The emergence of English as a global language, along with technological innovations and the growing need for learner autonomy, is changing language teaching rapidly and profoundly. With these changes come new demands and challenges for teaching education programs. This authoritative collection of writings highlights some of the best work being done today in the United States and abroad to make communicative competence an attainable goal. The contributors examine what has come to be known as communicative language teaching, or CLT, from the perspectives of teachers and teacher educators. The book documents current reform initiatives in Japan, the United States, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and continental Europe to provide a global perspective on language teaching for communicative competence. Four major themes recur throughout the volume: the multifaceted nature of language teaching; the highly contextualized nature of CLT; the futility of defining a “native speaker” in the postcolonial, postmodern world; and the overwhelming influence of high-stakes tests on language teaching. The book is a useful and valuable tool for language teachers, teacher educators, and policymakers.
The emergence of English as a global language, along with technological innovations and the growing need for learner autonomy, is changing language teaching rapidly and profoundly. With these changes come new demands and challenges for teaching education programmes.
In this thoughtful and comprehensive book, Ryofu Pussel draws on his more than eight years of teaching German and English to speakers of other languages, as well as his Master of Education degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) from Australia, providing a comprehensive explanation and critical analysis of the concept of communicative foreign language teaching and learning. Written in a clear style and assuming no prior knowledge, this book provides a fresh and fascinating insight into the theory and practice of communicative language teaching. This book will be appreciated by teachers, students, and scholars alike. In the first two chapters of this book, the historical context of language teaching and learning, as well as a description and comparison of language learning and teaching theories will be looked at. Six chapters are concerned with the course design of a communicative foreign language teaching: pre-course planning, the Student Needs Analysis, planning and specifying content, methodology, programming a unit, and sequencing the four macroskills (listening, speaking, reading and writing). This builds the 'base" of communicative language teaching, and it is followed by an analysis of the bottom-up and top-down approaches of teaching, reading, spelling, and writing lessons; the benefits and drawbacks of process-writing will be looked at in detail, and a practical classroom application shall bring the findings into an applied context . Assessment and evaluation form an important part of communicative language teaching and learning, and are therefore analysed in detail. A summary brings all findings together, and a syllabus outline of the followingtopics demonstrates that the theoretical findings of this book can be applied into real, practical examples of classroom teaching: Talk about yourself, talk about your family, occupations, art, entertainment / cinema / video, accommodation and hotels (travel), reading maps / directions / transport, music, food and drink, socializing, media (TV /radio / newspaper / magazines), shopping, weather, sports, health, talking about stars, and talking about past experiences. Methodology is put into practical application by providing a complete sample lesson plan (unit: weather). A complete index and reference list shall enable the interested reader to engage into further studies of this topic. Contents Introduction Historical Context of Language Teaching and Learning Description and Comparison of Theories of Language Teaching and Learning Course Design: Pre-Course Planning Course Design: Student Needs Analysis Course Design: Planning and Specifying Contents Course Design: Methodology Course Design: Programming a Unit Explanation and Practical Example Course Design: Sequencing the Macroskills Bottom-Up and Top-Down Approaches Reading and Spelling Writing: Benefits and Drawbacks of Process-Writing Practical Classroom Application Assessment and Evaluation Summary Syllabus Outline Unit: Talk about yourself Unit: Talk about your family Unit: Occupations Unit: Art Unit: Entertainment / cinema / video Unit: Accommodation and hotels (travel) Unit: Reading maps / directions / transport Unit: Music Unit: Food and drink Unit: Socializing Unit: Media (TV /radio / newspaper / magazines) Unit: Shopping Unit: Weather Unit: Sports Unit: Health Unit: Let's talk about stars Unit: Past experiences Methodology: Sample Lesson Plan Lesson Plan Reference
This book documents the efforts of Scottish comprehensive school teachers implementing a communicative approach in the early years of secondary schools.
Studienarbeit aus dem Jahr 2007 im Fachbereich Didaktik für das Fach Englisch - Pädagogik, Sprachwissenschaft, Note: 13, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main (Institut für England- und Amerikastudien), Veranstaltung: The Secret Formula, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: Nowadays it is necessary to be able to speak english, because this language is getting more and more important and it is the basis of international communication. So pupils have to learn as early as possible to have a strong command of this language and to use it effectively. Communicative language teaching (CLT) emphasizes communicative skills and wants communicative practise at the centre of classroom learning. According to Savignon, communicative competence is the central theoretical concept of CLT (2004). She defines this competence with the terms of expressions, interpretation and negociation of meaning. Hedge says that it is important for CLT to encourage pupils to communicate their needs, ideas and opinions and also that they are able to operate effectively in the real world (2000:44-45). She writes that in the communicative language classroom pupils have to learn to use that language in certain settings and authentic situations. According to both authors, CLT helps to develop certain communicative skills and to come to terms with the language without any grave problems of expressing thoughts, wishes, opinions,etc. The language learner has to indentify him with that language so that he can apply his knowledge without any fear and uncertainity. And it is important that the teacher applies grammar based exercises as an integral part of real live tasks. Otherwise the learners could get bored, detered or even overtaxed with grammatical units. Hedge claims too, that a teacher`s intervention to correct should be as minimal as possible (2000:58). We can integrate grammatical units in activities where learners are supposed to talk about their next holiday plans and therefore they need to use several future forms or even if-clauses to express themselves in a correct and cohorent way (Hedges, 2000:61). Such activities are both characteristic and essential for a typical CLT-lesson. CLT tries to engage the learners to speak fluenty so that they don`t get afraid of beeing juged for grammar mistakes. Pupils should have the ability to speak with a good but not necessary perfect command of grammar, intonation or vocabulary. They should attend to produce continous speech without causing comprehension difficulties.
Papers presented at a conference on the use of simultaneous, consecutive, and other forms of interpreting as features of foreign language teaching and learning in British higher education include the following: "Liaison Interpreting as a Communicative Language-Learning Exercise" (H. A. Keith); "Interpreting and Communicating: Problems for the Student" (H. Janet Altman); "Consecutive Interpreting--The Theoretical Approach" (Kevin Bruton); "A Practical Approach to Consecutive Interpreting in the Fourth-Year Option" (Michael N. Croft); "Teaching Simultaneous Interpreting in French and German" (Andrew Riddell); "Ad Hoc Interpreting as a Teaching Technique for German" (Edda H. F. Ostarhild); "Liaison Interpreting Problems Specific to Italian" (Audrey A. Parnell); "Liaison Interpreting Problems Specific to French" (Jane Hanstock); "Interpreting Isn't Everything: Other Inter-Language Skills" (Michael Townson); "Interpreting and the Communicative Approach" (A. R. Layton); "Methodology or Technology? Striking a Balance in Advanced Language Teaching" (Brian Griffiths); and "Liaison Interpreting: Evaluation of the Exercise and of the Students" (Richard Towell). (MSE)
