The Communicative Language Teaching

12 language learning process is closely associated with interactional and communicative effort rather than grammar-based learning. To make it more specific, the discussion will move towards language learning process and learning interaction. There are several views about learning. According to Krashen 1981 language learning refers to the ―conscious knowledge of the second languages, knowing the rules, being aware of them, and being able to talk about them‖. This definition indicates that by learning second language, learners will consciously pay attention to any rules of the target language including the structure or the phonology. In addition to that, learners will be aware to avoid any errors when they are using the target language both written and spoken in communication and discussional circumstances. Meanwhile, according to Feez and Joyce 2002 ―language learning is a social activity and is the outcome of a joint collaboration between the teacher and the student and between the student and other students in the group. ‖ Similarly, Hutchinson and Waters 1994 views that learning is not just a mental process; it is a process of negotiation between individuals and society. This illustrates that language learning is a social activity. Therefore it is closely related to the social or situational orientation. When the researcher analyzes and concludes further those definitions, it is implied that on language learning process there is need of interaction. In other words, the conclusion clearly shows that interaction is highly important.

b. The Communicative Language Teaching

The researcher decides to put the concept of communicative language into the research discussion, since on the language learning concept as discussed in the 13 earlier sections it is mostly related to interactional activity. Hymes 1971 states that being able to communicate requires more than linguistic competence; it requires communicative competence. In addition to that, Halliday 1973 also states that being able to communicate requires more than mastering linguistic structure, due to the fact that language is fundamentally social. Those conceptions show that language is considerably more communicative rather than structural. By means, the communicative approach will not focus on the grammar pattern of language in its process of learning as stated by Tarone and Yule 1989: In recent years, there has been a major shift in perspective within the language teaching profession concerning the nature of what is to be taught.… [T]here has been a change of emphasis from presenting language as a set of forms grammatical, phonological, lexical which have to be learned and practiced, to presenting language as a functional system which is used to fulfill a range of communicative purposes. From what Tarone and Yule have stated, it can be concluded that the trend of language learning has changed to be more communicative rather than focusing on grammar-based method. In addition to that, Canale and Swain 1980 find those rules grammatical rules useless since language users are unaware of the rules of language use. Canale and Swain‘s finding above implicates that in real communication the formal and complex grammatical rules are less important than the meant messages which are transfered during the process. In other words, in communicative language learning process, the grammar-based methods will not be best suited.

c. The Role of Consciousness in Language Learning