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classroom and the only provider of feedback; quite often speaking activities may be structured in such a way that learners have to solve a problem; in
performing communicative task in class; the learner often resorts to communication strategies.
Communicative competence is ultimately concerned with developing the learners’ ability to take part in the process of communicating through
language. In other words, the communicative approach encourages us to go beyond the structures and take account of other aspects of communication. Brown also states
that in Communicative Language Teaching, means for real life communication in the classroom.
2.1.3.4 The Learners’ Main Role in CLT
Communicative activities develop learners’ ability to express themselves through speech and would therefore seem an important component
of a language course. Breen and Cadlin, as quoted in Approaches and Methods in Language
Teaching by Richards and Rodgers 1986: 77 describe the learners role as a
negotiator within group negotiation and within the classroom procedures and activities, which the group undertakes. Learning is as an interdependent way
where the learner has to be actively involved in communication within the group. Brown 1983: 120 describes the characteristics of a successful
speaking activity: Learners talk a lot; participation is even; motivation is high and language is of an acceptable level. So, in CLT, the learners, hopefully,
learn through their experience how to make a success of communication.
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2.1.3.5 The Teachers Main Role in CLT
It is also important to know the role of the teacher in Communicative Language Teaching. The teacher is needed only to facilitate teaching learning
activities. Teachers are no longer the centre of the teaching learning activity. He she acts as a participant in the class, not as a person who masters the
material and gives it to the learners. The teacher presents activities which are meaningful to the students and which will motivate them to become committed
to sustaining that communication to accomplish a specific goal Celce-Murcia and Hilles, 1988
The teacher has two main roles: the first role is to facilitate the communication process between all participants in the
classroom, and between these participants and the various activities and texts. The second role is to act as an
independent participant within the learning-teaching group Breen and Cadlin as quoted by Richards and Rodgers,
1986: 77.
The teacher’s function becomes less dominant but no less important. Firstly heshe is available as a source of guidance and help; secondly the
teacher can monitor the student’s strengths and weaknesses; heshe can maintain a constant link between pre-communicative and communicative
activities in the course, each type reinforcing and providing input to the other; thirdly heshe may need to discourage learners from resorting to their mother
tongue in moments of difficulty. Heshe may also decide that a particular error is important and heshe must correct it at once, to prevent it from becoming fix
in the learners’ speech. Heshe needs to analyse the learners needs, and
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become a counsellor of the class and also a group process manager Littlewood, 1983: 19
Finally, in communicative language teaching the learners play an important role and the teacher becomes the facilitator in the activity. Learners in
the communicative approach produce meaningful words rather than focusing on the language rules since in this approach is aimed to enable the learners to use
language in real communication.
2.1.4 Integrated Language Learning