Summary
Highlights
Before CLT, many language learners had good grammar and vocabulary but struggled with basic conversational communication. Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) questions this by proposing that the main purpose of learning a language is to communicate with people. It emerged in the 1970s as a major shift, treating language as a tool for communication rather than just a list of forms to be mastered.
The core concept of CLT is communicative competence, which involves choosing appropriate language for social contexts, understanding and producing diverse texts, maintaining communication even with limited vocabulary, and using language for real purposes like explaining or persuading. CLT in the classroom is guided by three principles: the communication principle (real communication promotes learning), the task principle (using language for meaningful tasks supports learning), and the meaningfulness principle (language relevant to learners is more effective).
CLT classroom activities can include information gap activities, discussions, role plays, and problem-solving tasks that require negotiation. It also acknowledges errors as a natural part of communication as long as meaning is conveyed. Teachers in a CLT classroom act as facilitators, guiding the learning process, while students take an active role, collaborating and negotiating meaning.
There are two versions of CLT: 'weak CLT,' where learning involves practicing language forms, and 'strong CLT,' where language is acquired through communication itself. Materials and activities in a CLT classroom utilize a wide range of real-world resources like newspaper articles, signs, maps, online resources, and games, all designed to foster authentic interaction.
CLT faces challenges such as creating authentic communication opportunities, especially among students with a shared native language, and the need for teachers to adapt to a facilitating role. Its Western origins sometimes require adaptation for different educational traditions. Despite these challenges, CLT was a significant paradigm shift in TESOL, influencing subsequent approaches like task-based language teaching and content-based instruction. The key idea remains that people learn languages by using them, and error-free conversations are not necessary for successful communication.