UNIT 14

METHODS AND TECHNIQUES FOCUSING ON THE ACQUISITION

OF COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE. METHODOLOGICAL BASIS
FOR TEACHING ENGLISH.

METHODS AND TECHNIQUES FOCUSING ON THE ACQUISITION

OF COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE. METHODOLOGICAL BASIS
FOR TEACHING ENGLISH. 2
WHAT IS COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING? 2
THE GOALS OF LANGUAGE TEACHING 2
HOW LEARNERS LEARN A LANGUAGE 3
THE KINDS OF CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES THAT BEST FACILITATE LEARNING 4
THE ROLES OF TEACHERS AND LEARNERS IN THE CLASSROOM 4
THE BACKGROUND TO CLT AND EVOLUTION OF METHODOLOGY 5
PHASE 1: TRADITIONAL APPROACHES (UP TO THE LATE 1960S) 5
PHASE 2: CLASSIC COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING (1970S TO 1990S) 6
A COMMUNICATIVE SYLLABUS 7
IMPLICATIONS FOR METHODOLOGY 8
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES IN COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING 8
Accuracy Versus Fluency Activities 8
Mechanical, Meaningful, and Communicative Practice 9
FUNCTIONAL COMMUNICATION ACTIVITIES SOCIAL INTERACTIONAL ACTIVITIES 10
Information-Gap Activities 10
Jigsaw activities 10
Other Activity Types in CLT 10
EMPHASIS ON PAIR AND GROUP WORK 11
THE PUSH FOR AUTHENTICITY 11
PHASE 3: CURRENT TRENDS IN COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING (SINCE 1990s) 12
CONTENT-BASED INSTRUCTION (CBI) AND CONTENT AND LANGUAGE INTEGRATED LEARNING (CLIL) 15
TASK-BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING 16
COOPERATIVE LEARNING 17
BIBLIOGRAPHY 18

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UNIT 14

METHODS AND TECHNIQUES FOCUSING ON THE ACQUISITION

OF COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE. METHODOLOGICAL BASIS
FOR TEACHING ENGLISH.
WHAT IS COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING?
Perhaps the majority of language teachers today, when asked to identify the methodology they
employ in their classrooms, mention “communicative” as the methodology of choice. However, when
pressed to give a detailed account of what they mean by “communicative,” explanations vary widely.
Communicative language teaching can be understood as a set of principles about
1. the goals of language teaching,
2. how learners learn a language,
3. the kinds of classroom activities that best facilitate learning,
4. the roles of teachers and learners in the classroom.

Let us examine each of these issues in turn.

THE GOALS OF LANGUAGE TEACHING
The communicative approach in language teaching starts from a theory of language as
communication. Communicative language teaching involves developing language proficiency through
interactions embedded in meaningful contexts. The goal of language teaching is to develop what
Hymes (1972) referred to as communicative competence: the learner’s ability to understand and use
language appropriately to communicate in authentic (rather than simulated) social and school
environments. Hymes coined this term in order to complete Chomsky's theory of linguistic
competence. This approach to teaching provides authentic opportunities for learning that go beyond
repetition and memorization of grammatical patterns in isolation.
Hymes (1972) defined communicative competence not only as an inherent grammatical
competence but also as the ability to use grammatical competence in a variety of communicative
situations, making a correct social use (opportunity, appropriateness, politeness, …) thus bringing the
sociolinguistic perspective into Chomsky’s linguistic view of competence.
Canale and Swain (1980) made a more precise definition of Communicative Competence that is still
widely accepted. Communicative competence would be the sum of the four competences or sub-
competences that appear in the chart bellow.

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 Communicative competence includes the following aspects of language knowledge:
1. Knowing how to use language for a range of different purposes and functions
2. Knowing how to vary our use of language according to the setting and the participants (e.g.,
knowing when to use formal and informal speech or when to use language appropriately for
written as opposed to spoken communication)
3. Knowing how to produce and understand different types of texts (e.g., narratives, reports,
interviews, conversations)
4. Knowing how to maintain communication despite having limitations in one’s language
knowledge (e.g., through using different kinds of communication strategies)

HOW LEARNERS LEARN A LANGUAGE

Our understanding of the processes of second language learning has changed considerably in the
last 30 years, and CLT is partly a response to these changes in understanding. Earlier views of language
learning based on Behaviourism and Structuralism, focused primarily on the mastery of grammatical
competence. Language learning was viewed as a process of mechanical habit formation. Good habits
are formed by having students produce correct sentences and not through making mistakes. Errors
were to be avoided through controlled opportunities for production (either written or spoken). By
memorizing dialogs and performing drills, the chances of making mistakes were minimized. Learning
was very much seen as under the control of the teacher. The most extended and representative
methods that holded this vision were Audiolingualism and Situational Language Learning previously
known as Oral Approach.
In recent years, language learning has been viewed from a very different perspective. It is seen as
resulting from processes such as:
1. Interaction between the learner and users of the language
2. Collaborative creation of meaning
3. Creating meaningful and purposeful interaction through language

