A Critique Paper Presented to the

Graduate Studies
Of Sultan Kudarat State University

In Partial Fulfillment of the Course

Methods of Quantitative Research

By
Bogaoan, Vigil John D.

January 2021

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 Table of Contents

i. Abstract……………………………………………………………………………. 3

ii. Introduction……………………………………………………………………… 4

iii. Literature Gap………………………………………………………………….. 5

iv. Statement of the Problem……………………………………………………. 5

v. Methodology………………………………………………………………….…. 6

vi. Results and Discussion…………………………………………………….… 8

vii. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………... 9

viii. Recommendations…………………………………………………………… 9

ix. Insights from the Research Studies………………………………………. 10

x. References……………………………………………………………………… 11

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 Abstract

This critique paper aims to compare and contrast two related research studies that are
similar in nature. The studies focus on students and teachers’ perceptions of the use of
Communicative Language Teaching. The first study surveys the status of
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) in Japan by examining the beliefs,
perceptions, and attitudes of students from three private universities. On the other hand,
the second study examines the teachers’ perceptions on Communicative Language
Teaching (CLT) in an English as a Second Language (ESL) in the Philippines. The
purpose of this study is to elicit teachers’ reports of their knowledge, thoughts, opinions
and applications related to CLT in teaching English Language Learners (ELL).

Keywords: critique paper, communicative language teaching, comparison, contrast

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Introduction

Communicative language teaching (CLT) refers to both processes and goals in

classroom learning, for which a central theoretical concept is communicative

competence” (Byram, 2004, p. 124). The purpose of learning a new language is to be

able to use that language to communicate, however that may not always be the goal in

all learning environments. Nevertheless if the goal is the former, this ability to

communicate may be in speaking or in writing and relative to environments. An example

of this could be, the ability to communicate in a casual conversation with a native

speaker of the target language or through a text message/social media versus the

ability to communicate in an academic or professional context.

In the Philippines, since the early 1980s, there has been a change in the attitude

towards language teaching from a structured approach, which gives emphasis on the

correct usage of language forms to a communicative approach that stresses the

significant and purposeful use of language. With the progress of communicative

language teaching (CLT), language learning has made considerable improvements not

only with its theoretical understandings but also in practice.

Meanwhile, the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and

Technology (MEXT) introduced communicative language teaching into Japanese junior

and senior high schools in 1989 in order to improve the poor listening and speaking

ability of Japanese students of English (Tanaka, 2009). 

Studies were conducted to determine teacher beliefs and perceptions about the

effectiveness of the new CLT oriented curriculum. Gorsuch (2000) explored factors that

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influenced teachers’ approval of CLT. Results showed that teachers were dissatisfied

with CLT because it was considered incompatible with the exam-oriented atmosphere of

their professional environment.

Literature Gap

It is clear that there is disparity between the CLT conceptual understandings and

actual classroom practices. As Karavas-Doukas (1996) claims, one of the reasons for

this inconsistency may be teachers’ beliefs, because teachers teach according to their

theoretical beliefs. Teachers’ beliefs play a critical role in deciding the kind of teaching

approach to be implemented in the classroom.

Statement of the Problem

The research project that investigated Japanese university EFL learners’

perceptions of the classroom practices they had experienced in their English

classrooms as well as their beliefs about language learning in general. The specific

questions addressed in this research project are:

1. What are the learners’ beliefs about English language learning generally?

2. What are the learners’ perceptions of the classroom practices they have

experienced?

3. What are the learners’ attitudes toward these classroom practices?

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 On the other hand, this research study that investigated teachers’ perception on

CLT in the Philippines will address the following questions:

1. Do the primary school teachers use CLT in the classroom instruction, and to what

degree, if any, do the participants believe that CLT is reflected in their pedagogy?

2. What are the ESL primary school language teachers’ beliefs about CLT?

3. What are the ESL primary school language teachers’ practices in implementing CLT

in the classroom instruction and what if any, are the challenges encountered by the ESL

primary school language teachers in using CLT?

Methodology

Research Design

The first research applied quantitative method, specifically Savignon and Wang’s

(2003) questionnaire, which was designed to gather data from junior and senior high

school students in Taiwan, was adopted and modified for this study. Items were

reworded since the focus of the present study was to gather data from university

students rather than high school students.

The other research study utilized phenomenological case study. A case study

includes a comprehensive description of a setting and its participants, accompanied by

an analysis of data

Research Respondents

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 The first research study have a total of sixty-seven participants answered a

questionnaire (Appendix 1 and see below section on the questionnaire) designed to

reflect their attitudes and views of communicative language teaching, particularly, their

perspectives on classroom practices. Students with varying majors and varying grade

levels from three private universities in the Kansai region in Japan were involved in this

study to maximize the range of student perspectives in order to help answer the

research questions outlined earlier. In selecting the participants, a convenience

sampling was employed as all participants were from universities where the researchers

taught.

