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two aspects of CLT which are „what to teach‟ and „how to teach‟. The „what to teach‟ aspects
of this approach gives more importance on language functions rather than grammar and vocabulary. The second aspect of „how to teach‟ states that there should be “plentiful
exp osure to language in use and plenty of opportunities to use it” for the development of a
student‟s knowledge and skills, Harmer 2001. CLT wants to involve students in real or realistic communication through different activities. In this case the accuracy of target
language is less important than successful achievement of the communicative task Harmer, 2001.
Richards and Rodgers 2001 viewed that CLT aims at making communicative competence as the goal of language teaching and developing procedures for the teaching of
the four language skills. The goal of language teaching is to develop what Hymes 1972, as cited in Ansarey 2012,
referred to as “communicative competence.” The primary focus of CLT is to facilitate learners in creating meaning not in developing grammatical structures or
acquiring native –like pronunciation Ansarey, 2012. CLT views language as system for the
expression of meaning where the main function of language is to permit interaction and communication Richard, 2001, as cited in Ansarey, 2012.
2. Communicative Competence in Real Context
CLT has been introduced in EFL context to improve students‟ abilities to use English in real contexts Littlewood, 2007, as cited in Ansarey, 2012. The success of learning a
foreign language does not only depend on how well learners have developed their communicative competences but also how much they are able to apply their knowledge of
language in real life situations. Foreign language teaching must be concern with reality; that is with the reality of communication as it takes place outside the classroom and with the
reality of learners as they exist outside and inside the classroom Littlewood, 1981.
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Communicative approach makes teachers and students consider language in terms of the communicative functions and how it performs in real situations, as well as its structures
vocabulary and grammar, Ansarey, 2012.
3. English Speaking Skill Improvement
A communicative approach opens up a wider perspective on language. In particular, it makes the students consider language not only in terms of its structure grammar and
vocabulary, but also in terms of the communicative functions that it performs Littlewood, 1981. Chang 2011 stated that CLT
advocates teaching practices that develop learners‟ abilities to communicate in a second language. However, this study focuses more on
developing learners‟ abilities to communicate in the foreign language as they are in EFL context. CLT is a language teaching approach that emphasizes the communication of
meaning rather than the practice of grammatical forms in different parts. It aims at developing among language learners the knowledge and skills needed for appropriate
interpretation and use of a language in different communicative settings Ngoc Iwashita, 2012.
4.
Teachers’ Attitudes
Teachers‟ attitudes toward CLT are very important since teachers are also the decision maker of what will be taught to the language learners using this teaching approach. Attitudes
are a function of beliefs, in which beliefs have causal effects on attitudes Chang, 2011. Teachers take particular roles in the CLT approach. First, teachers facilitate the
communication process between all participants in the classroom. Second, teachers are also the co-communicators who engage in communicative activities with the students Larsen-
Freeman, 2000. In addition, the teachers act as analyst, counselor, and group process manager Richards Rodgers, 2001. Littlewood 1981 adds that teachers are ultimately
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concerned with developing the learners‟ ability to take part in the process of communicating through language. Sato and Kleinasser 1999, as cited in Ngoc Iwashita 2012 conclude
that the implementation of CLT depends on uncovering and examining teachers‟ attitudes, as well as their practical understandings. Therefore, teachers have to prepare an organized and
balanced plan of classroom teaching or learning procedures through which the learners will be able to spend some of their time concentrating on mastering one or more of the
components of the target language in which they will acquire it as a whole Banciu Jireghie, 2012.
Karavas-Doukas 1996, suggests that the mismatch between the beliefs and practices can cause the avoidance
of examining teachers‟ attitudes before implementing any new approach. That is, only promoting the approach and trying to convince the teachers of the
effectiveness of CLT does not successfully change the teachers‟ existing beliefs about
language learning and teaching Chang, 2011. There are five principles of investigating teachers‟ attitudes toward communicative approach developed by Karavas-Doukas 1996
which are role of grammar, group work, error correction, learner role, and teacher role. According to Chang, 2011, there have been many findings on teachers‟ attitudes
toward CLT. Karim‟s 2004, as cited in Chang 2011, survey study examined university-
level EFL teacher‟s attitudes toward CLT in Bangladesh. The findings showed that most
teachers displayed positive attitudes toward the basic principles of CLT. Also, the teachers were aware of the characteristics of CLT and their perceptions of CLT corresponded with
their reported CLT practice. In Italy, Hawkey 2006, as cited in Chang 2011 found that the teachers stated positive
views about CLT such as “CLT improving learner motivation and interest”, and “CLT improving communicative skills”. In addition, the data from teachers‟
interviews suggested that the teachers were motivated to use pair-work activities to meet the learners‟ communicative needs.
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The Study
1. Type of research
