TOPIC 14

METHODS AND TECHNIQUES THAT FOCUS ON THE ACQUISITION OF COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCES.

SPECIFIC METHODOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS FOR TEACHING ENGLISH.

In order to develop this topic we are going to start talking about the importance of English teaching
nowadays as well as its main aim. After that, we will explain the most common teaching methods that are
applied nowadays, all of them focused on achieving communicative competence. Then, we will continue
talking about the main current methodological ideas for teaching English. To finish up, we will do a
conclusion about all the aspects concerning this topic and we will mention the current law of education, as
well as the bibliography and webs consulted.

First of all, the current background of the English Language will be explained. Nowadays, with the
globalization, it has become the main language for international communication and it is considered the
lingua franca of the 21st century. For that reason, foreign language teaching (FLT) has gained a lot of
importance lately, until the point that we can consider it a social and educative necessity for modern
society and most of all among the European Community countries. That is why linguistic sciences and
their different disciplines try to explain the process of foreign language learning and acquisition through the
time. They try to improve old methods that are not considered successful, focusing now on
communication and meaningful learning. That is the reason why the Organic Law for the Improvement of
the educational quality, BOE of 10th December 2013, states that the main goal of teaching English as a
foreign language must be communication. As teachers we must teach communication by promoting the
development of the four skills in an integrated way, but focusing first in the oral part of the language, as
Krashen’s methodology of the Natural Approach states, in order to let the students achieve communicative
competence. This competence is a term that was first introduced by Hymes (1966) and later developed by
Canale and Swain (1980), and it is made up of four subcompetences, even though a fifth one is sometimes
added. It implies being able to use the English language with certain fluency and accuracy in order to
accomplish different functions like giving or receiving information, express feelings and socialize with
different speakers.

And due to the importance of focusing our teaching in communication, we will define this concept.
Communication is the process of exchanging information and it involves participants that take place
conscious or unconsciously in it. It is essential among all living beings of every kind to survive. However,
humans are the only ones who dominate a great variety of communication techniques including sound,
writing or body language, like gestures or facial expressions. That is why it can be verbal and nonverbal.
Human languages are composed by a system of sounds, words and sentences and they are not static, that
means that they can change through time, creating new words to describe new situations or objects
responding to new social, cultural and environmental needs.

1. STUDY OF LANGUAGES BACKGROUND

Linguistics is the science that studies communication and it was initiated in 1916 by Saussure who
established the starting point of structuralism and who is considered the father of linguistics. He defined
the terms language (parole), the humans’ everyday speech, and a language (langue), the different
languages that exist or even more specific languages such as scientific language or others.
On the other hand, Bloomfield was another important linguist who developed his own version of
structuralism in America. His main works are dated between 1930 and 1940, being his book Language
(1933) the most influential one.

And finally, a different point of view was given by Chomsky, the world’s most famous linguist to date, who
declined the previous theories and initiated the cognitive science establishing that humans have an innate
capability to produce language that is genetically transmitted, based in his theories of biolinguistics.

Languages are divided into four skills, and they can be classified according to means: oral (listening and
speaking) and written (reading and writing); or according to the participant’s activity: productive (speaking
and writing) and receptive (listening and reading). And even though new teaching theories, like
structuralism give more importance to the oral skills, we need the four of them to be able to communicate
in the foreign language. And talking about methodologies, it is important to know that the pedagogical
orientations about English teaching have changed through the years because they have been influenced by
some sciences like:

Psycholinguistics, which analyzes how human brain works and the process of language acquisition. One of
the main linguists associated to this science is the just mention Chomsky.
Sociolinguistics, which studies how society can influence language. Cultural norms, expectations, social
status or the context are facts that can affect the way we use the language.
Linguistic anthropology, a branch of anthropology which studies how languages influence social life. It
explores how language shapes communication, forms social identity and group membership, organizes
cultural beliefs and ideologies, and becomes a common cultural representation of natural territories.

Talking about methodologies, it is important to know that the pedagogical orientations about English
teaching have changed through the years and are still changing nowadays, since there is not a perfect
method. In the following we are going to describe the basic principles and procedures of the most known
methods and approaches of TEFL, describing their main aims as well as the roles for teachers and
students in each one of them.

