A Closer Examination of Communicative Language Teaching.docVIP

A Closer Examination of Communicative Language Teaching 　　Abstract 　　This paper offers an in-depth discussion of communicative language teaching （CLT）. It elaborates upon the construct and characteristics of CLT， and then documents research findings on CLT’s effectiveness. This paper then addresses components of a communicative curriculum， including the selection of materials， the design of activities， and the development of assessment formats. 　　Key words： Communicative language teaching； Communicative competence 　　INTRODUCTION 　　Equipping students with communicative skills that enable them to use the language in the real world is a priority goal of English teachers in Taiwan. Communicative language teaching （CLT） aims to promote students’communicative competence， and therefore has become one of the mainstream pedagogical approaches utilized in Taiwan. This paper attempts to provide a more in-depth exploration of CLT with the intent of assisting English teachers in the construction of beneficial techniques， materials， and activities that will enhance their students’language proficiency. 　　This paper is comprised of six sections. First， it defines communicative competence， the construct of CLT， from which its principles evolve. Second， the characteristics of CLT are discussed. Third， research findings regarding the greater effectiveness of CLT in terms of facilitating the acquisition of communicative skills will be provided. Section Four illustrates different approaches to syllabus design， i.e. structural， notional-functional， and situational. Guidelines for material development and assessment will be also provided in this section. The fifth section introduces a variety of learning activities derived from the principles of CLT. Finally， ways to evaluate students’communicative competence are suggested. 　　1. DEFINITIONS OF COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE 　　CLT seeks to develop students’ communicative competence， sufficiently that they will be able to use a language ou