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 4. Negotiation of meaning as the learner and his or her interlocutor arrive at understanding
5. Learning through attending to the feedback learners get when they use the language
6. Paying attention to the language one hears (the input) and trying to incorporate new forms into
one’s developing communicative competence
7. Trying out and experimenting with different ways of saying things

This new perspective comes basically from Khrashen’s theories of language Acquisition
summarised in his five well-known hypotheses
Acquisition/Learning Hypothesis he states that acquisition is an unconscious process and the
natural way of learning a language, like in children learning their first language. It involves processes
that develop language proficiency through understanding language and meaningful communication.
Learning, on the other hand, is a process in which language rules are consciously developed. Formal
teaching as for example correcting errors helps learners to develop “learned” rules. However, learning
cannot lead to acquisition.
In his Monitor Hypothesis Krashen states that conscious learning can only function as a monitor or
editor that controls and repairs the output of the acquired linguistic system. He claims that conscious
learning has only this monitor function.
In the Natural Order Hypothesis Krashen describes that grammatical structures are acquired in a
predictable and hence natural order. He backs up this statement by research findings in first language
acquisition. He further points out that a similar natural order is found in second language acquisition.
In the Input Hypothesis Krashen discusses the relationship between input and acquisition.
According to him, acquisition best takes place when learners are exposed to input that is “slightly
beyond their current level of competence”. Krashen calls this input in combination with the situation,
context and the students’ knowledge of the world comprehensible input.
Krashen’s 5th hypothesis is the Affective Filter Hypothesis. It states that the learner’s emotional
state or attitude strongly affects learning. Successful learning also depends considerably on the
motivation, self-confidence and anxiety of learners. Thus a relaxed and secure atmosphere should exist
in class.
THE KINDS OF CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES THAT BEST FACILITATE LEARNING
With CLT began a movement away from traditional lesson formats where the focus was on
mastery of different items of grammar and practice through controlled activities such as memorization
of dialogs and drills, and toward the use of
1. pair work activities,
2. group work activities and
3. role plays,
4. project work.

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THE ROLES OF TEACHERS AND LEARNERS IN THE CLASSROOM
The type of classroom activities proposed in CLT also implied new roles in the classroom for
teachers and learners. Learners now had to participate in classroom activities that were based on a
cooperative rather than individualistic approach to learning. Students had to become comfortable with
listening to their peers in group work or pair work tasks, rather than relying on the teacher for a model.
They were expected to take on a greater degree of responsibility for their own learning. And teachers
now had to assume the role of facilitator and monitor. Rather than being a model for correct speech
and writing and one with the primary responsibility of making students produce plenty of error-free
sentences, the teacher had to develop a different view of learners’ errors and of her/his own role in
facilitating language learning.

THE BACKGROUND TO CLT AND EVOLUTION OF

METHODOLOGY
Language teaching has seen many changes in ideas about syllabus design and methodology in the
last 50 years, and CLT prompted a rethinking of approaches to syllabus design and methodology. We
may conveniently group trends in language teaching in the last 50 years into three phases:
Phase 1: traditional approaches (up to the late 1960s)Phase 2: classic communicative language
teaching (1970s to 1990s)Phase 3: current communicative language teaching (late 1990s to the
present)
PHASE 1: TRADITIONAL APPROACHES (UP TO THE LATE 1960S)
Traditional approaches to language teaching gave priority to grammatical competence as the basis
of language proficiency. They were based on the belief that grammar could be learned through direct
instruction and through a methodology that made much use of repetitive practice and drilling.
The approach to the teaching of grammar was a deductive one: students are presented with
grammar rules and then given opportunities to practice using them, as opposed to an inductive
approach in which students are given examples of sentences containing a grammar rule and asked to
work out the rule for themselves.
It was assumed that language learning meant building up a large repertoire of sentences and
grammatical patterns and learning to produce these accurately and quickly in the appropriate
situation. Once a basic command of the language was established through oral drilling and controlled
practice, the four skills were introduced, usually in the sequence of speaking, listening, reading and
writing.
Techniques that were often employed included
1. memorization of dialogs,
2. question-and-answer practice,
3. substitution drills, and
4. various forms of guided speaking and writing practice.

