Theoretical Framework LITERATURE REVIEW
learning has taken place? The process has eight steps: 1 Considering goals, topics, and general purposes, 2 Determining learner characteristics, 3 Specifying the
learning objectives, 4 Listing the subject content, 5 Developing pre-assessments, 6 Selecting teachinglearning activities and resources, 7 Coordinating support
services, and 8 Evaluating students’ accomplishments. The second principle deals with Communicative Language Teaching.
According to Nunan 1989:12, CLT is an approach which focuses on the use of the target language more than the understanding of the various grammatical rules of it.
American and British proponents, as mentioned by Richards and Rodgers 1986:66, see CLT as an approach that aims to make communicative competence the goal of
language teaching and develop procedures for the teaching of the four language skills that acknowledge the interdependence of language and communication. However,
according to Littlewood 1981:1, as cited by Richards and Rodgers 1986:66, the roles of the language elements cannot be neglected at all. In CLT, according to Breen
and Candlin 1980, as cited by Richards and Rodgers 1986:77, the teachers have roles as a facilitator, participant, organizer, guide, researcher, and also learner.
Richards and Rodgers add that the teachers also play roles as a need analyst, counselor, and group process manager. According to Breen and Candlin, as cited by
Richards and Rogers 1986:77, the students in CLT have a role as a negotiator between the self, the learning process, and also the subject of learning. What they
contribute should be as much as what they gain. Richards and Rodgers 1986:79-80 state that CLT practitioners view materials as a way of influencing the quality of
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classroom interaction and language use. Materials thus have the primary role of promoting communicative language use. They mention three kinds of materials
currently used in CLT: text-based materials, task-based materials, and realia. According to Hymes 1972, concluded by Richards and Rodgers 1986:70,
communicative competence is what a speaker needs to know in order to be communicatively competent in a speech community. Canale and Swain 1980, as
cited by Richards and Rodgers 1986:71, identify four dimensions of communicative competence:
grammatical competence,
sociolinguistic competence,
discourse competence, and strategic competence. Richards and Rodgers 1986:76 state that the
range of exercise types and activities compatible with a communicative approach is unlimited. Littlewood 1981, as cited by Richards and Rodgers 1986: 76
distinguishes two kinds of communicative activity: functional communication activities and social interaction activities.
The third principles are those which are used as useful guidelines to teach speaking skill. Brown and Yule 1983, as cited by Nunan 1989:26, mention the
differences between spoken and written language. Brown and Yule, as cited by Nunan 1989:27, also draw a useful distinction between two basic language
functions. They are the transactional function and the interactional function. Nunan also makes the distinction between monologue and dialogue. He states that the
teachers should not generalize the ability of interacting with others and the ability of making good oral presentations. The second skill is a skill that generally has to be
learned and practiced. Bygate 1987, as cited by Nunan 1989:30, differentiates 31
skills in speaking into two. They are motor-perceptive skills and interactional skills. Bygate gives suggestion that in particular, learners need to develop skills in the
management of interaction and also in the negotiation of meaning. Nunan 1989:32 also discusses two different approaches in teaching speaking: bottom-up and top-
down approach. Harmer 1998 proposes some substantial points the teachers should discover
before conducting speaking activity: elements needed for successful language learning in classrooms, type of speaking activity students should do, encouraging
students to do speaking tasks, teachers’ corrections in speaking, and other considerations for teachers. Ur 1999 mentions characteristics used to measure
whether a speaking activity can be regarded to be successful or not: learners talk a lot, participation is even, motivation is high, and language is of an acceptable level. Ur
also mentions problems that may appear in speaking activities: inhibition, nothing to say, low or uneven participation, and mother-tongue use. Ur proposes several
solutions the teachers can apply to solve some of the problems: use group work, base the activity on easy language, make a careful choice of topic and task to stimulate
interest, give some instruction or training in discussion skills, and keep the students speaking in the target language.
The writer also uses three principal activity types from Prabhu 1987:46, as cited by Nunan 1989:66, as the basics to determine the
teaching learning activities used in the designed materials. They include information-gap activity, reasoning-gap activity, and opinion-gap activity.
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Finally, the writer adapts theories proposed by Tomlinson 2001, 2004 discussing about materials development. Here the principles,
procedures, techniques, and aspects of materials adaptations and materials writing are discussed.
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