Essay - Communicative Approach Introduction in Today's Esl (English as a Second...

Communicative Approach

Introduction

In today's ESL (English as a second language) and EFL (English as a foreign l*****nguage) classrooms, there are a number of teaching methods and learning approaches in place, designed to assist the students in maximizing their language learning potential. Most educators in the field of ESL/EFL currently agree that curriculums involving more than just ***** mechanics of ***** are vital to improving the level ***** discourse among students, and as such, agree ***** certain ***** of instruction ***** more suited for this goal. In light of this, many ESL and EFL ***** are turning to ***** communicative approach ***** language in an effort to improve the discourse level of spoken ***** to ***** and EFL students.

This literature review will focus on the communicative approach to language learning, and will include a discussion on ***** basic tenants of the *****ory. Additionally, methods utilizing this concept within the classroom setting will be explored. Fur*****r, this ***** will analyze the discourse level of spoken English, ***** will examine ways in which educators today instruct students in this discourse level.

What is the Communicative *****?

The communicative approach to language learning ***** based on the premise that the audiolingual method ***** teaching *****, ***** relies primarily ***** drills and ***** repetition and memorization of words, in ineffective in terms ***** actual language comprehension (Galloway, 1). The underlying principle, then, is that language ***** not simply words ***** grammatical structure, but is instead to be understood as a tool for conveying information and maintaining relationships in an interactive way with the rest of ***** social world (Johnston, 29). It is ***** just the ***** of the ***** or the stringing together of those words that ***** imperative to language instruction, but also the substance of what is *****ing conveyed.

During the 1970's, educators ***** lingu*****ts began to realize ********** students were not learning "realistic" *****, in the sense ***** *****ir second language students ***** not able ***** converse on a "whole" ***** (Gallo*****, 1). While the ***** could c*****vey information, the substance of that information w***** often fragmented, consisting of short bursts of learned phrases ra*****r ***** an entire *****ual idea. While students could speak the language they were learning, they did ***** possess the ability to use appropriate social gestures ***** help convey thoughts, their facial expressions did not convey emotion, and their ***** ***** not flow smoothly from concept to ***** (*****way, 1). Thus, ***** developed communicative-style teaching *****s, which promoted genuine language use and real conversations within the classroom setting.

***** result of these efforts is know in today's ESL and EFL classrooms as the communicative ***** to language instruction. ***** learning methods employ real-life situations and real-life conversations within a cl*****sroom. Rather than simple ***** techniques involving l*****ts of memorized words, the educa*****r designs situations that require students to communicate in complete ***** and *****s (Johns*****n, 29). These ***** mimic those students would encounter ***** their normal, daily lives (Galloway, *****).

Communicative approaches to learning have two