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 Great attention to accurate pronunciation and accurate mastery of grammar was stressed from the
very beginning stages of language learning, since it was assumed that if students made errors, these
would quickly become a permanent part of the learner’s speech (a habit).
Methodologies based on these assumptions include Audiolingualism (in North America) (also
known as the Aural-Oral Method), and the Structural-Situational Approach in the United Kingdom
(also known as Situational Language Teaching). Syllabuses during this period consisted of word lists
and grammar lists, graded across levels.
In a typical lesson according to the situational approach, a three-phase sequence, known as the P-
P-P cycle, was often employed: Presentation, Practice, Production.
Presentation: The new grammar structure is presented, often by means of a conversation or short
text. The teacher explains the new structure and checks students’ comprehension of it.
Practice: Students practice using the new structure in a controlled context, through drills or
substitution exercises.
Production: Students practice using the new structure in different contexts, often using their own
content or information, in order to develop fluency with the new pattern.
The P-P-P lesson structure has been widely used in language teaching materials and continues in
modified form to be used today.
The P-P-P lesson format and the assumptions on which it is based have been strongly criticized in
recent years, however. Skehan (1996, p.18), for example, comments: The belief that a precise focus on
a particular form leads to learning and automatization no longer carries much credibility in linguistics
or psychology.
Under the influence of CLT theory, grammar-based methodologies such as P-P-P have given way to
functional and skills-based teaching, and accuracy activities such as drill and grammar practice have
been replaced by fluency activities based on interactive small-group work.
This led to the emergence of a “fluency-first” pedagogy (Brumfit 1979) in which students’ grammar
needs are determined on the basis of performance on fluency tasks rather than predetermined by a
grammatical syllabus. We can distinguish two phases in this development, which we will call classic
communicative language teaching and current communicative language teaching.

PHASE 2: CLASSIC COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING (1970S TO

1990S)
In the 1970s, a reaction to traditional language teaching approaches began. While grammatical
competence was needed to produce grammatically correct sentences, attention shifted to the
knowledge and skills needed to use grammar and other aspects of language appropriately for different
communicative purposes such as making requests, giving advice, making suggestions, describing
wishes and needs, and so on. What was needed in order to use language communicatively was
communicative competence.

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 The next question to be solved was, what would a syllabus that reflected the notion of
communicative competence look like and what implications would it have for language teaching
methodology? The result was Communicative Language Teaching. It created a great deal of enthusiasm
and excitement when it first appeared as a new approach to language teaching in the 1970s and 1980s,
and language teachers and teaching institutions all around the world soon began to rethink their
teaching, syllabuses, and classroom materials. In planning language courses within a communicative
approach, grammar was no longer the starting point. New approaches to language teaching were
needed.

A COMMUNICATIVE SYLLABUS

CLT needed a new curriculum that would incorporate aspects of communicative competence in
accordance with learners’ proficiency level and their communicative needs. David Wilkins, University of
Reading, was one of the chief architects of what would come to be known as the communicative
approach: his seminal Notional Syllabuses, building on his work with the Council of Europe, would be
published in 1976. Wilkins in The Notional Syllabus divided the syllabus into two main parts, namely
semantic-grammatical categories and categories of communicative functions. His work was adopted by
the Council of Europe and expanded in terms of
1. The situations in which adult learners might typically be involved (travel, business, etc.),
2. The topics of interest (education, shopping, etc.),
3. The language functions learners might have to perform (requesting information, describing
things, agreeing and disagreeing, etc.)
4. The notions used in communication (time, frequency, etc.) and finally
5. The needed vocabulary and grammar for performing these speech acts.
This was the orientation adopted by Threshold Level for English by van Ek (1980), specifying what
was needed in order to be able to achieve a reasonable degree of communicative proficiency in a
foreign language, including the language items needed. The model has been extremely influential in
the planning of language programmes, providing a basis for new national curricula, more interesting
and attractive textbooks, popular multimedia courses and more realistic and relevant forms of
assessment.
Our curriculum includes a division of content according to this division, as we can see in DECREE
108/2014, of July 4 th, which establishes the curriculum and develops the general ordering of primary
education in the Region of Valencia.
In 2001 The Council of Europe published The Common European Framework of Reference for
Languages (CEFR) that marked a major turning point in describing specifications of language-learning
targets by the CEFR scale A1 to C2.
The learners are seen as individuals with unique interests, styles of learning, needs and goals,
which should be considered in instructional materials and by the

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 The teacher takes over the roles of needs analyst, counsellor and group process manager: the
teacher is responsible for finding out about learners’ language needs. As group process manager the
teacher has to organize the classroom as setting in which communication and communicative activities
can take place. Further the teacher monitors group processes, encourages students to speak and helps
students in mastering gaps in vocabulary, grammar and communication strategies
The role of instructional materials in CLT is quite clear: they have to promote communicative
language use. Richards and Rodgers have defined three kinds of materials in CLT:
1. Text-based materials, for example textbooks that are written around a mainly structural
syllabus, but have adapted their exercises to be regarded as communicative
2. Task-based are role plays, games and communication exercises in which students have to
perform certain tasks.
3. Realia are authentic, real life materials. They contain language like it is actually used in real
life. Examples of realia are signs, magazines, advertisements, newspapers, etc..
IMPLICATIONS FOR METHODOLOGY
As well as rethinking the nature of a syllabus, the new communicative approach to teaching
prompted a rethinking of classroom teaching methodology. It was argued that learners learn a
language through the process of communicating in it, and that communication that is meaningful to
the learner provides a better opportunity for learning than through a grammar-based approach. The
overarching principles of communicative language teaching methodology at this time can be
summarized as follows:
1. Make real communication the focus of language learning.
2. Provide opportunities for learners to experiment and try out what they know.
3. Be tolerant of learners’ errors as they indicate that the learner is building up his or her
communicative competence.
4. Provide opportunities for learners to develop both accuracy and fluency.
5. Link the different skills such as speaking, reading, and listening together, since they usually
occur so in the real world.
6. Let students induce or discover grammar rules.

