Communicative Activities (Exercises) - en

Communicative language teaching (CLT) refers to both processes and goals in classroom learning. The central theoretical concept in communicative language teaching is ‘‘communicative competence,’’ a term introduced into discussions of language use and second or foreign language learning in the early 1970s. Competence is defined in terms of the expression, interpretation, and negotiation of meaning and looks to both psycholinguistic and socio-cultural perspectives in second language acquisition (SLA) research to account for its development. Identification of learners’ communicative needs provides a basis for curriculum design.

Communicative language teaching derives from a multidisciplinary perspective that includes, at the least, linguistics, psychology, philosophy, sociology, and educational research. The focus has been the elaboration and implementation of programs and methodologies that promote the development of functional language ability through learners’ participation in communicative events. Central to CLT is the understanding of language learning as both an
educational and a political issue. Language teaching is inextricably linked with language policy. Viewed from a multicultural intra national as well as international perspective, diverse sociopolitical contexts mandate not only a diverse set of language-learning goals but a diverse set of teaching strategies. Program design and implementation depend on negotiation between policy makers, linguists, researchers, and teachers. Evaluation of program success requires a similar collaborative effort. The selection of methods and materials appropriate to both the goals and the context of teaching begins with an analysis of learners’ needs and styles of learning, socially defined.