T14 - Methods and Techniques That Focus On Development of The Communicative Competence

 

T14: Methods and techniques that focus on development of the communicative competence. Methodological  principles for teaching English as a foreign language 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

6. 7. 8.

Intro The The com commu muni nica cati tive ve co comp mpet eten ence ce 2.1. 2.1. Comm Communi unicat cativ ivee langu language age com compet peten ence ce in the the CEF CEF and the the USA USA Conc Concep eptt of ap appr proa oach ch,, meth method od and and tec techn hniq ique ue Histor Historica icall overvie overview w and ana analys lysis is of the the princi principal pal metho methods ds and appro approache achess in the fore foreign ign langu language age classroom (GT, Structuralist, Humanistic, TPR, CLT, Natural & New) Approa Approache ches, s, methods methods and and techni techniques ques that that focus focus on the the develop developmen mentt of the commu communic nicati ative ve compete competence nce 5.1. Direct me method 5.2.. 5.2 Commun Communica icati tive ve appr approach oach:: ccomm ommuni unicat cative ive languag languagee teac teachin hing g (CLT (CLT)) 5.3. Natural approach 5.4. New approaches Meth Method odol olog ogic ical al prin princi cipl ples es for for TEF TEFL L Conclusion References

1. Intro Aim- TEFL RD 126/2014 acquisition 7 key competences- LOMCE, RD 126/2014 General Objective F, Order  15th January 2021 FLO’s- 5 This topic briefly reviews the history of foreign language teaching focusing on the new approaches developed since the 1990s. Changes in FLT methods throughout history have reflected changes in theories of the nature of  language langua ge and of language learning. learning. They have also reflected reflected recognition recognition of changes in the kind of proficiency that learners need, such as a more towards  oral proficiency  rather than reading comprehension as the goal of  language study. They all recognize that the final goal of FLT is the development of communicative competence. 2. The Commun Communica icativ tivee Compet Competence ence

The communicative approach adopted in PE for TEFL starts from the theory of language as communication. Chomsky (65) believed that speakers have innate abilities that enable them to produce grammatically correct sentences (language acquisition device). Hymes thought Chomsky’s view was limited and that language theory must include communication communication and culture. culture. Therefore, Hymes defined communicative competence as “what a speaker needs to know in order to be communicati communicatively vely competent competent in a speech community.” Sauvignon (72)  believed that communicative competence is the ability to function in a truly communicative setting .

In other words, communicative competence refers to having both the  knowledge of   and the ability to use language appropriately in relation to a context. 3.1 Communicative Language Competence in the CEFR and the USA

 

According to the CEFR , in order to carry out communicative intentions, learners must put into practice  both generall and specific genera specific language-rel language-related ated communicati communicative ve competence competence. Com Commun munica icativ tivee compet competence ence in this this narrower sense is made up of the  linguistic, sociolinguistic and pragmatic competences. The linguistic competence refers to the correct use of the language in terms of le xical, grammatical, semantic, phonological, orthographic and ortoepic subcomptences. Sociolinguistic competence refers to the knowledge and skills necessary to deal with the social dimension of language use, such as linguistic markers of social rela relati tions ons,, poli polite tenes nesss con convent vention ions, s, expres expressio sions ns of folk-wisdom, re regi gist ster er dif differ ference ences, s, dialect  and  accent. Pragmatic competence is concerned with the users’ knowledge of how messages are organized and structured (cohesion and coherence), and sequenced.

At the same time, language teaching in the USA is based on the idea that the goal of language acquisition is the communicative competence: the the ab abil ilit ity y to use language correctly  an and appropriately  to accomplish communication goals, not the ability to use language exactly as a native speaker does. Late r, other other subcompetences  ha have ve be been en in inte tegr grat ated ed.. Ca Cana nale le an and d Sw Swai ain n (1980 1980)) pro propos posed ed the st strat rategi egicc Later, competence compet ence which refers to the verbal and non-verbal communication  str strate ategie giess use used d to compen compensate sate for breakdowns  in commu communicati nication on due to insuf insuffici ficient ent linguistic linguistic compet competence. ence. The Spanish Educational syllabus design  fo forr mo mode dern rn langua languages ges was he heavi avily ly influenced  by Can Canale ale and Swa Swain’ in’ss  mo mode del, l, and ad adde ded d th thee sociocultural sociocultu ral subcompetence. This refers to a users’ ability to  assess the appropriateness of the language selected in a given context, taking into account the culture, the age and sex of the speakers, their social class, occupations as well as their roles and status in the interaction.

