Visual representation, paragraph and lesson plan

Communicative Language Teaching
History	It shifted in the field from a linguistic structure-centered approach to a Communicative Approach in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Goal	To enable the students to communicate in the target language. To teach students linguistics forms, meanings and functions.
Role of the teacher	The teacher facilitates communication in the classroom. Sometimes the teacher acts as an advisor and other times as a co-communicator.
Role of students	Students are communicators; they learn to negotiate meaning in order to understand even if they do not know something.
Characteristics	Activities must present information gap, choice and feedback. True communication is purposeful. Authentic materials. Small groups.
Nature of teacher´s interaction	The teacher presents part of the lesson. At other times, he is a facilitator of the activities.
Nature of student´s interaction	Students interact in pairs, triads and small groups.
Feeling	Communication is so useful, that promotes motivation.
View of Language and Culture	Language is for communication. The use of the language depends on the context. Culture is the everyday lifestyle of people who use the language.
Areas and Skills	Language functions. Cohesion and coherence. Fours skills.
Role of the native language	Judicious use of the student´s native language.
Evaluation	Informal evaluation; teachers is an advisor or co-communicator. Formal Evaluation: an integrative test which demands real communication.
Students Errors	They are tolerated.
Techniques	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)

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

Target Content: Natural Resources and the promotions of conservation
Linguistic objectives	Mediation Activities	Evaluation of learning outcomes and strategies	Time allotted
SWBT: To produce shorts pieces of writing. To use authentic materials with a real communication function. To transmit information orally to the group.	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.	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.	40 minutes
Resources:  sheets of papers and color pens.
Chronicle: