an approachto foreign or second language teaching which emphasizes
that the goal of language learning is communicative competence and
which seeks to make meaningful communication and language use a focus
of all classroom activities. The communicative approach was developed
particularly by British applied linguists in the 1980s as a reaction away from
grammar-based approaches such as situational language teaching
and the audiolingual method. The major principles of Communicative
Language Teaching are:
1 learners use a language through using it to communicate
2 authentic and meaningful communication should be the goal of class-
room activities
3 fluency and accuracy are both important goals in language learning
4 communication involves the integration of different language skills
5 learning is a process of creative construction and involves trial and
error
Communicative language teaching led to a re-examination of language
teaching goals, syllabuses, materials, and classroom activities and has had
a major impact on changes in language teaching world wide. Some of its
principles have been incorporated into other communicative approaches,
such as task-based language teaching, cooperative language learning,
and content-based instruction.communicative competencen
knowledge of not only if something is formally possible in a language, but
alsowhether it is feasible, appropriate, or done in a particular speech
community.
Communicative competence includes:
agrammatical competence (also formal competence), that is, knowledge
of the grammar, vocabulary, phonology, and semantics of a language
(also see competence)
bsociolinguistic competence (also sociocultural competence), that is,
knowledge of the relationship between language and its nonlinguistic
context, knowing how to use and respond appropriately to different types
of speech acts, such as requests, apologies, thanks, and invitations,
knowing which address forms should be used with different persons
one speaks to and in different situations, and so forth (see also appro-
priateness, pragmatics, role relationship)
c discourse competence(sometimes considered part of sociolinguistic
competence), that is, knowing how to begin and end conversations (see
also speech events, cohesion, coherence)
dstrategic competence, that is, knowledge of communication strategies
that can compensate for weakness in other areas.
communicative competence