The herref efor ore, e, in Prima Primary ry Educat Education ion  te teac ache hers rs an and d st stud uden ents ts sh shou ould ld ke keep ep in mi mind nd th thee go goal al of ef effe fect ctiv ivee communicati commu nication: on: learn learners ers shoul should d be  able to make themselves understood   using their current proficiency proficiency without offending others or creating confusion due to faulty linguistic skills or socially inappropriate styles. Learners should also be able to use strategies to manage and overcome breakdowns in communication. 3. Concept Concept of appr approach oach,, method method and and techni technique que

When describ FLT methods, method s, it is necessary necessar y to differentiate  between a philosophy  of language teaching in theory describing and theing subsequent  procedure s for teaching a FL. According to Richards and Rogers , the beliefs about languag lan guagee and languag languagee learni learning ng are specifie specified d in the approach, and the theory theory is organiz organized ed into a method design and carried out in the classroom by the procedures and techniques. 4. Histor Historica icall overvi overview ew and analysi analysiss of the princi principal pal methods methods and approa approachi ching ng in the foreign foreign language language classroom The history of language teaching refers to the history of the ideas about language and how it is learned (Richards and Rodgers 86). The way foreign languages are taught has continuously evolved since the study of  Latin and Ancient Greek, up to the modern languages and English. The oldest oldest method method for langua language ge teachi teaching ng is the Gramma Grammar-T r-Tran ransla slatio tion n method method,, which which applies applies the same same techniques that were used to study Latin and Greek grammar to modern languages. The goal of this method was to be able to read and understand literary texts, not to communicate orally. Grammar and vocabulary were

 

given in decontextualized lists to be memorized and learners were expected to translate texts from L1-L2 and L2-L1. In the the second half of the 19th  century the Grammar method began to be criticized for a number of reasons. Reformers set out to establish a   new approach  to teaching modern languages based on the principles that spoken language is the goal and instruction should be in the target language. Additionally, translation should  be avoided. That led to the  structuralist methods of the 1920 and 30s: British Situational Language Teaching and American Audiolingualism which were both based on behavioral science. These methods claimed that languages consist of systems languages systems of structura structurally lly related elements that could be learned through creating creating habits. These methods relied heavily on memorization, drills, imitation and mimicry. Total Physical Response  is a langua language ge teaching teaching method method develop developed ed by J. Asher (66)  and built around the coordination of speech and action. Humanistic  meth methods ods were were de deve velo lope ped d in the the 1970s. They They share hare a  learner-centered  ap appr proa oach ch an and d th thee impor im portan tance ce of a posi positive tive classroom atmosphere. atmosphere. Although less well-known, they deserve to be mentioned. This includes Curran’s Community Language Learning  (70s) which is based on a co unseling approach and focused on group-interest learning. In Gatteno’s  Silent Way (60s), the teacher is as silent  as possible and learners are encouraged to  produce  as much language language as possible possible.. Suggestopedia, introduced by  Losanov

(70s), (70 s), is based based on the idea that students students can retain information by the power of suggestion   in a  relaxed atmosphere, accompanied by music. The Direct Method, the Natural Approach, Communicative language teaching,and other new approaches focus on the development of the communicative competence and are explained in detail in the following section. 5. Approaches, Approaches, methods methods and techniques techniques that that focus on the developme development nt of the communicati communicative ve competence competence As previously mentioned, there were criticisms of the GT and other methods which led to a reform movement in the second half of the 19th century. Linguists and teachers came up with ways to improve the teaching and learning of modern languages . This section takes a look at some of those methods which were focused on the development of communicative competence. 5.1 The Direct Method The DM was the most widely known of the natural methods introduced by Sauveur and based on active oral interaction in the target language. It advocated advo cated for using the L2 as the language for instruction  and prioritizing spoken language in the classroom. This also meant Ss should hear the language before seeing it in  writing. Grammar is taught inductively through contextualized, meaningful situations. Translation and L1 use were to be avoided (Richards and Rodgers 86). The pros of this method mean that students are exposed to the s pok poken en langua language ge in a mor more realistic and meaningful meani ngful context context and and errors  can can be cor correc rected ted imm immedi ediate ately. ly. On the other other hand, hand, it overemphasized  the similarity of learning L1 to learning L2 and required native or native-like teachers. 5.2 The Communicative approach: Communicative language teaching (CLT)

 