In applying these principles in the classroom, new classroom techniques and activities were
needed, and as we saw above, new roles for teachers and learners in the classroom. Instead of making
use of activities that demanded accurate repetition and memorization of sentences and grammatical
patterns, activities that required learners to negotiate meaning and to interact meaning- fully were
required. These activities form the focus of the next chapter.

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES IN COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING

Since the advent of CLT, teachers and materials writers have sought to find ways of developing
classroom activities that reflect the principles of a communicative methodology. This quest has
continued to the present. The principles on which the first generation of CLT materials are based
remain relevant to language teaching today.

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Accuracy Versus Fluency Activities
One of the goals of CLT is to develop fluency in language use. Fluency is developed by creating
classroom activities in which students must negotiate meaning, use communication strategies, correct
misunderstandings, and work to avoid communication breakdowns.
Fluency practice can be contrasted with accuracy practice, which focuses on creating correct
examples of language use. Differences between activities that focus on fluency and those that focus on
accuracy can be sum-marized as follows:
Activities focusing on fluency

1. Reflect natural use of language

2. Focus on achieving communication
3. Require meaningful use of language
4. Require the use of communication strategies
5. Produce language that may not be predictable
6. Seek to link language use to context

Activities focusing on accuracy

1. Reflect classroom use of language

2. Focus on the formation of correct examples of language
3. Practice language out of context
4. Practice small samples of language
5. Do not require meaningful communication

Teachers were recommended to use a balance of fluency activities and accuracy and to use
accuracy activities to support fluency activities.
Accuracy work could either come before or after fluency work. For example, based on students’
performance on a fluency task, the teacher could assign accuracy work to deal with grammatical or
pronunciation problems the teacher observed while students were carrying out the task.
While dialogs, grammar, and pronunciation drills did not usually disappear from textbooks and
classroom materials at this time, they now appeared as part of a sequence of activities that moved
back and forth between accuracy activities and fluency activities.
And the dynamics of classrooms also changed. Instead of a predominance of teacher-fronted
teaching, teachers were encouraged to make greater use of small-group work. Pair and group
activities gave learners greater opportunities to use the language and to develop fluency.

Mechanical, Meaningful, and Communicative Practice

Another useful distinction that some advocates of CLT proposed was the distinction between three
different kinds of practice – mechanical, meaningful, and communicative.

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 Mechanical practice refers to a controlled practice activity which students can successfully carry
out without necessarily understanding the language they are using. Drills or repetitions, for example.
Meaningful practice refers to an activity where language control is still provided but where
students are required to make meaningful choices when carrying out practice. For example, in order to
practice the use of prepositions to describe locations of places, students might be given a street map
with various buildings identified in different locations. They are also given a list of prepositions such as
across from, on the corner of, near, on, next to. They then have to answer ques- tions such as “Where is
the book shop? Where is the café?” etc. The practice is now meaningful because they have to respond
according to the location of places on the map.
Communicative practice refers to activities where practice in using language within a real
communicative context is the focus, where real information is exchanged, and where the language
used is not totally predictable. For example, students might have to draw a map of their neighborhood
and answer questions about the location of different places, such as the nearest bus stop, etc.
Exercise sequences in many CLT course books take students from mechanical, to meaningful, to
communicative practice.

FUNCTIONAL COMMUNICATION ACTIVITIES SOCIAL INTERACTIONAL ACTIVITIES

Functional communication activities require students to use their language resources to overcome
an information gap or solve a problem (see below). Social interactional activities require the learner to
pay attention to the context and the roles of the people involved, and to attend to such things as
formal versus informal language.

Information-Gap Activities
An important aspect of communication in CLT is the notion of information gap. This refers to the
fact that in real communication, people normally communicate in order to get information they do not
possess. This is known as an information gap. More authentic communication is likely to occur in the
classroom if students go beyond practice of language forms for their own sake and use their linguistic
and communicative resources in order to obtain information. In so doing, they will draw available
vocabulary, grammar, and communication strategies to complete a task. The following exercises make
use of the information-gap principle:

Jigsaw activities
These are also based on the information-gap principle. Typically, the class is divided into groups
and each group has part of the information needed to complete an activity. The class must fit the
pieces together to complete the whole. In so doing, they must use their language resources to
communicate meaningfully and so take part in meaningful communication practice. The following are
examples of jigsaw activities:

