The communicative approach in language teaching

The communicative approach in language teaching is based on a set of theoretical linguistic principles that view the function of language in three aspects

• Functional Aspect: Language is seen as a means for individuals to succeed in meeting their various needs.
• Social and Cultural Aspect: Language is perceived as a means for communication with others and integration into society.
• Affective Aspect: Language is regarded as a means for interaction and the establishment of emotional relationships with others.
• These three aspects converge in one direction, viewing language as a communicative process between sender and receiver, which cannot be successful without acquiring communication skills, including receptive skills (listening and reading) and productive skills (speaking and writing.(

This approach benefits from the functional theory, which considers the goal of language learning to be the ability to perform its basic function: communication among members of society. Thus, proponents of this theory emphasize the importance of the semantic and communicative dimensions rather than the grammatical dimension. The communicative approach to language learning and teaching is consistent with this theory.

Additionally, it aligns with the ideas of proponents of the interactional theory, who view language as a means to achieve personal relationships between individuals and to conduct transactions between them, focusing on patterns of movement during dialogue and interaction.

The procedures of the communicative approach in language teaching include the following steps and stages:

Introducing a brief dialogue or a number of short dialogues, preceded by motivating learners by connecting the situations in the dialogues to their potential communication experiences, discussing the function, situation, people, roles, and the degree of formality required by the situation and role.

Oral practice of each phrase in the dialogue to be presented that day, followed by group repetition, small group practice, and individual practice, with the teacher modeling the target language and the same procedure applying to mini-dialogues.

Asking and answering questions based on the topics of the dialogues and situations themselves (information questions or yes/no questions.(

Asking and answering questions related to learners' own experiences but revolving around the topic of the dialogue.

Studying one of the basic communicative expressions in the dialogue or one of the structures representing the function being studied, with the teacher providing additional examples of communicative use of the expression or structure, using familiar words and clear phrases or dialogues and using pictures, simple real objects, or acting to illustrate the meaning of the expression or structure.

Discovering the generalizations or rules behind the functional expression or structure, including at least four points: its oral or written forms, the elements it consists of (e.g., "How about + verb + Ing), the position of the phrase in the sentence, and its formality level. For the structure, its grammatical function and meaning.

Oral recognition and interpretive activities (two to five activities, depending on the level of students and tasks, and the like(

Oral production activities, ranging from directed activities to those more open-ended.

Writing dialogues, short dialogues, or models if they are not in the textbook.

Reading samples of written homework, if any.

Evaluating teaching (oral only), such as: "How do you ask a friend to...?" and "How do you ask me to...?"

Considering that this approach, in addition to the oral-aural approach, has become the predominant methods in language teaching, whether for first or second languages, a comparison will be made between the two methods to shed more light on them and the points each of them focuses on.