The Communicative Approach emerged in the early 1970s as a result of the work of the Council of Europe experts. However, it can be traced to the work of Chomsky in the 1960s, when he advanced the two notions of 'competence' and 'performance' as a reaction against the prevalent audio-lingual method and its views.

These two concepts were developed later on by Hymes, into a 'communicative competence' which refers to the psychological, cultural and social rules which discipline the use of speech.

Hymes, as a sociolinguist, was concerned with the social and cultural knowledge which speakers need in order to understand and use linguistic forms. His view, therefore, encompassed not only knowledge but also ability to put that knowledge into use in communication.

• Does communicative language teaching, mean teaching conversation, an absence of grammar in a course, or an emphasis on open-ended discussion activities as the main features of a course?

• What do you understand by Communicative Language Teaching?

Communicative language teaching can be understood as a set of principles

about the goals of language teaching, how learners learn a language, the

kinds of classroom activities that best facilitate learning, and the roles of

teachersand learners in the classroom.

• The theory of language teaching underlying the Communicative Approach is holistic rather than behavioristic. It starts from a theory of language as communication which implies knowledge of the grammatical system as well as performance. In other words, such competence includes both the usage and use of the language. (Widdowson, 1984).

Unlike the audiolingual method, the Communicative Approach gives priority to the semantic content of language learning. That is, learners learn the grammatical form through meaning not the other way around. Thus, "learning activities are selected according to how well they engage the learner in meaningful and authentic language use (rather than merely mechanical practice of language patterns)" (Richards & Rogers, 1986: 72).

Since the primary aim of the approach is to prepare learners for meaningful

communication, errors are tolerated. The range of exercise types and activities

compatible with a communicative approach is unlimited.

The type of classroom proposed in CLT implied new roles 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. 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.

• 1) The communicative approach focuses on the use of language in everyday situations, or the functional aspects of language, and less on the formal structures. However, critics believe that there needs to be some sort of "bridge" between the two in order for effective language learning.

• 2) The approach relies extensively on the functional-notational syllabus which places heavy demands on the learners.

• 3) The various categories of language functions are overlapping and not systematically graded like the structures of the language.

• 4) A major premise underlying this approach is its emphasis on learners' needs and interests. This implies that every teacher should modify the syllabus to correspond with the needs of the learners.

• Richards, J. C. & Rogers, T. S. (1986). Approaches and methods in language teaching: A description and analysis. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

• Rogers, T. (2001) Language teaching methodology, online resource (http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/rodgers.html), Sep. 2001.

• Widdowson, H .G .(1984) Explorations in Applied Linguistics 2, Oxford OU.P .

• Richards, Jack C., and Theodore Rodgers (2001). Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Second Edition. New York: Cambridge University Press.