Furthermore, as teachers we must distinguish between the following concepts:

Approach. This is the theory, certain assumptions about language learning and teaching.
Method. This is an overall plan to put in practice the theory, the selected approach.
Technique. This is the implementation, what is done in the classroom.
1. METHODS AND TECHNIQUES THAT FOCUS ON THE ACQUISITION OF COMMUNICATIVE
COMPETENCE

COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH (also called COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING)

It was developed by Robert Langs, in the early 1970’s. It was created as a response to the general
dissatisfaction of linguists and educators with the previous theories in which there were a lack of
communication. There was a feeling that the students were not learning real language in a useful way,
since they did not know how to communicate using the foreign language.

It was from 1970, that the use of authentic language in the classroom became quite popular. For that
reason, in the following years, the communicative approach was adapted to all levels. This method
presents the language in a context, using real-life situations and real material to put in practice and learn
the target language. It has a main purpose which is that the students achieve Communicative Competence,
which means that they see the foreign language as a mean of communication, a tool to deal with daily
situations. Therefore, the focus is on communication and meaning rather than accuracy and mistakes do
not play an important role.

A great variety of activities, materials and kinds of groupings are used in the sessions to keep students’
motivation towards their learning at a high level. Songs and games are used to encourage learners to
produce the language and culture and authentic material is introduced as an essential part of the target
language learning. Sessions are based on topics related to the students’ likes and interests, generating the
desire to communicate in meaningful ways. The teacher’s role is as a facilitator and monitor rather than
leader. This methodology is also related to the theory of Cognitivism by Chomsky, that focus on language
acquisition rather than learning.

NATURAL APPROACH
This methodology was created by Tracy Terrell, a teacher from California University and deeply developed
later with the help of Stephen Krashen in the early 1980’s. It is based on Krashen’s theories about second
language acquisition. It promotes the naturalistic language acquisition in a classroom setting, applying the
natural sequence that children followed for the acquisition of the four language skills in their mother
tongue to the foreign language. It emphasizes communication and meaning and the importance of
grammar decreases. This approach also shares the idea that it is necessary to respect children’s Silent
Period, since they need to be relaxed and feel confident to produce the language without giving importance
to mistakes.

The most important principles of this theory are the concept of unconscious language acquisition instead
of conscious language learning; and the high amount of input the student must be exposed to, in order for
them to be able to produce. This input must follow Krashen’s hypothesis of comprehensible input (i+1),
being “i” the students’ current level of competence in the foreign language and “i+1” the next step, that is
slightly beyond students’ current level.

To carry out this methodology in the classroom, different communicative activities must be used, such as
games, role-plays, telephone conversation, etc. It has three generic stages:
1. Preproduction: developing listening skills.
2. Early production: students start producing the language with many errors.
3. Extending production: promoting fluency through a variety of activities.

CLIL (CONTENT AND LANGUAGE INTEGRATED LEARNING)

This new tendency aims to make the students learn a non linguistic subject o some concepts of it using the
foreign language, or in other words, combining two subjects. It is a very well recognized method by the
European Commission as a way to do “language immersion”. This approach has two aims, learning
contents and learning the foreign language. At the beginning it can be difficult for the students to get used
to the challenges of this methodology, even though their progress can be improved in a short period of time
in both subjects, developing skills that prepare them for the globalized world. It increases students’
motivation towards learning foreign languages, because they learn a more extensive and varied vocabulary
while they improve their proficiency in the target language.

A successful CLIL lesson requires teacher’s previous training and the combination of certain elements:
contents, communication, cognition and culture. However we should always keep in mind that the content
subject must be always the main focus, adapting it to the students’ ability to use the target language.

COOPERATIVE LEARNING
Cooperative learning is an educational approach which aims to transform classroom activities into
academic and social learning experiences. It is not merely arranging students into groups, but to create
mix-ability groups of work in order to create positive interdependence and let the students learn from each
other. Students must work in groups to complete tasks collectively toward common academic goals.
Unlike individual learning, which can be competitive, students learning cooperatively counting on other's
resources and skills (asking one another for information, evaluating one another's ideas, monitoring one
another's work, taking into account other’s points of view, etc.). The encouragement, support, and approval
of peers build motivation and make learning an enjoyable experience; and this helps them develop positive
relationships, good social skills and techniques of team work, which are very valuable aspects for their
future careers.
Furthermore, the teacher's role changes from giving information to facilitating students' learning. Everyone
succeeds when the group succeeds. Ross and Smyth (1995) describe successful cooperative learning
tasks as intellectually demanding, creative, open-ended, and involve higher order thinking
tasks. Cooperative learning has also been linked to increased levels of student motivation and satisfaction.
Five essential elements are identified for the successful incorporation of cooperative learning in the
classroom:

• Positive interdependence.
• Individual and group accountability.
• Promotive interaction (face to face).
• Teaching the students the required interpersonal and small group skills.
• Group processing.
According to Johnson and Johnson's meta-analysis, students in cooperative learning settings compared to
those in individualistic or competitive learning settings, achieve more, reason better, gain
higher self-esteem, like classmates and the learning tasks more and have more perceived social support.