The communicative communicative approach aims to help students students acquire the target language language through through social social interactio interaction n and communicative situations, similar to how children acquire their mother tongue. Previous methods were critized for for crea creati ting ng struc structural turally ly competent competent but communicat communicatively ively incompetent incompetent  learners who could not actually communicate outside of the classroom in social interactions ( Choms Chomsky ky and Vygotsky Vygotsky). So, to meet the communicati commu nicative ve needs of learners learners the Counci Councill of Europe instructe  instructed d language language experts experts to study and introduce a new method. method. The “Threshold Level of the Council of Europe'' was written which led to the creation of the new communicative approach with the goal of developing students’ communicative competence (Hymes 72). With this new approach, the focus is put on meanin meanings gs over forms and communication in context is a basic  premise. It moves away from the habit-forming exercises prominent in the Audiolingual Method and focuses on interactive activities in which the language used is meaningful and the situations are real. (Johnson 82) This means classroom materials and activities are meant to improve classroom interaction and the use of language in a communicative way . Johnson, Johnso n, Harmer Harmer and Little Littlewoo wood d   ag agre reee that that co comm mmuni unicat cativ ivee activ activit itie iess sh shoul ould d have have a communicative purpose, focu focuss on content  and meaning, and use a   vari variet ety y of language and  authentic  mater materials. ials. These activitie acti vitiess can be more functional, functional, such as information transfer  activities, information gaps, communicative language games which are motivating to students or based on social interaction such as r ole ole plays, pair and group work   and problem solving which allow students to be aware of different social contexts and make students think.

The positive aspects of this approach is that the concept communicative is applied to all 4 language skills  and includes the learner’s knowledge and experiences of the mother tongue. It also recognizes that e rrors are a natural part of the learning process. However, some believe there is too much emphasis on listening and speaking and some non-native Engli English sh teachers are not confident enough to work with this approach. It also implies a selection of language through functions , much like structuralism did with structures. 5.3 The Natural Approach

The natural approach is a method of language teaching developed by Stephen Krashen and Tracy Terrell in the late 1970s and early 1980s. 1980s . With this approach, language is seen as a means of communication and SLA requires natural communication and meaningful interaction in the target language, not explicit grammar and linguistic instruction. According to Krashen, students learn when they are given comprehensible input, or language that is a slightly more advanced level than their own (ZPD- Vygotsky). The NA is based on 5 hypotheses of Krashen’s language acquisition  theory, Monitor Model. Acquisition/learning hypothesis  st stat ates es that that ther theree ar aree 2 wa ways ys to de deve velo lop p la lang ngua uage ge.. Acquisition  is a subconscious process, like a child learning its own language, while learning is a  conscious process of learning language through language lessons. The  Natural Natural order hypothesis hypothesis   st stat ates es that that la langu nguag agee is acq acqui uired red in a pre predi dict ctab able le or order der that cannot be influenced by direct teaching of features that a learner is not ready to acquire.

 

Monitor Model hypòthesis   states states that that learners learners can use what they have learned   about language rules to monitor or self-correct their language output. This is easier to do with written language than with speaking. Input hypothesis says we only acquire language when we are exposed to comprehensible input (both written and oral). Affective filter hypothesis states that a number of affective variables, such as self-esteem, motivation and anxiety play a role in SLA. If learners are anxious or have low motivation or self-confidence, they will be less likely to acquire comprehensible input.

5.4 New Approaches In the last decade there have been important  innovations in theory,  research and classroom experience which are bri bringi nging ng changes changes to FLT  an and d chall challeng engin ing g the the do domi mina nant nt model model.. Th Ther eree have have be been en changes  in how language, teaching methodology and learners’ contribution s are viewed in education. Currently, 2 major paradigms exist. The propositional models are those previously described, which are product oriented  and  based on formal, systematic features  (structur (structures, es, rules, functions). functions). The new procedural models are in line with a general shift in education  to focus on the learning process, instead of the end result. New approaches emphasize how language is to be learn t, and both the learners and the teachers are decision-maker s who negotiate  objectives objectives and contents. contents. Therefore, Therefore, methodologies must consider more than just the objectives and conten con tents, ts, taking taking into into account account implemen implementat tation ion and techni techniques ques and use social social interaction  as th the basis  for  language learning. Following are just a sample of some new approaches that can be used in our classrooms. Task-based learning Task-based learning focuses on the use of authentic language to complete a meaningful task  in   in the target language (Nunan). Tasks can include visiting a doctor, calling customer service, making a reservation at a restaurant, etc. The focus of the tasks is on meaning rather than form and assessment is primarily based on task  outcome (the appropriate completion of real-world tasks) rather than on accuracy of prescribed language forms. CLIL is a term coined by David Marsh in 1994 which stands for Content and Language Integrated Learning. This means studying another subject (for example, science, history, or literature) and learning a language, such as English, at the same time - integrating the two subjects.  According to the 4Cs curriculum (Coyle 2010), a successful CLIL lesson should combine content, communication, cognition and culture. In CLIL lessons, the 4 language skills can be integrated  in a way so listening   input activities, speaking listening and reading are used for  input focuses on fluency  and writing  is used to recycle grammar. Tasks  must be subje subject-or ct-oriente iented d so that both ange of activitie s can be used, but since the content of the subject is the content and language are recycled. A r ange aim, it may be necessary to use more linguistic support from the teacher than a typical FL class. Flipped classroom  is a meth method od that that brings brings sig signif nifica icant nt changes changes to the educational process including the organization of place and time of learning , the roles of teachers and learners and the educational goals. First introduced in 2007 by  Strayer, it is a type of blended learning  where students work on self-study materials of  the content at home, freeing up class time for more effective, creative and  active learning activities . With this kind of discovery-based learning, there is increased interaction between teachers and students, students take responsibility for their own learning, and allows the classroom to be a place where all students are engaged in their learning and can get personalized attention and resolve doubts quickly. .