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Other Activity Types in CLT
Many other activity types have been used in CLT, including the following:
Task-completion activities: puzzles, games, map-reading, and other kinds of classroom tasks in
which the focus is on using one’s language resources to complete a task.
Information-gathering activities: student-conducted surveys, interviews, and searches in which
students are required to use their linguistic resources to collect information.
Opinion-sharing activities: activities in which students compare values, opinions, or beliefs, such as
a ranking task in which students list six qualities in order of importance that they might consider in
choosing a date or spouse.
Information-transfer activities: These require learners to take information that is presented in one
form, and represent it in a different form. For example, they may read instructions on how to get from
A to B, and then draw a map showing the sequence, or they may read information about a subject and
then represent it as a graph.
Reasoning-gap activities: These involve deriving some new information from given information
through the process of inference, practical reasoning, etc. For example, working out a teacher’s
timetable on the basis of given class timetables.
Role plays: activities in which students are assigned roles and improvise a scene or exchange based
on given information or clues.

EMPHASIS ON PAIR AND GROUP WORK

Most of the activities discussed above reflect an important aspect of classroom tasks in CLT,
namely that they are designed to be carried out in pairs or small groups. Through completing activities
in this way, it is argued, learners will obtain several benefits:
1. They can learn from hearing the language used by other members of the group.
2. They will produce a greater amount of language than they would use in teacher-fronted
activities.
3. Their motivational level is likely to increase.
4. They will have the chance to develop fluency.

Teaching and classroom materials today consequently make use of a wide variety of small-group
activities.
THE PUSH FOR AUTHENTICITY
Since real communication is a defining characteristic of CLT, an issue which soon emerged was the
relationship between classroom activities and real life. Some argued that classroom activities should as
far as possible mirror the real world and use real world or “authentic” sources as the basis for
classroom learning. Methods and materials should concentrate on the message and not the medium.
Arguments in favor of the use of authentic materials include:

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 1. They provide cultural information about the target language.
2. They provide exposure to real language.
3. They relate more closely to learners’ needs.
4. They support a more creative approach to teaching.

Critics of the case for authentic materials point out that:

1. Created materials can also be motivating for learners.
2. Created materials may be superior to authentic materials because they are generally built
around a graded syllabus.
3. Authentic materials often contain difficult and irrelevant language.
4. Using authentic materials is a burden for teachers.

However, since the advent of CLT, textbooks and other teaching materials have taken on a much
more “authentic” look; reading passages are designed to look like magazine articles (if they are not in
fact adapted from magazine articles) and textbooks are designed to a similar standard of production as
real world sources such as popular magazines.

PHASE 3: CURRENT TRENDS IN COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING

(SINCE 1990s)
Current Trends in Communicative Language Teaching
Since the 1990s, the communicative approach has been widely implemented. Current
communicative language teaching theory and practice thus draws on a number of different educational
paradigms and traditions. And since it draws on a number of diverse sources, there is no single or
agreed upon set of practices that characterize current communicative language teaching. Rather,
communicative language teaching today refers to a set of generally agreed upon principles that can be
applied in different ways, depending on the teaching context, the age of the learners, their level, their
learning goals, and so on. The following core assumptions or variants of them underlie current
practices in communicative language teaching.
Ten Core Assumptions of Current Communicative Language Teaching
1. Second language learning is facilitated when learners are engaged in interaction and
meaningful communication.
2. Effective classroom learning tasks and exercises provide opportunities for students to
negotiate meaning, expand their language resources, notice how language is used, and take
part in meaningful interpersonal exchange.
3. Meaningful communication results from students processing content that is relevant,
purposeful, interesting, and engaging.
4. Communication is a holistic process that often calls upon the use of several language skills
or modalities. Even some different languages.

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 5. Language learning is facilitated both by activities that involve inductive or discovery
learning of underlying rules of language use and organization, as well as by those involving
language analysis and reflection.
6. Language learning is a gradual process that involves creative use of language, and trial and
error. Although errors are a normal product of learning, the ultimate goal of learning is to
be able to use the new language both accurately and fluently.
7. Learners develop their own routes to language learning, progress at different rates, and
have different needs and motivations for language learning.
8. Successful language learning involves the use of effective learning and communication
strategies.
9. The role of the teacher in the language classroom is that ofa facilitator, who creates a
classroom climate conducive to language learning and provides opportunities for students
to use and practice the language and to reflect on language use and language learning.
10. The classroom is a community where learners learn through collaboration and sharing.
Current approaches to methodology draw on earlier traditions in communicative language
teaching and continue to make reference to some extent to traditional approaches. Thus classroom
activities typically have some of the following characteristics:
1. They seek to develop students’ communicative competence through linking grammatical
development to the ability to communicate. Hence, grammar is not taught in isolation but often
arises out of a communicative task, thus creating a need for specific items of grammar.
Students might carry out a task and then reflect on some of the linguistic characteristics of their
performance.
2. They create the need for communication, interaction, and negotiation of meaning through the
use of activities such as problem solving, information sharing, and role play.
3. They provide opportunities for both inductive as well as deductive learning of grammar.
4. They make use of content that connects to students’ lives and interests.
5. They allow students to personalize learning by applying what they have learned to their own
lives.
6. Classroom materials typically make use of authentic texts to create interest and to provide valid
models of language.

