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Date Posted: 14:03:28 06/11/03 Wed
Author: Gerson G. dos Santos
Subject: 6th task_ prototypical_communicative_course

6th Class – Communicative Approach

Describe the design of a prototypical communicative course


One of the main objectives of a prototypical communicative approach is to suit the teaching tecniques learners`s needs. Learners tend to get more involved in the learning process when it gos with their expectations, tastes, needs of their day lifes. On the other hand, the learners have to learner the develop their ability in negotiating in their learning (meanings, comprehensions, etc.) not only with the teacher but with each other. It means that more they get involved in the activity in a cooperative way more they will be sucessful in their learning. Besides, the activities have to be something which catch the learners`s interest. Denpending on the class environment, the activities tend to attend differently the learners`s needs in order to make them engaged in the communicative learning. So, the activities should embrace at least two activities:

1. “functional communication activities”: in which the learners apply or use the communication as a “tool” to get something according to their needs, that is, the learners use the language for a purpose.

2. “social interaction activities”: in which the learners develop their ability in interaction with other people in commom situation of life such as conversation, debates, etc.
Some exemples of these activities will be (Littlewood, 1981 in: Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers`s Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching, pag. 76):

 comparing sets of pictures and noting similarities and differences;
 working our a likely sequence of events in a set of pictures;
 discovering missing features in a map or picture;
 one learner communicating behind a screen to another learner and giving instructions on how to draw a picture or shape, or how to comple a map;
 following directions;
 solving problems from shared clues
 interactive activities such as dialogues and role plays, simulation, improvisations, debates, etc.

In the learning process , the teacher is viewed as a facilatator of the communication among the learners as well as the all the activities involved in the learning. So, the teacher is suppose to take the responsibility ‘for determining and responding the learners language needs’. Although the learners are also responsible for their learning and have some independency in the learning process, it is the teacher who will ‘guide’them. Besides this role, there are two ones which also must consider to the teacher:
1. Counselor: teacher will be na effective communicator who will use paraphrase, confirmation, feedback in order to make the learning process ‘fancied’by the learners.
2. Group process manager: teacher is responsible to organize the classroom activities and environment by encouraging, monitoring and helping as way to make them to get engaged as much as possible.

Concerning to the materials, these must set up contexts where the learners can express their attitudes, feelings, ideas, opinions and beliefs. Many activity materials such games, role plays , simulations, activity cards, pair-communication (task-based materials) can be used for these purpose of providing interaction and seeking for (specific or not) informations.
Other materals must be used for communicative learning specially from ‘authentic’ sources and ‘from-life’such magazines, newspapers, advertisements, etc.

In the communicative course som procedures have been suggested:

 Presentation of a brief dialog preceded by motivation;
 Oral practice of each utterance of the dialog segment to be presented tha day;
 Questions and answers based on the topic and situation;
 Oral recognition, interpretative activities;
 Oral production activities.
It has been also suggested to encourage the learners to use and practise functions and forms of the language.
Activities can also be divide in two groups:

1. Pré- communicative activities: which will embrace Structural activities and Quasi-communicative activities.
2. Communicative activities: which will embrace Functional communication activities and Social interaction activities



REFERENCES

RICHARDS, J. & RODGERS, T. Approaches and methods in Language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986
http://www.tickit.com/english/approach.html
http://coe.sdsu.edu/people/jmora/L2MethodsMMdl/sld001.htm

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