Definition: The Communicative Approach (CA, from now on), is an approach to language teaching which is based on the premise that the successful learning process lies on the emphasis of communication practice. According to its theoretical definition, the students must know the rules of language usage and more than this must be able to use the language. Thus, the goal is to have one’s students become communicatively competent, being able to manage the process of negotiating meaning with their interlocutors. Language functions are emphasized over form.
Comment: Since the aim of the majority of the L2 students is to learn how to communicate using this language, I believe the communicative approach is the most appropriate way to reach this goal. There is no way to learn how to communicate without practicing it. It reinforces that communication is not only made of the memorized chunks, but one has to know how to negotiate meaning with one’s interlocutor: it is important to remember that the same form will not always carry the same meaning, for instance.
References:
NAGARAJ, Geetha. English Language Teaching: Approaches-Methods-Techniques, Orient Longman, Hyderabad, 2004
LARSEN-FREEMAN, Dianne. Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986.
More Sources:
Luke Meddings’ “Throw away your textbooks!”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2004/mar/26/tefl.lukemeddings
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