Approaches to language teaching today seek to capture the rich view of language and language
learning assumed by a communicative view of language. Jacobs and Farrell (2003) see the shift toward
CLT as marking a paradigm shift in our thinking about teachers, learning, and teaching. They identify
key components of this shift as follows:
1. Focusing greater attention on the role of learners rather than the external stimuli learners are
receiving from their environment. Thus, the center of attention shifts from the teacher to the
student. This shift is generally known as the move from teacher-centred instruction to learner-
centred instruction.
2. Focusing greater attention on the learning process rather than the products that learners
produce. This shift is known as the move from product-oriented to process-oriented instruction.
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 3. Focusing greater attention on the social nature of learning rather than on students as separate,
decontextualized individuals
4. Focusing greater attention on diversity among learners and viewing these differences not as
impediments to learning but as resources to be recognized, catered to, and appreciated. This
shift is known as the study of individual differences.
5. In research and theory-building, focusing greater attentionon the views of those internal to the
classroom rather than solely valuing the views of those who come from outside to study
classrooms, investigate and evaluate what goes on there, and engage in theorizing about it. This
shift is associated with such innovations as qualitative research, which highlights the subjective
and affective, the participants’ insider views, and the uniqueness of each context.
6. Along with this emphasis on context comes the idea of connecting the school with the world
beyond as means of promoting holistic learning.
7. Helping students to understand the purpose of learning and develop their own purpose
8. A whole-to-part orientation instead of a part-to-whole approach. This involves such approaches
as beginning with meaningful whole text and then helping students understand the various
features that enable texts to function, e.g., the choice of words and the text’s organizational
structure.
9. An emphasis on the importance of meaning rather than drills and other forms of rote learning
10. A view of learning as a lifelong process rather than something done to prepare students for an
exam

Jacobs and Farrell suggest that the CLT paradigm shift outlined above has led to eight major
changes in approaches to language teaching. These changes are:
1. Learner autonomy: Giving learners greater choice over their own learning, both in terms of the
content of learning as well as processes they might employ. The use of small groups is one
example of this, as well as the use of self-assessment.
2. The social nature of learning: Learning is not an individual, private activity, but a social one that
depends upon interaction with others. The movement known as cooperative learning reflects
this viewpoint.
3. Curricular integration: The connection between different strands of the curriculum is
emphasized, so that English is not seen as a stand-alone subject but is linked to other subjects
in the curriculum. Text-based learning and CLIL reflects this approach, and seeks to develop
fluency in text types that can be used across the curriculum. Project work in language teaching
also requires students to explore issues outside of the language classroom.
4. Focus on meaning: Meaning is viewed as the driving force of learning. Content-based or CLIL
teaching reflects this view and seeks to make the exploration of meaning through content the
core of language learning activities
5. Diversity: Learners learn in different ways and have different strengths. Teaching needs to take
these differences into account rather than try to force students into a single mould. In language
teaching, this has led to an emphasis on developing students’ use and awareness of a variety of
learning strategies. There is a recognition of theories like that of multiple intelligences of
Gardner and also of the need of fostering creativity in our Schools that is advocated for sir Ken
Robinson among many others.
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 6. Thinking skills: Language should serve as a means of developing higher-order thinking skills,
also known as critical and creative thinking. In language teaching, this means that students do
not learn language for its own sake but in order to develop and apply their thinking skills in
situations that go beyond the language classroom.
7. Alternative assessment: New forms of assessment are needed to replace traditional multiple-
choice and other items that test lower-order skills. Multiple forms of assessment (e.g.,
observation, interviews, journals, portfolios) can be used to build a comprehensive picture of
what students can do in a second language.
8. Teachers as co-learners: The teacher is viewed as a facilitator who is constantly trying out
different alternatives, i.e., learning through doing. In language teaching, this has led to an
interest in action research and other forms of classroom investigation.

These changes in thinking have not led to the development of a single model of CLT that can be
applied in all settings. Rather, a number of different language teaching approaches have emerged
which reflect different responses to the issues identified above.

CONTENT-BASED INSTRUCTION (CBI) AND CONTENT AND LANGUAGE INTEGRATED

LEARNING (CLIL)
Developed in the 1980s Content Based Instruction (CBI) draws on principles of CLT and is a further
development of it. The difference between CBI and CLT, however, lies in their focus. In CLT a lesson is
typically centred on giving students opportunities to practice the learned communicative functions. CBI
on the other hand does not mainly focus on functions or on any other language item but it gives
priority to process over predetermined linguistic content. In the words of Howatt, rather than learning
to use English pupils use English to learn it (Howatt 1984). A CBI course is typically organized around
the content, the subject matter to be taught and not a linguistic, grammatical or other syllabus type
(Richards & Rodgers 2007: 204). As the main focus of the CBI approach lies on the teaching of content
it is easy to conclude that the teaching aim is to convey meaningful content to students (Richards &
Rodgers 2007: 204). Language is used to teach the subject matter and the language itself is acquired
“as a by-product of learning about real-world content” (Richards & Rodgers 2014).
Content-based instruction is based on the following assumptions about language learning:
1. People learn a language more successfully when they use the language as a means of acquiring
information, rather than as an end in itself.
2. CBI better reflects learners’ needs for learning a second language.
3. Content provides a coherent framework that can be used to link and develop all of the language
skills.

