The Communicative Approach

The Communicative Approach

Following  the Communicative Approach the Language is formed by systems and skills. The four systems of language are grammar, vocabulary, phonology and discourse. While Grammar works with the morphemes and structure to produce meaning, Vocabulary or Lexis studies  the meaning of the words and the Phonology is responsible for studying the sounds and their particularities concerning different intonations and stress to different meanings for the words. The discourse studies the language in the context it’s being used regardless of being written or oral helping understand their multiple functions.

In the comprehension of language there are four skills needed to achieve a complete communication: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Listening: be able to hear and understand. Speaking: be able to speak and be understood. Reading: be able to read and understand all the meaning. Writing: be able to reproduce the structures by yourself on the paper.

These skills are divided into sub-skills, Productive (speaking and writing) and Receptive(listening and reading). The Receptive is acquired first once they are the first the students are exposed to and it’s necessary so that the student can have a base to finally produce something on his own. Being it ESL or mother language, the first contact is oral which is receptive.

Language systems and skills are totally connected like the construction of a building that start with the pillars and structural walls. All the skills are interconnected: by the direction of communication (in or out) or the method of communication (spoken or written)  and they can only be improved with the help of the systems. That construction must be balanced and understanding that each student is a different soil it’s the teacher’s job to create the balance among those structures of the building in order to help the students. It’s possible to create that balance when preparing your classes.

Since the student is the center of the class, the main point is to bring the student to a higher lever of control of the class then the teacher’s, that being said, the class should start with what can be called a warm up or lead in that is presenting the topic by finding out what the students already know about it creating a nice atmosphere in addition to a real life contact bringing to class for example: vocabulary with pictures or realia, role-plays with famous situations or personalities and with that arousing their interest in the topic to be taught (class). Once they are connected with the topic put it on the board and introduce it creating the proper moment for practicing written and orally. After that, you’ll be able to engage the students to present their own examples and we get to the link and progression that is the productive part the class which must be done as smooth as possible in the way that the students will be in control of the class, a STT (Student Talking Time). Correction should be done so that the student is able to get to correct himself, thought that’s not applied to pronunciation corrections that have to be made by the teacher. Later on the post-production part which will involve the correction of the mistakes and come back with the  TTT ( Teacher Talking Time) that was decreased preferentially to zero during the productive time. Throughout the class is possible to recognize all the systems ans skills being worked, the receptive: teacher explaining and students listen and teacher writing on the board so the students can read and productive: students practice what they learned with written exercises and orally during the productive time.