COMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING (CLT)

CLT: INTRODUCTION

 

One of an optional proper method to teach English in academic setting is Communicative Language Teaching, which is commonly abbreviated to CLT. This is an approach commonly used  to teach a foreign language. Finocchiaro and Brumfit (1983) defined that Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is a teaching approach in which language is taught in communicative way. Besides, Hossen (2008), as cited by Sari (2014), stated that CLT is a teaching approach that focuses on the use of language rather than the structure of language learnt. Referencing to the statements mentioned, CLT concerns with the way a language is used in term of communication instead of the way a language is used grammatically correct.

Instead, Richards (2016) pointed out Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) as a set of principles concerning with the aims of language teaching; it involves the way the learners learn a language, the classroom activities’ concept that is properly facilitating learning process, and the teachers as well as learners’ roles in the classroom. By means the language teaching aim, the students are required to understand the grammar of language learnt as well as to construct the building blocks of sentences: part of speech, tenses, phrases, clauses, and sentence patterns. In accordance with Richard’s discussion related to CLT, the process of language learning refers to the process of mechanical habit formation by which the students are memorizing dialogs regarding the language learnt as the habit to form some sentences. In this process, the students are putted into pair work that deals with such concept as role-play as the learning activity while getting monitored by teacher.

All in all, Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) requires the teacher to monitor the language learning process as well as to provide the students a topic to talk about in a way they want based on their capability of using English as a language learnt in term of academic setting. To be noted, however, the teacher is supposed to put the students in pair work in order to achieve the goal of the language learning. Breshneh (2014), revealed a statement regarding the use of Communicative Language Teaching, as quoted “in a CLT class, mastering speech takes precedence over writing”. The students, at last, are expected to produce English grammatically correct in either speaking skill or writing skill as the aim of learning process by using Communicative Language Teaching.

ESENTIAL OF USING MEDIA IN CLT

One of determiners of the goal achievement in learning foreign language is a media provided during the learning process. Media absolutely takes turn on the effectiveness of foreign language learning by using Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach. Richards (2006) pointed out media as one of many different ways to learn English. Moreover, Raharjo (2012) stated that media helps the teacher to motivate students by involving real life into the classroom. Due to the CLT approach, as mentioned on the prior discussion, deals with the pair work and group work of students in which they are required to actively communicate each other, the teacher should be providing an interesting media so that it is able to attract the motivation of students as well as to broad their thought and idea in order to learn to speak English as a learning process.

Suppose that the entire students are divided into some small groups or into pairs, and they are asked to play a role by replacing the situation of the class into the real life situation. The teacher, thus, gives a topic to discuss for each group by providing students some media in order to create their sense of communicative use of language learnt. By using a picture, for instance, the teacher gives students a couple of pictures that have certain differences to be identified, in which the students are required to find some differences between those both pictures. After identifying the pictures, the teacher asks the students to let the group mate know about what the student as an identifier has found. That such media as picture will be motivating the students to learn English as well as to actively communicate to other students while being monitored by teacher to watch over the effectiveness of class.

Above all, the use of media in the classroom is unconsciously able to extend the students’ thought as well as to bring up the students’ ideas to be finally spoken up. The media, however, needs to be properly chosen due to the fact that it has a crucial role to determine the success of language learning. Afterward, the achievement of the goal in learning foreign language by using Communicative Language Teaching approach leans on the media used during the learning process, in which the media gives a hand to the teacher so that the students get motivated to learn English as a foreign language by using Communicative Language Teaching method or approach.

REFRENCES

Finocchiaro, M., & Brumfit, C. 1983. The functional-notional approach: From     theory to practice. New York: Oxford University Press.

Hosseini Breshneh, Ashraf. 2014. Communicative Language Teaching:      Characteristics and Principles. Iran: Department of Foreign Language, Shiraz  Branch, Islamic Azad University. Accessed on 9^th November 2016. Available        at http://www.ijllalw.org/finalversion6435.pdf.

Raharjo, Teguh. 2012. Summary Of The Use of Media In Language Teaching        (Written by: Donna M. Brinton). Accessed on 10^th November 2016. Available          at http://smp2wlingi-start-english.co.id/2012/07/summary-of-use-media-in language.html.

Richards, Jack C. 2006. Communicative Language Teaching Today. Cambridge:   Cambridge University Press.

Sari, Ratna and Kurniasih, Esti. 2014. The Use of  Communicative Language         Teaching (CLT) Approach To Teach Speaking Recount Text To Eight   Grade Students of SMPN 2 Jombang. Surabaya: Surabaya State                  University.

Monday, May 18, 2020