The communicative approach focuses on developing students' communicative competence through meaningful communication. The teacher's role is to facilitate communication between students by keeping teacher talk time low and providing relevant activities. Effective activities involve information sharing between students, such as games, role-plays and simulations, and use authentic materials. The goal is to give students opportunities to practice all language skills through communicative, learner-centered lessons and activities.

1. The Communicative
Approach
Ajan Angcharin D.
M.Ed. (Teaching English as a Foreign Language)

2. What is the communicative
approach?
∗ The communicative approach is the
theory that language is
communication. Therefore the final
aim of CLT (Communicative
Language Teaching) is
communicative competence.

3. Model of communicative competence
Sociolinguistic Strategic competence : Verbal and
Grammatical competence: non-verbal communication
knowledge of the language competence:
strategies, compensate for
code- syntax , lexis, [Pragmatic] breakdown in communication.
Ability to get one’s meaning across
successfully when problems
Sociocultural rules:
rules of using language Discourse rules:
appropriately in a given knowledge of combining
social situation, language structures to
concerned with style, produce unifies texts in
politeness register, etc different modes: writing,
speaking
ทีมา: Canale, M & Swain,M 1980. Theoretical based of communicative
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approaches to second language teaching and testing. Applied Linguistics.1/1:1-
47.

4. The Principles of the Communicative
Approach:
∗ Learners learn through using it to communicate
∗ Authentic and meaningful communication
should be the goal of classroom activities
∗ Fluency is an important dimension of
communication
∗ Communication involves the integration of
different language skills
∗ Learning is a process of creative construction
and involves trial and error

5. what is the teacher’s role in this?
∗ The teacher has two main roles:
∗ To facilitate the communication process in the classroom
∗ To act as an independent participant within the learning-
teaching group

6. In practical terms, what does that
mean?

7. Teacher-Student Interaction
∗ Since communicative competence is our aim, it is
essential that students be given every opportunity to
practice communicating. In the communicative
classroom teacher talking time (TTT) must be kept to a
minimum. This is not to say that the teacher shouldn’t
speak at all, but TTT should be controlled and
appropriate.
∗ The classroom should be learner centered.
The teacher’s role is to facilitate student
communication which is done through careful
selection of materials and activities relevant to the
aims of the lesson in which they are used.

8. Input
Communication can be
divided into two Reading
categories
•Input Listening
•Output
OUTPUT
The four communicative
skills can be put into Speaking
these categories
Writing

9. Whichever of these skills is being taught the
main focus must be on the student and not on
the teacher. The interaction should usually be
the student to student and should include the
teacher only where necessary. During most
classroom activities the teacher will monitor
and intervene only where necessary.

10. A model for part of a communicative lesson
Stage 1 Teacher (T) gives a short presentation of a grammar or vocabulary
point. T then gives students (Ss) opportunity to practice the point in a controlled
exercise. (Interaction: T›Ss)
Stage 2 Ss carry out the controlled exercise while T monitors and intervenes
where appropriate. (Interaction: S‹›S)
Stage 3 The Ss are asked to take part in an activity designed to get them to
produce the vocabulary and grammar they have been taught. T monitors and notes
errors and interesting points. T intervenes only when asked or when absolutely
necessary. (Interaction: S‹›S)
Stage 4 Feedback session, in which T feeds back in a non-threatening way the
errors s/he noted during the activity. Ss also have the opportunity to clear up
puzzling points. (Interaction: T‹›Ss)

11. ∗ The lesson extract follows a method called
Presentation-Practice-Production or PPP for
short.
∗ This was the standard method until a few years
ago. Now there are a number of possibilities open to
the teacher.
∗ You will be introduced to these at a later stage.

12. Activities
Classroom activities should be carried out in the target
language (English).
Having said this, there may sometimes be occasions where
allowing the students to briefly discuss a point in their native
tongue can promote greater understanding and assimilation of
new information. This is controversial issue and should not
usually be permitted.

13. There are many different types of activities. They provide
speaking, listening, writing and reading practice as well as
aiding production.
A few
ideas for activity types
Games Role-plays Simulations Information Gaps

14. Where do I find activities?
∗ They can be found in books containing supplementary
material.
∗ Many teachers enjoy creating their own activities,
which can be tailored specifically to their classes needs.
∗ Activities used in the classroom must be selected
carefully as if they are above the level of the students they
can destroy self-confidence and if below they can bore the
students.
∗ Activities usually involve the students working
together either in pairs or in small groups.

15. ∗ Activities are often used to
practice real-life situations
involving social interaction and
so a high level of social and
functional language should be
expected.

16. Materials
∗ Materials fall into three broad categories:
∗ text-based,
∗ task-based
∗ realia.
They can be used as the basis for classroom activities.
Once again not only must the activity be appropriate to
the level of the students but the materials used must be
appropriate too.

17. Text-based materials
For example practice exercises,
reading passages, gap fills, recordings,
etc. can be found in almost any course
book as well as in books containing
supplementary materials. They form an
essential part of most lessons.

18. Task-based materials
These include game boards, role-play cards,
materials for drilling, pair work tasks, etc.
They might be used to support 'real life'
tasks such as role playing booking into a hotel,
or a job interview.

19. Realia
This includes such things as magazines,
newspapers, fruit and vegetables, axes, maps - things
from the real world outside the classroom.
They can be used in many activities.
For example, fruit and vegetables could be used
in a shopping activity, an act could be used to show the
effect of using the present perfect continuous on a
short action verb.

20. what does the communicative
approach mean in practical terms?
∗ We should now understand that the
teacher's job is to get their students to
communicate using real language by
providing them with instruction,
practice, and above all opportunities to
produce English in activities which
encourage acquisition and fluency.

21. In conclusion
∗ CLT should be fun for both teacher and students.
∗ Enabling students to communicate successfully
is also very rewarding.