On the contrary, the second research, there are 20 English teachers in the

school, all females and all graduates from the universities in the Philippines. Seventeen

out of 20 teachers consented to answer the online survey questionnaire but only 16

teachers answered and completed the said survey. Their teaching experiences ranged

from two to 25 years. Out of the 17 teachers, only eight have a major in English and one

teacher a Master of Arts in Education, with major in Teaching English and Language

Literature. Other teachers have postgraduate degrees, however, not with major in

English.

Research Instruments

The first research adopted Savignon and Wang’s (2003) questionnaire. The

questionnaire has a total of 51 statements, is divided into three parts (Appendix 1).

Parts one and two each consist of eleven statements relating to perceptions of

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classroom learning experiences. Five statements relate to form-focused classroom

practices while another five statements relate to meaning-based classroom practices.

An eleventh statement in both parts one and two addresses attitudes toward error

correction. Part three of the questionnaire consists of 29 statements that concern beliefs

about English language learning in general. 

The second research project, on the other hand, answered an online survey

questionnaire created through Qualtrics. It used the same questionnaire that Manzano

(2015) used in her study.

Results and Discussion

The findings for the first research reveal the students’ strong belief about

practices that engaged them in meaningful language production as opposed to

grammar-based instruction. The data clearly show that English language teaching in

university was perceived to be communication-based, as opposed to grammar-based.

Additionally, all respondents reported having frequently experienced a communicative

approach in their classroom. The findings are consistent with the students’ strong belief

about practices that engaged them in communication-based instruction as opposed to

grammar-based instruction. 

Findings for the second research shows not all teachers responded to the

viewpoints of CLT in the survey. Evidently, their beliefs on the nature of language

appear to be limited. Nonetheless, it is apparent that what they have is knowledge in

alignment with CLT. The findings also suggest that the respondents were able to

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understand some of the viewpoints of language that are well-matched and compatible

with CLT.

Conclusion

First, the major findings reveal that primary English teachers do use CLT in

teaching the English language. However, CLT approach is not predominantly employed

in the classroom instruction.

Second, although the teacher respondents claimed that they use CLT in their

classroom instruction, the results indicate that some of their beliefs are incompatible

with CLT. There is a discrepancy between their beliefs about CLT and actual classroom

practice.

Third, some of the activities implemented in the classroom do not align or agree

with the CLT approach. Some teachers seem to combine grammar-focused activities

and CLT activities.

Finally, the problems identified by the teachers mainly concerned the preparation

of materials, which consumes a lot of their time; students’ inability to take an active role

in their own learning; and the uncontrollable use of native language during classroom

activities.

Recommendations

Pedagogical Implications

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 Apart from using authentic instructional materials, these materials should also be

context-appropriate in terms of usability (Richards, 2005). The design of the learning

and teaching materials by the teachers can be considered authentic in terms of giving

careful consideration of their ESL classroom practice. However, this is done on the level

of the teachers only. There should be a school policy or a national development of

instructional materials for spoken and written English. As the interview data suggest,

participants tend to use CLT based on cultural context rather than “uncritically adopt

Western teaching methods at home” (Chowdhury, 2003, p. 296).

Administrative Implications

Some participants expressed their eagerness to have series of training and more

seminar-workshops on the implementation of CLT in the Philippine context. Through

these workshops, CLT views may be aligned to teachers’ actual practices and the

challenges on the use of CLT will be lessened. As mentioned by some teachers, they

need full support from parents, administrators, policymakers and other stakeholders.

Insights

Teachers must be familiar first with the teaching strategies and principles before

using it. Our principles in teaching must be aligned with the activities that we employ in

classroom instruction.

Classroom instruction should be contextualized, and instructional materials

should be authentic. The materials that we use must be appropriate with their level of

ability.

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 References

Bryman, A. (2004). Social research methods (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press
Tanaka, T. (2009). Communicative language teaching and its cultural appropriateness
in Japan. Doshisha Studies in English, 84, 107-123.

Gorsuch, G. J. (2000). EFL educational policies and educational cultures: Influences on

teachers’ approval of communicative activities. TESOL Quarterly,34(4), 675-709.

Karavas-Doukas, E. (1996). Using attitude scales to investigate teachers’ attitudes to

the communicative approach. ELT Journal, 50 (3), 187–196.

Savignon, S. J., & Wang, C. (2003). Communicative language teaching in EFL contexts:
Learner attitudes and perceptions. International Review of Applied Linguistics in
Language Teaching, 41(3), 223-249.

Manzano, B. A. (2015). English teachers’ beliefs, practices, and problems encountered

in using communicative language teaching (CLT). International Journal of Education
and Research, 3(3), 549–560.

Richards, J. C. (2005). Communicative language teaching today. Singapore: SEAMEO

Regional Language Centre.

Chowdhury, M. R. (2003). International TESOL training and EFL context: The cultural
disillusionment factor. Australian Journal of Education, 47(3), 283–302.

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