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in the vocational school in this study. CLT is an approach which refers to the process on language teaching in which
the students are expected to experience and improve their ability to communicate in the target language. CLT focuses on the language use and production especially in the
real life situations. It means when we teach materials in context, we move beyond language as a set of sentences example to language as it is situated in the world.
Furthermore, there are two aims of CLT stated by Richards and Rodgers 1986: 66. They are:
1 to make communicative competence the goal of language teaching, 2 to develop procedure for teaching of four language skills that acknowledge the
interdependence of language and communication In order to achieve those two aims, Littlewood 1981: 1 states that CLT pays
attention to functional communication e.g. apologizing, describing, and promoting, inviting, etc..
a. The Characteristics of CLT
It is stated in Richard and Rodgers 1986: 69 that the characteristics of CLT are learner-centered and experienced-based view of second language learning. Hilgard
and Bower 1966 also agree that CLT is the process of “learning by doing”. Another important point is that CLT emphasizes on pair work and group work. Thus, it is
expected that the learners would obtain several benefits by completing the classroom activities, such as learning from hearing the other students, the learners would
produce a greater amount of language rather than what they learn from the teacher- PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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fronted activities. Jack J. Richards, 2005: 21. Those characteristics of CLT, then, are considered by the writer as the important reason of the CLT implementation in the
vocational school selected in this study.
b. Theory of Language
Richard and Rodgers 1986: 71 assumed that language is a system for the expression of meaning. The primary function of language is for interaction and
communication. The functional and communicative dimensions are considered the grammatical features. In other words, it is very important for the students to receive
suitable materials in their listening activities which really help them understand the nature of the real communication later on. The students should understand the
language as a means of communication. It is used in the working world to communicate with others so that there would be no more misunderstanding, as it is
stated by Richard and Rodgers 1986: 70.
c. Theory of Language Learning
Richard and Rodgers 1986: 19 stated that “learning theory concerns with an account of the central process of learning and an account of the condition believed to
promote successful language learning.” Moreover, Johnson in Richard and Rodgers, 1986: 72 promotes three elements of an underlying learning theory that could be
recognized in CLT practices. The first element is communication principle that means activities and involves real communication to promote learning. The second element
is task principle that means activities where language is used for carrying out meaningful task to promote learning, and the last element is the meaningfulness
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principles. In this last principle, language that considered as meaningful element would support the learning process Richard and Rodgers, 2001: 161.
d. Types of Activities in CLT
Since the emphasis of CLT is on the processes of communication rather than mastery of language form, the range of exercise and activities is unlimited. However,
Littlewood in Richards and Rodgers, 2003: 166 distinguishes between functional communication activities and social interaction activities as major activity types in
CLT. The purpose of functional communication activities is to direct the students to get involved in the communication in which they have to get the meaning of the
language as effectively as they could. Some examples of functional communication activities are comparing sets of
pictures and noting similarities and differences, working out a likely sequence of events in sets of pictures, discovering missing features in a map, giving and
performing instruction how to do something, solving problems. On the other hand, the main purpose of social interaction activities is to give the learners chance to use
the target language in the social context. The activities include conversation and discussion, dialogues and role-plays, simulations, skits, improvisation, and debates.
e. Teacher’s and Learners’ Role in CLT
It is stated by Breen and Candlin quoted in Richard and Rodgers, 1986: 77, CLT emphasizes on the process of communication rather than the mastery of
language focus. The role of learners is as negotiator between the self, the learning process and the object of learning. On the other hand, the two main roles for the
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teacher are as facilitator in the communication process and as participant in the classroom. Other teachers’ roles are as needs analyst, counselor, and group process
manager. To sum up, the writer applies CLT as an approach of the study after considering
the characteristics of CLT which are suitable to apply in the vocational school of this study. However, it is important to select the method which supports the CLT
approach in designing the materials. Thus, the writer implements Task-Based Instructions as the method of this study since TASK-BASED INSTRUCTIONS could
support and reflect the implementation of CLT through the tasks and the classroom activities.
5. Task-Based Instructions
Nunan 1989: 10 defined tasks as “activities that can stand alone as fundamental units and that require comprehending, producing, manipulating, or interacting in
authentic language while attention is principally paid to meaning rather than form.” Meanwhile, Richards and Rodgers defined Task-Based Instructions as “an approach
based on the use of tasks as the core unit of planning and instruction in language teaching” 2001: 223. In fact, Task-Based Instructions represents a particular
realization of Communicative Language Teaching in which the approach is applied in this study.
Tasks…are activities which have meaning as their primary focus. Success in tasks is evaluated in terms of achievement of an outcome, and tasks
generally bear some resemblance to real-life language use. So task-based PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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instruction takes a fairly strong view of communicative language teaching. Skehan 1996b, as cited in Richards and Rodgers, 2001: 224
It is clearly stated that in Task-Based Instructions learners need to participate in communicative tasks in English. It is important for the learners to have the
