Communicative Approach Communicative Approach

By Weizmar Lozada

The communicative approach is the theory that language is communication, in this approach 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.

What is the communicative approach?What is the communicative approach?

provide

To teach Tools Practice

and

Students need:

• to be exposed to the target Language.

• to understand its meaning.

• to understand its form. • to practice it.

What does language study consist of in What does language study consist of in communicative approach ?communicative approach ?

Students are exposed to language by using strategies that

contribute directly and indirectly in learning process.

These strategies are:

Learning Strategies Communication Strategies Social Strategies

How should we expose students to language?How should we expose students to language?

Communicative Approach StudiesCommunicative Approach Studies

• Noam Chomsky: language is a psychological process that is born with the person who has innate knowledge of grammar. (performanceperformance and competencecompetence)

Performance and competencePerformance and competence

Performance: a person’s actual useuse of language; how a person uses his knowledge of a language in producing and understanding sentences.

Competence: a person’s knowledgeknowledge of a languagePeople may have the competence to produce a long sentence but when they try to use it, they restrict it. For example, listeners might forget what has been said if the sentence is too long. Due to performance factors such as lack of attention, nervousness or excitement, their actual use of language may not reflect their competence. The errors they make are described as examples of performance.

• Dell Hymes: language is based on the communicative competence that includes formform and funtionfuntion . People learn the language by using a social-linguistic knowledge.

Form vs. functionForm vs. function

• Form: the physical characteristics of a thing in language use, a linguistic form is like the imperative

• Function: a linguistic form that can perform a variety of different functions:

Come here for a drink-> invitation

Watch out-> warning

Turn left at the corner-> direction

Pass the salt-> request

• Canale and Swain defined communicative competence in terms of three aspects:

1. Grammatical competence: words and rules.

2. Sociolinguistics competence: appropriateness.

3. Strategic competence: appropriate use of communication strategies.

• John Searle and J.L. Austin believe that language is closely related with the Speech Act Speech Act which includes such acts as promising, ordering, greeting, warning, inviting and congratulating.

Communicative Communicative Competence Competence

SociolinguisticSociolinguisticCompetenceCompetence

GrammaticalGrammaticalCompetenceCompetence

DiscoursalDiscoursalCompetenceCompetence

Strategic Strategic CompetenceCompetence