LEARNER CENTEREDNESS
This approach comes from constructivist theories and its main aim is that the students take responsibility
for their own learning, changing the traditional role of the teacher and making the students the main
characters of the teaching-learning process. They take an active part and decide on what to learn and how
to learn it, increasing their motivation towards the language. In this way, they become explorers and
develop curiosity to solve real world problems and teachers become guides to orientate and help them
during the process. This methodology involves collaboration between the students and guarantees a
meaningful and lifelong learning. Besides, technology allows us to create a personalized learning with a
wide variety of opportunities to guide the process and assess the results.

TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE

It is a language teaching method developed by James Asher as a result of the observation of young
children interacting with their parents when learning their first language. In this interaction there is often a
physical response to what the parents say. So, this technique is based on the combination of language and
physical movements, allowing the students assimilate the information at a rapid rate and leading to a high
degree of motivation using the kinaesthetic sensory system.

This listening and responding technique serves two main purposes: the quickly recognition of meaning in
the target language and the passively acquisition of the language structures. It is a valuable way to learn
vocabulary, expression and phrasal verbs. With this technique grammar is taught inductively. TPR is often
used alongside other methods and techniques. It is popular with beginners and young learners, although it
can be used with students of all levels and all age groups. On the other side, students are not forced to
speak; they will start to speak when they feel comfortable and confident enough to do it, respecting their
Silent Period.

It has numerous advantages: it is fun and students enjoy it, it helps students remember phrases or words,
it is good for kinaesthetic learners, it does not require a lot of preparation, between many other positive
aspects.

2. SPECIFIC METHODOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS FOR TEACHING ENGLISH

Traditionally, when learning a foreign language, the oral part was considered less important than the written
one. But, since 1970, new pedagogic orientations give priority to oral language with the aim to speak well
and listen comprehensibly, as it is underlined in article 19 of the Organic Law for the Improvement of the
educational quality, BOE of 10 December 2013 (LOMCE). That is because human language is mainly oral
and from an historic point of view written language is secondary. And if they first acquire the oral part of
the language they will be following the same steps as they did with their mother tongue, as the Natural
Approach establishes.

This refers to an education based in the Communicative Approach, where the students learn the language
by having to use it as an instrument to deal with real communicative situations related to their needs and
interests. When learners are involved in real communication, their innate strategies for language
acquisition will be used, and this will allow them to learn to use the language. Besides, as teachers, we
must keep in mind that oral language is fundamental for the later acquisition of written language and that
mistakes in oral communication will influence written expression.

For those reasons, teaching in the foreign language classroom must be focused on Communicative
Competence, which has to be progressively developed in the classroom by integrating receptive and
productive skills. We need to make our students achieve the ability to communicate effectively, which
implies that a learner is able to make him/herself understood and that he/she avoids confusion in the
message. To accomplish that, we can help ourselves of a great variety of activities and resources in our
sessions in order to keep students’ motivation towards the language at a high level. Some examples can
be the use of realia, visual support, new technologies, different kinds of interactions, etc. As a result, there
may be more emphasis on the skills that on the system, lessons will be learner centered and students will
acquire the language successfully.

As we said before, communicative competence is a concept that consists of five sub-competences. They
are related to linguistic and pragmatic aspects of the language and they are the following:
Linguistic competence is knowing how to use grammar, syntax and vocabulary of a language.
Sociolinguistic competence is knowing how to use language appropriately, given the setting, the topic and
the relationship among people.
Discourse competence is knowing how to interpret the content and how to construct the language to make
up a coherent whole.
Strategic competence is knowing how to recognize and repair communication breakdowns, to work around
gaps in one’s knowledge.
Socio-cultural competence is the ability to get familiar with the social and cultural context in which the
foreign language is spoken in order to understand in depth some aspects of it and to feel integrated in the
language community.
Multiple intelligences, comprehensible input i+1, Silent Period, relaxed atmosphere.