Content-based instruction can be implemented as

1. The framework for a unit of work
2. The guiding principle for an entire course
3. The use of English as a medium for teaching some school subjects in an EFL setting.

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 The term Content and Language Integrated Learning (ClLIL) was originally defined in 1994, and
launched in 1996 by UNICOM, University of Jyväskylä and the European Platform for Dutch Education,
to describe educational methods where ‘subjects are taught through a foreign language with dual-
focussed aims, namely the learning of content, and the simultaneous learning of a foreign language’.
The essence of CLIL is that content subjects are taught and learnt in a language which is not the
mother tongue of the learners. Knowledge of the language becomes the means of learning content,
language is integrated into the broad curriculum, learning is improved through increased motivation
and the study of natural contextualised language, and the principle of language acquisition becomes
central. Broadly speaking, CLIL provides a practical and sensible approach to both content and
language learning whilst also improving intercultural understanding, and has now been adopted as a
generic term covering a number of similar approaches to bilingual education in diverse educational
contexts.
The evolution of CLIL involves precedents such as immersion programmes (North America),
education through a minority or a national language (Spain, Wales, France), and many variations on
education through a “foreign” language.
In this last sense and with the name of CLIL (TILC, Tractament Integrat de Llengua i Contingut) this
methodological option is clearly adopted in DECREE 9/2017, dated January 27th, Which Establishes the
Valencian Educational Linguistic Model and Regulates its Application in the Non-university Teaching in
The Comunitat Valenciana. [2017/870].
The syllabus in CBI is usually derived from the content areas to be covered and is thus a theme-
based one. As the name already suggests the syllabus is built around specific topics and subtopics
The role of materials in CBI is quite straightforward: materials that facilitate language learning are
the materials that are used typically with the subject matter of the content course.
The use of realia is recommended in CBI.
Alongside the concept of authenticity, comprehensibility is another key concept in CBI.
Instructional materials may have to be modified by the teacher in order to ensure maximum
comprehension among students. This may include linguistic simplification or adding redundancy to text
materials

TASK-BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING

Task-based language teaching (TBLT), also known as task-based instruction (TBI), focuses on the
use of authentic language and on asking students to do meaningful tasks using the target language.
Such tasks can include visiting a doctor, conducting an interview, or calling customer service for help.
Assessment is primarily based on task outcome (in other words the appropriate completion of real
world tasks) rather than on accuracy of prescribed language forms. This makes TBLT especially popular
for developing target language fluency and student confidence. As such TBLT can be considered a
branch of communicative language teaching (CLT).
TBLT was popularized by N. Prabhu (1987) while working in Bangalore, India. Prabhu noticed that
his students could learn language just as easily with a non-linguistic problem as when they were

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concentrating on linguistic questions. A great amount of research has been done in this area most of
the contributions have been collected recently on the works of David Nunan and Rod Ellis.
According to Rod Ellis, a task has four main characteristics:
1. It is something that learners do or carry out using their existing language resources.
2. It has an outcome which is not simply linked to learning language, though language acquisition
may occur as the learner carries out the task.
3. It involves a focus on meaning.
4. In the case of tasks involving two or more learners, it calls upon the learners’ use of
communication strategies and interactional skills.

A task-based syllabus then consists of tasks to be carried out by learners. Nunan (1989:) proposes a
syllabus that specifies two types of tasks:
 Real-world tasks, which are based on a needs analysis of learners and reflect tasks that learners
are likely to encounter later in the real world
 Pedagogical tasks, which have a psycholinguistic base in second language acquisition research
and theory but do not necessarily reflect tasks which might occur in the real world.
Prahbu planned the tasks always in order to solve what he called gaps. He identified three kinds of
gaps: Information gaps, Reasoning gaps, Opinion gaps.
Pica (1993) proposed a classifying scheme of tasks according to the type of interaction which is
involved in the fulfillment of the task:
 Jigsaw tasks: These involve learners combining different pieces of information to a whole (e.g.,
three individuals or groups may have three different parts of a story and have to piece the story
together).”
 Information-gap tasks: One student or group of students has one set of information and
another student or group has a complementary set of information. They must negotiate and find out
what the other party’s information is in order to complete an activity.
 Problem-solving tasks: Students are given a problem and a set of information. They must arrive
at a solution to the problem. There is generally a single resolution of the outcome.
 Decision-making tasks: Students are given a problem for which there are a number of possible
outcomes and they must choose one through negotiation and discussion.
 Opinion-exchange tasks: Learners engage in discussion and exchange of ideas.They do not need
to reach agreement.
In the TBA a number of roles are assumed for the learner, some of which overlap with those of
CLT. Richards and Rodgers view the learners as group participant, monitor and risk-taker and
innovator.
In carrying out tasks learners mostly work in groups, thus group work is more frequent than in
other approaches or methods.

