GROUP 05

Robby Zulfa Zulfi Niam

Meilda Lestari

Anindya Iman Sari

 

CC IN THE CLASSROOM : CLT AND TASK-BASED TEACHING

                Over the past few decades, we have experienced a number of reactions and counter-reactions in methods and approaches to language teaching.

COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING

                Researchers have defined and redefined the construct of communicative competence (Savignon, 2005). They have explored the myriad functions of language that learners must be able to accomplish. They have described spoken and written discourse and pragmatic conventions. They have examined the nature of styles and nonverbal communication. With this storehouse of knowledge we have valiantly pursued the goal of learning how best to teach communication.

                CLT is best understood as an approach, rather than a method (Richards & Rodgers, 2001). It is therefore a unified but broadly based theoretical position about the nature of language and of language learning and teaching. For the sake of simplicity and directness, these are four interconnected characteristics as a definition of CLT.

1.       Classroom goals are focused on all of the components of CC and not restricted to grammatical or linguistic competence.

2.       Language technique are designed to engage learners in the pragmatic, authentic, functional use of language for meaningful purposes.

3.       Fluency and accuracy are seen as complementary principles underlying communicative techniques.

4.       In the communicative classroom, students ultimately have to use the language, productively and receptively in unrehearsed contexts.

CLT pays considerably less attention to the overt presentation and discussion of grammatical rules than traditionally practiced. A great deal of use of authentic language is implied in CLT, as teachers attempt to build fluency (Chambers, 1997).

The fourth characteristic of CLT often makes it difficult for a nonnative speaking teacher who is not very proficient in the second language to teach effectively. Dialogs, drills, rehearsed exercises, and discussion (in the first language) of grammatical rules are much simpler for some nonnative speaking teachers to contend with. Moreover, in the last decade or so, we have seen a marked increase in English teachers’ proficiency levels around the world.

TASK-BASED INSTRUCTION

                A task is an activity in which meaning is primary, there is problem to solve and relationship to real-world activities, with an objective that can be assessed in terms of an outcome.

                Task-based instruction is an approach that urges teachers in their lesson and curriculum designs, to focus on many of the communicative factors discussed in this chapter. In order to accomplish a task, a learner needs to have sufficient organizational competence. Illocutionary competence to convey intended meaning, strategic competence to compensate for unforeseen difficulties, and then all the tools of discourse, pragmatics, and even nonverbal communicative ability.