However, it cannot  be considered synonymous with online videos or replacing teachers with videos. Students should also not work in isolation without structure just staring at a computer screen.

 

Challenge Based Learning provides an effective framework for learning while solving  real-world challenges. It is a hands-on model which asks all participants (Ss, Ts, Ps & community) to identify big ideas, ask good questions, quest ions, solve challenges challenges and gain in-depth in-depth subject area knowledge knowledge to develop develop 21st century skills and share their thoughts with the world. It emerged in 2008 from the Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow-Today project in a bid to come up with a   new teaching and learning environment that met the needs of the 21st century. It focu focuse sess on glo global bal issues issues and appropr appropriat iatee soluti solutions ons  and creates creates an environ environmen mentt in which which learne learners rs are encouraged to think creatively, try new ideas, experiment, fail, get feedback and try again. Students first engage  with the problem by formulati formulating ng questions about the problem, problem, then investigate investigate the methods and tools they need to develop a solution. In the final stage students take  action and implement and evaluate their plan of  action. Blended Learning is an innovative innovative concept that embraces the advantage advantage of both traditional teaching and ICT supported learning both off and online. online. It needs a lot of effort and a  generous budget as well as highly motivated teachers and students to be successful. This method allows students to have both face to face and virtual virtu al interactio interactions ns with other students following the same course. It is a learner-centered approach which offers students training in different life-skills and experience with new and modern technologies needed for the 21st century. Due to the health crisis since March 2020, most students have likely been involved in some form of blended or hybrid learning at some point.

6. Methodological principles for teaching English as a foreign language Methodological cal orientations orientations for Foreign Foreign Languages Languages (Order 15th of  If we take take into into conside considerat ration ion the  Methodologi January, 2021), we can assume a set of principles for TEFL that are coherent with the goals proposed within the curriculum. Language is fundamentally an instrument of communication for social interaction , not simply a system of  grammar rules, structures and words. The final   goal of FL teaching is to develop students’ communicative competence  throu through gh learner-centered  teachi teaching ng in which communicative situations  and tasks satisfy their  interests and needs and are related to their personal experiences, thus giving giving way way to meaningful learning.

We must build on students’ previous knowledge by using   scaffolding so students may internalize the new knowledge  of the the targ target et la lang ngua uage. ge. Li List sten enin ing g play playss an es esse sent ntia iall ro role le in th thee fi firs rstt st stag agee as it pr prov ovid ides es comprehensible input, together with reading. Pairwork and group work  help   help to encourage social interaction and cooperative learning. Any syllabus should foster the integration of English with other subject areas in a cross-curricular design to contribute to a more comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach to learning. 7. Conclusion Methodology is something that is open and flexible The development of the communicative competence  Pros and cons of methods and techniques (general view) CEFR guidelines 8. References

 

Brewster, J. and Ellis, G. (1992): The Primary English Teacher’s Guide. Guide . Penguin: London Council of Europe. (2001): Common European Framework of Reference for Language: Learning, teaching and  Pub lishing: Strasbourg assessment . Council of Europe Publishing: Council of Europe. (2020): Companion Volume to the CEFR. CEFR. Council of Europe Publishing: Strasbourg Halliday, J. (1982): Spoken and Written English. English . Oxford: OUP Halliwell, MAK. (1989): The Primary English Teacher . Longman: London Harmer, J. (2012): Essential (2012): Essential Teacher Knowledge. Knowledge. Pearson: London Krashen, S. (1981): Second language learning and second language acquisition. acquisition . Oxford: OUP Krashen, S. (1982): Principles (1982): Principles and Practices in SLA. SLA. Oxford: OUP Larsen-Freeman, D. (1986): Teaching and Principles in Language Teaching.  Oxford: OUP McLaren, D. and Madrid, N. (2004): TEFL in Primary Education. Education . Granada: Editorial Universidad de Granada Ortega Ort ega,, J.L. J.L. y Madrid Madrid,, D. (2006) (2006):: Teorías curriculares y práctica docente en el aula de inglés . Granada: Grupo Editorial Universitario Ri Richa chard rds, s, J.C. J.C. an and d T.S. T.S. Rodge Rodgers rs.. (2 (2002 002): ):  Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Cambridge: CUP Stern, HH. (1989): Fundamentals (1989): Fundamentals of Teaching English. English. Oxford: OUP Willis, J. (1981): Teaching English through English. English . London: Longman Widdowson, H.G., 1978. Teaching Teaching Language as Communication. Communication. Oxford: OUP