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 The teacher, on the other hand, takes over the roles of selector and sequencer. He has to choose
or create appropriate tasks for students and to bring them into a sequence, considering learners’
needs, interests and language skill level.
Another teacher role is that he has to prepare learners for the tasks. Rod Ellis suggested that
before carrying out a task learners should accomplish pretask activities first. Such activities may
include topic introduction, clarifying task instructions, helping students to learn or recall useful words
and phrases and to provide partial demonstration of task procedures. These activities which are
designed to draw the attention of learners to specific language items are overall referred to as
consciousness- raising tasks or discovery learning activities and are a feature of inductive grammar
teaching.
The tasks are intended for the students to create tangible linguistic products, e.g. text, montage,
presentation, audio or video recording, learners can review each other's work and offer constructive
feedback. This presentations and exchange of linguistic products are the base of the students’
assessment.
If a task is set to extend over longer periods of time, e.g. weeks, and includes iterative cycles of
constructive activity followed by review, TBLL can be seen as analogous to Project-based learning.

COOPERATIVE LEARNING
Cooperative learning is an educational approach which aims to organize classroom activities into
academic and social learning experiences. There is much more to cooperative learning than merely
arranging students into groups, and it has been described as "structuring positive interdependence."
Cooperative learning has roots in John Dewey and Kurt Lewin and the Humanistic Psicology.
Students must work in groups to complete tasks collectively toward academic goals. Unlike
individual learning, which can be competitive in nature, students learning cooperatively can capitalize
on one another's resources and skills (asking one another for information, evaluating one another's
ideas, monitoring one another's work, etc.). Furthermore, the teacher's role changes from giving
information to facilitating students' learning. Everyone succeeds when the group succeeds. Ross and
Smyth (1995) describe successful cooperative learning tasks as
1. intellectually demanding,
2. creative,
3. open-ended,
4. and involve higher order thinking tasks.
Cooperative learning has also been linked to increased levels of student satisfaction.
In 1995 David and Roger Johnson published the five essential elements that are identified for the
successful incorporation of cooperative learning in the classroom:
1. positive interdependence
2. individual and group accountability

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 3. promotive interaction (face to face)
4. teaching the students the required interpersonal and small group skills
5. group processing.
According to Johnson and Johnson's analysis, students in cooperative learning settings compared
to those in individualistic or competitive learning settings,
1. achieve more,
2. reason better,
3. gain higher self-esteem,
4. like classmates and the learning tasks more and
5. have more perceived social support.
Task based Instruction and Cooperative Learning are merged in many different school practices
nowadays.
In the post- methods era, as we see, univocal or pure methodologies have given way to an
integration of those more efficient features of different methods that are integrated in school practices
adapted to the social and cultural context and that all have as the ultimate reference the
communication from the linguistic point of view and active and meaningful learning from a more
general perspective. Our role as teachers should be to create the most appropriate combination for
our students and their needs.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Auerbach, E. R. (1986). Competency-Based ESL: One Step Forward or Two Steps Back? TESOL
Quarterly, 20 (3).

Beglar, David, and Alan Hunt (2002). Implementing task-based language teaching. In Jack Richards and
Willy Renandya (eds). Methodologyin Language Teaching: An Anthology of Current Practice. New York:
Cambridge University Press.

Brumfit, Christopher (1984). Communicative Methodology in Language Teaching. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.

Clarke, M., and S. Silberstein (1977). Toward a realization of psycholinguistic principles in the ESL
reading class. Language Learning, 27 (1), 48–65.

Feez, S., and H. Joyce (1998). Text-Based Syllabus Design. Australia: Macquarie University

Krahnke, K. (1987). Approaches to Syllabus design for Foreign Language Teaching. Washington, D.C.:
Center for Applied Linguistics.

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Littlejohn, A., and D. Hicks (1996). Cambridge English for Schools. Cambridge: Cambridge University
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Littlewood, W. (1981). Communicative Language Teaching. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Prabhu, N. S. (1987). Second Language Pedagogy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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Richards, Jack C., and Charles Sandy (1998). Passages. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Skehan, P. (1996). Second language acquisition research and task-based instruction. In J. Willis and D.
Willis (eds). Challenge and Change in Language Teaching. Oxford: Heinemann.

Van Ek, J., and L. G. Alexander (1980). Threshold Level English. Oxford: Pergamon.

Widdowson. H. (1987). Aspects of syllabus design. In M. Tickoo (ed). Language Syllabuses: State of the
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Willis, Jane (1996). A Framework for Task-Based Learning. Harlow: Longman.

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