramble sentences.
Language Games: they make learning enjoyable.
Picture Strip Story.
Role-Play ( communication in social contexts)
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The
Communicative Language Teaching
Making students
able to communicate requires more than mastering linguistic structure. Such
observations were the ones that contributed to shift from a linguistic
structure-centered approach to a Communicative Approach. Thus, the goal of the
teacher who uses this method is to enable students to communicate in the target
language. To do this, students need knowledge of the linguistic forms, meanings
and functions. When the teacher facilitates communication in the classroom, he
or she acts as an advisor (answering questions) and other times as a
co-communicator (engaging in the communication activity). Consequently, the
teacher is less dominant than in a teacher centered approach. In the same way,
students are communicators because they learn to negotiate meaning in order to
understand regardless their ability of the language.
This
method has the particular characteristic which is that everything is done with
a communicative intent. It means every activity has to present an information
gap, a choice and feedback. For example, when an activity has an interchange of
information, different options for students and corrections by the teacher the
activity complies with the communicative intent. Also, these activities use
authentic materials in order to develop different strategies and small groups
to practice functional and socially appropriately the language.
In
addition to its unique characteristics, the Communicative Language Teaching emphasizes
functions over forms and introduces a variety of forms for each situation.
Also, students work with language at the suprasentential level. It means
students learn cohesion and coherence. However, they also work on the fours
skills from the beginning.
Finally,
the evaluation has to do with students’ accuracy and fluency of the language.
The informal part of this aspect is evaluated when the teacher is an advisor of
facilitator and the formal when a real communication function exam is applied.
For this reason, every activity has to comply with this communicative purpose
requisite in order to be truly communicatively.
UNIVERSITY OF COSTA RICA
ATLANTIC BRANCH - TURRIALBA
CAMPUS
Lesson
Plan
Institution
Date
Group: 9-2
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Target Content:
Natural Resources and the promotions of conservation
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Linguistic objectives
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Mediation Activities
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Evaluation of learning outcomes and strategies
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Time allotted
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SWBT:
To produce shorts pieces of writing.
To use authentic materials with a real communication
function.
To transmit
information orally to the group.
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1. Teacher greets students and tells the topic and
objective of today´s class.(2 min)
2. Teacher asks students to
form groups of five people and to take out a sheet
of paper. On the paper they would draw a comic strip of five scenes related
to today´s topic. Every member of the group has to draw one scene and then
pass the paper to the next member of the group. (15min)
Teacher
3. Teacher asks students to take out a sheet of
paper and to write individually a letter for the major complaining about an
environmental problem in their community and suggesting solutions. The format
of the letter is three sentences for the problem explanation and three
possible solutions. When students finish; they give the letter to the
teacher. The next class the teacher returns the letter to students with their
mistakes corrected.(15 min)
4. Teacher asks students to work in groups of five.
They would create a short discussion about global warming (effects, causes
and solutions) where some students would represent experts of the topic and
some other reporters. (8min)
The reporters would make 5 questions to the experts.
The experts would answer the questions.
This activity will take 20 more minutes of the next
class to finish and present in front of the class.
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Teacher acts as an advisor when answering questions.
Teacher acts as a co-communicator facilitating activities
of communication.
Teacher tolerates student’s errors.
Students must be able to work in pairs, triads, small
groups and as a whole group.
Students must be able to develop
sequences of
events.
Students would be able to explain
opinions and
reasons.
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40 minutes
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Resources: sheets of papers and color pens.
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Chronicle:
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