LEARNING

COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING (CLT)
APPROACH	COURSE DISEGN	PROCEDURCE
THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE Hymes coined this term in order to contrast a communica­tive view of language and Chomsky's theory of competence. Chomsky held that linguistic theory is concerned primarily with an ideal speaker-listener in a completely homogeneous speech community, who knows its language perfectly and is unaffected by such grammatically irrelevant conditions as mem­ory limitation, distractions, shifts of attention and interest, and errors (random or characteristic) in applying his knowledge of the language in actual performance. (Chomsky 1965: 3) Some of the characteristics of this communicative view of language follow. 1. Language is a system for the expression of meaning. 2. The primary function of language is for interaction and communication. 3. The structure of language reflects its functional and communicative uses. 4. The primary units of language are not merely its grammatical and struc­tural features, but categories of functional and communicative meaning as exemplified in discourse.	SYLLABUS. Discussions of the nature of the syllabus have been central in Communicative Language Teaching. One of the first syllabus models to be proposed was described as a notional syllabus (Wilkins 1976), which specified the semantic-grammatical categories (e.g., frequency, motion, location) and the   categories of communicative function that learners need to express. The Council of Europe expanded and developed this into a syllabus that included descriptions of the objectives of foreign language courses for European adults, the situations in which they might typically need to use a foreign language (e.g., travel, business), the topics they might need to talk about (e.g., personal identification, education, shopping), the functions they needed language for (e.g., describing something, requesting information, expressing agreement and disagreement), the notions made use of in communication (e.g., time, frequency, duration), as well as the vocabulary and grammar needed. The result was published asThreshold Level English (van Ek and Alex­ander 1980) and was an attempt to specify what was needed in order to be able to achieve a reasonable degree of communicative proficiency in a foreign language, including the language items needed to realize this "threshold level."	CLT procedures often require teachers to acquire less teacher-centered classroom management skills. It is the teacher's responsibility to organize the classroom as a setting for communication and communicative ac­tivities. Guidelines for classroom practice (e.g., Littlewood 1981; Finocchiaro and Brumfit 1983) suggest that during an activity the teacher monitors, encourages, and suppresses the inclination to supply gaps in lexis, grammar, and strategy but notes such gaps for later commentary and communicative practice. At the conclusion of group activities, the teacher leads in the debriefing of the activity, pointing out alternatives and extensions and assisting groups in self-correction discussion. Critics have pointed out, however, that non-native teachers may feel less than comfortable about such procedures without special training.
THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE LEARNING Elements of an underlying learning theory can be discerned in some CLT practices, however. One such element might be described as the communication principle: Activities that involve real communication promote learning. A second element is the task principle: Activities in which language is used for carrying out meaningful tasks promote learning (Johnson 1982). A third element is the meaningfulness principle: Language that is meaningful to the learner supports the learn­ing process. Learning activities are consequently selected according to how well they engage the learner in meaningful and authentic language use (rather than merely mechanical practice of language patterns)	THE ROLE OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL A wide variety of materials have been used to support communicative approaches to language teaching. Unlike some contemporary methodologies, such as Community Language Learning, practitioners of Com­municative Language Teaching view materials as a way of influencing the quality of classroom interaction and language use. Materials thus have the primary role of promoting communicative language use. We will consider three kinds of materials currently used in CLT and label these text-based, task-based, and realia.
	THE ROLE OF TEACHER. The teacher has two main roles: the first role is to facilitate the communica­tion process between all participants in the classroom, and between these participants and the various activities and texts. The second role is to act as an independent participant within the learning-teaching group. The latter role is closely related to the objectives of the first role and arises   from it. These roles imply a set of secondary roles for the teacher; first, as an organizer of resources and as a resource himself, second as a guide within the classroom procedures and activities.... A third role for the teacher is that of researcher and learner, with much to contribute in terms of appropriate knowledge and abilities, actual and observed experience of the nature of learning and organi­zational capacities. (1980: 99)
	THE ROLE OF LEARNERS The emphasis in Communicative Language Teaching on the processes of communication, rather than mastery of language.

TASK-BASED LEARNING (TBL)
APPROACH	COURSE DISEGN	PROCEDURSE
THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE Several assumptions about the nature of language can be said to underline current approaches to task-based learning. These are : 1. language is primarily a means of making meaning. 2. Multiple models of language inform task-based learning. 3. Lexical units are central in language use and language learning. 4. conversation is the central focus of language and the keystone of language acquisation.	SYLLABUS. Task-based syllabuses represent a particular realization of communicative language teaching (Nunan 1989). The deigner conducts a needs analysis, which yields a list of the communicative tasks yhat the learners will need to carry out. There is a basic distinction between target (real worid) tasks and pedagogical tasks. 1.      Pedagogical task : are created in order to  “push” learners into communicating interaction will fuel the acquisition process. 2.      Real life task : is something that the learner might conceivable do outside of the classroom.	Willis (1996:56-57) recommends the following sequence of activities. ·         Pre-task : introduction to topic and task. Teacher explores with the class, highlights useful words and phrases, helps students understand task instruction and prepare. 1.      Task Cycle : Task : students do the task, in pairs or small groups. Teacher  monitors from a distance. Planning : students prepare to report to the whole class (orally or in writing) how they did the task, what they decided or discovered. Report : some groups present their reports to the class , or exchange written reports and compare result. 2.      Language focus Analysis : students examine and discuss specific features of the text  Or transcript of the recording. Practice : Teacher conducts practice or new work , phrases and patterns occuring in the data, either during or after the analysis. (willis 1996 : 38)
THE NATURAL  OF LANGUAGE LEARNING Task-based learning shares the genera1.l assumptions about the nature of language   learning underlaying communicative language teaching. 1.      Tasks provide both the input and the output processing necessary fo language acquisition.       2. Task activity and achievement are       motivational.       3. Learning difficulty can be negotiated and fine-tuned for particular pedagogical purposes.	THE ROLE OF INTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL 1.      Books. 2.      Newspaper 3.      Magazine. 4.      Radio programs. 5.      CDs 6.      Tv 7.      Internet 8.      Board 9.      worksheets
	THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER 1.      Coooperate , listen and respond to asat needs. 2.      Decide what tasks to work on. 3.      Decide when to try a new task. 4.      Correct and keep feedback. (analysis) 5.      Help St Monitor each.
	THE ROLE OF THE LEARNER 1.      Wwork individually or with the groups equally 2.      Gather and organize information (report) 3.      Present results to others St and/or intructior.