32 1
Meaning-focused input
. The learners engage in dialogue with the teacher, do activities like listen and do, grids, interview activities, and listening to
simple stories. 2
Meaning-focused output
. The learners engage in dialogue with the teacher, do activities like descriptions, a variety of questioning activities like
asking by numbers and hints, and guided activities. 3
Language-focused learning
. The teacher helps the learners with pronunciation, memorising useful phrases and sentences, and substitution
tables. 4
Fluency development
. Memorised phrases and sentences are given repeated practice with an emphasis on reaching a normal speed of
production. By referring to the four strands language learning, it is noted that the role of
the teacher is very important in the meaning-focused input, meaning-focused output, and the language focused learning. The teacher should really prepare the
input and activity that will enable the students to produce the texts. However, the teacher should also develop the students’ autonomy so that they could handle the
fluency development.
d. The Overview of Communicative Language Teaching Methodology
There are many experts define the meaning of language communicative teaching. Littlewood 1981 writes that it pays systematic attention to functional
as well as structural aspect of language, combining these into more communicative view.
Celce-Murcia 2001 defines the nine features of communicative language teaching. They are cited as follows:
1. Learner ability to communicate in the target language is to be the
goal of language teaching. 2.
The content of a language course will include the semantic notions and social functions, not merely linguistic structures.
33 3.
Students regularly work in groups or pairs to transfer and, if necessary, negotiate meaning in situations in which one person has
information that the others lack information gap activities. 4.
Students often engage in role plays or dramatization to adjust their use of the target language to different social contexts.
5. Classroom materials and activities are often authentic to reflect real-
life situations and demands. 6.
Skills are integrated from the beginning; a given activity might involve reading, speaking, listening, and also writing assuming that
learners are educated and literate. 7.
The teacher’s role is primarily to facilitate communication and only secondarily to correct errors.
8. The teacher should be able to use the target language fluently and
appropriately. More recently, Richards 2006 defines communicative language teaching as
a set of principles about the goals of language teaching, how learners learn a language, the kinds of classroom activities that best facilitate learning, and the
roles of teachers and learners in the classroom. Its goal is the teaching of communicative competence which includes aspects of language knowledge: 1
knowing how to use language for a range of different purposes and functions; 2 knowing how to vary or use the language according to the setting and the
participants; 3 knowing how to produce and understand different types of texts; and 4 knowing how to maintain communication despite having limitations in
ones language knowledge. Richards 2006 suggests the ten core assumptions of current CLT. They are
cited as follows: 1.
Second language learning is facilitated when learners are engaged in interection and meaningful communication.
2. Effective classroom learning tasks and exercises provide
opportunities for students to negotiate meaning, expand their language resources, notice how language is used, and take part in
meaningful interpersonal exchange.
34 3.
Meaningful communication results from students procssing content that is relevan, purposeful, interesting, and engaging.
4. Communication is a holistic process that often calls upn the used
of several language skills or modalities. 5.
Language learning is facilitated both by activities that involve inductive or discovery learning of underlying rules of language
analysis and reflection. 6.
Language learning is a gradual process that involves creative use of language, and trial and error. Although errors are a normal
product of learning, the ultimate goal of learning is to be able to use the new language both accurately and fluently.
7. Learners develop their own routes to language learning, progress
at different rates, and have different needs and motivations for language learning.
8. Successful language learning involves the use of effective
learning and communication strategies. 9.
The role of the teacher in the language classroom is that of a facilitator, who creates a classroom climate conducive to
language learning and provides opportunities for students to use and practice the language and to reflect on language use and
language learning.
10. The classroom is a communitiy where learners through
collaboration and sharing. Those core assumptions imply that the students should be the center of the
learning. Therefore, it is the teacher’s duty to facilitate them. To facilitate them, the teacher should prepare the activities, task, and assignment which enable the
students to develop. The three different kinds of practices in CLT, according to Richards 2006,
are mechanical, meaningful, and communicative practice. Mechanical practice refers to a controlled practice activity which students can successfully carry out
without necessarily understanding the language they are using. Meaningful practice refers to an activity where language control is still provided but where
students are required to make meaningful choices when carrying out practice. Communicative practice refers to activities where practice in using language
35 within a real communicative context is the focus, where real information is
exchanged and where the language used is not totally predictable. A classic communicative task is information gap activity. There is a
knowledge gap and this can only be bridged by using language. Therefore, in order to achieve the task outcome, the interactants have to communicate. The
activity in this step can be linked together with another skill, for example, listening skill. There are many alternative forms of this activity such as drilling
conversation which can be integrated by providing the sample from the audio and let the students repeat the conversation, milling activity, survey game, and jigsaw
activity, milling activity which is a speaking activity that provides repetitive practice of formulaic language in a more communicative way and involves
learners walking around, asking all the other learners questions, survey game which the students have to ask repetitious questions to the others and take turns,
as well as jigsaw activity which is an activity emphasizing cooperative learning that makes students dependent each other in accomplishing the tasks.
The teacher can provide four flashcards and divide the students into four groups and let the students develop the story based on the cards.
In its development, CLT extends to some approaches. They are categorized in two kinds which are process based and product based. To give clear pictures about
the extension of CLT the following figure is provided.
36
Figure I: The CLT methodologyy extension
One of main purposes of CLT is that the students develop their communicative competence. Canale and Swain 1980 also cited in Shrum and
Glisan 1994:141 and Madya 2013 state that communicative competence includes a grammatical competence: use of appropriate grammar, vocabulary,
and pronunciation; b sociolinguistics competence: use of elements such as styles, register, and intonation in an appropriate contexts and settings; c
discourse competence: ability to combine language elements to show cohesion in form and coherence of thought; d strategic competence: use of verbal and
nonverbal communication strategies, such as gestures and circumlocution, to compensate for unknown language.
In reference to communicative competence, Bachman 1990 defines the communicative language ability in the following diagram.
Communicative Language Teaching
Process Based
Product Based Content Based
Task Based Instruction
Text Based Instruction
Competency Based Instruction
37
Figure II: Communicative language ability by Bachman 1990
Bachman 1990 communicative language ability model resembles what Halliday 2014 says about the language usage and the language use. In
organizational competence, the learners learn about the language usage. It deals with the rules of language. Meanwhile in the pragmatic competence, the learners
deal with the language use in practices. It is suitable with the curriculum implemented in Indonesia that the students are demanded to be able to
comprehend the texts and produce the texts. Accordingly, Celce-Muria 2008 also proposes a schema for the
communicative competence. It is reflected in Figure III. In her model, the communicative competence comprised of five aspects which are the discourse
competence, socio-cultural competence, formulaic competence, interactional competence, linguistic competence, and the strategic competence.
38
Figure III: Proposed revised schematic representation of communicative competence by Celce-Murcia 2008
From Bachman ’s 1990 and Celce-Murcia’s 2008 communicative
competence models, it is implied that the students should be facilitated to develop their competence. These communicative competence models are matched with the
language competences that should be mastered by the students as the curicullum by the government mandate.
e. The Pre-communicative and Communicative Activities Framework