3. OTHER ASPECTS CONCERNING METHODOLOGY

The four skills can be classified according to means: oral (listening and speaking) and written (reading and
writing); or according to the participant’s activity: productive (speaking and writing) and receptive (listening
and reading).

In the classroom it is recommendable to work the four skills in this order: listening, speaking, reading and
writing, because it is the same order as in the natural process of any language acquisition. And it is also
positive that our students practice the four skills in every English session in an integrated way, working first
in the oral ones and continuing later on with the written, since oral language is fundamental for the later
acquisition of written language and that mistakes in oral communication will influence written expression.
There are some important aspects to take into account in our teaching:

The input goes before the output. That means that the students must work first the receptive skills to be
able then, to develop the productive ones. And it is important when learning a foreign language that the
students are exposed to as much input as possible, following Krashen’s hypothesis of comprehensible
input i+1, being “i” the students’ current level of competence in the foreign language and “i+1” the next
step, that is slightly beyond students’ current level.
Realism. Students learn the language by having to use it in a meaningful way, as an instrument to deal with
real communicative situations related to their needs and interests. When learners are involved in real
communication, their innate strategies for language acquisition will develop, allowing them to learn to use
the language, as Chomsky states in his cognitive theories of Generative Grammar and LAD (Language
Acquisition Device).

Variety. It is also important that we provide the students a great variety of activities in the classroom,
related to interesting topics connected to our students likes in order to keep their motivation at a high level.
Including realia in our sessions is also a positive factor since students love it and it will help us presenting
the language in a meaningful way. Besides, with different kinds of activities we will be attending the
different learning styles that we can have in class, according to Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences.

Confidence, we must create a positive atmosphere in class, encouraging our students to express
themselves and respecting their possible initial phase of Silent Period, another Krashen’s hypothesis by
which we should not expect young learners to produce the language actively during a period of adaptation
to the new language, since they could feel ashamed, scared or simply not ready to produce the language.
Instead, we must concentrate in comprehension rather than production, until the students feel confident
enough to start using the language. In any case, as teachers, it is crucial to make them a relaxed
atmosphere in the classroom, without any pressure and not giving too much importance to possible
mistakes.

As foreign language teachers we need to bear in mind that culture is an essential part of a language, After
all, language is a verbal expression of culture. Besides, it can be a great tool to break with routine in the
classroom, making our sessions interesting and keeping students’ motivation at a high level. Through
culture we can present the language in a meaningful way making of our classes an educational experience.
By learning relevant facts and aspects of the English speaking countries the students will be developing
socio cultural competence; children will become aware of the reality of these territories, learn the main
costumes and traditions and how people life, becoming a part of the language community.

4. CONCLUSION
To conclude this topic we should keep in mind the changes that foreign language teaching has experienced
since its beginning and is still suffering. Through the years and based in the previous methods and its
results, different approaches and methodologies have been developed, always trying to improve the old
ones, since it was considered that there was a lack of communication.

And while these theories were been created, a new goal for foreign language teaching was established and
it has been the same until the date. This goal is established by the current law and it consists in
communication, or in other words, in achieving communicative competence as we mentioned previously.

As teachers, we can always take into account the guidelines offered by each Curriculum. However, to
reach this goal we do not have to decide on just one methodology, since each one of them will have its
advantages and disadvantages. But, in order to accomplish a successful teaching, we can choose the
proper methodology and techniques after analyzing our students and the teaching context. Furthermore,
we must always be ready to change methods during the process if we consider that we are not getting the
desired effects.

5. BIBLIOGRAPHY.
The books and webs consulted to develop this topic have been:
· Bloomfield, Leonard. “Language”, London: Allen&Unwin, 1933 (British Edition, 1935)
· Canale, M. & Swain, M. “Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to second language teaching
and testing”. Applied Linguistics 1, 1-47. 1980.
· Hymes, D. “On communicative Competence”. In: Pride, J.B. and Holmes, J. (eds.) Sociolinguistics.
Penguin.
· Harmer, J. “The practice of English Language Teaching”. Longman. Burnt Mill, 1983. 3rd edition. 2001.
· Krashen, S. “Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning”. 1981

WEBSITES
· http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk
· http://www.britishcouncil.es
· http://www.learnenglish.org.uk