Effective Communicative Language Teaching Strategies

Lesson Outline for the Communicative Approach

These are the steps to follow when planning a lesson using the communicative or natural approach to second-language teaching:

1. Presentation of a situation or context: This includes a discussion of the function and situation, considering the people, roles, setting, topic, and the level of formality or informality the function and situation demand.
2. Brainstorming or discussion: Establish the vocabulary and expressions to be used to accomplish the communicative intent.
3. Questions and answers: Base questions on the dialogue topic and situation. Use inverted, wh-questions, yes/no, either/or, and open-ended questions.
4. Study of basic communicative expressions: Examine the dialogue or one of the structures that exemplifies the function, using pictures, real objects, or dramatization to clarify the meaning.
5. Learner discovery or generalizations: Identify rules underlying the functional expression or structure, underlining the important features.
6. Oral recognition and interpretative activities: Include oral production, proceeding from guided to freer communication activities.
7. Reading and/or copying: Practice reading and writing dialogues with variations.
8. Oral evaluation of learning: Use guided language practice with questions and answers.
9. Homework and extension activities: Have learners create new dialogues around the same situation.
10. Complete the lesson cycle: Provide opportunities to apply the language learned the day before.

To Teach or Not to Teach Grammar

Historically, grammar has been central to language teaching. However, in recent decades, some have advocated for omitting grammar instruction altogether. Marianne Celce-Murcia offered six easily identifiable variables to consider:

Learner Variables

• Age: Young children benefit from a focus on form only if it is very simple and presented in concrete terms. Adults can use grammatical pointers to advance their communicative abilities.
• Proficiency level: At lower levels, a grammatical focus can be helpful as an occasional "zoom lens," but it should not become the major focus of class work. At advanced levels, grammar is not necessarily "more important" but is less likely to disturb communicative fluency.
• Educational background: Students with limited formal education may find it difficult to grasp the complexity of grammatical terms and explanations. Highly educated students are often more receptive to a grammar focus.

Instructional Variables

• Language skills: Grammar work may be more suitable for improving written English than for speaking, reading, or listening.
• Register: Informal contexts often place fewer demands on a learner's grammatical accuracy.
• Needs and goals: If learners are pursuing professional goals, they may need to emphasize formal accuracy more than learners at a survival level.