LEARNER-CENTERED/COMMUNICATIVE

APPROACHES: MAKING DECISIONS

ABOUT TECHNOLOGY CHOICES
Language Teaching with Technology: Module 2
 The Emergence of
Communicative Approach
Two sources of influence that shape LT:
◦ external increasing need; increasing
learners
◦ internal new understanding; paradigm
shift

Response to former practices in the

field of English language pedagogy
 The Emergence of
Communicative Approach
Drawn on the scholars works in:
• British functional linguistics (e.g., John Firth)

• American sociolinguistics (e.g., John Gumperz)

• Philosophy (e.g., John L. Austin)

Two versions of communicative approach

Weak: use English for communication

Strong: learn English
through communication
 Communicative Language Teaching
Teacher’s Role:
Characteristics of CLT: Learner’s Role:
• facilitator/monitor
• pair & group work • cooperative
• independent participant
• flexibility • responsible for learning
• researcher
• authentic language different • active
• learner
linguistic forms for one • listening to peers
• counselor
function

• informal assessment

• fossilization
Functionalism

Constructivism

Communicative Approach
 Constructivism
Core Features:
1) knowledge construction
• interpret new information
• prior experiences
2) cooperative learning
• sharing
• social interaction
3) self-regulation
• self-observation
• self-assessment
4) using real-world problems
• critical thinking skills
Teacher-centered vs. Learner-centered
 Group Discussion
In your breakout rooms, discuss how the items below are viewed from constructivist and
communicative standpoints:

(1) Language
• What is Language? OR

• Why do we use language?

(2) Learning
• When do we say that someone has learned something? OR

• How does learning take place?

(3) Language Learning

• How do people learn a language?
 Classroom Applications
Listening Reading and Writing
* online reading
*voice over internet
* email and chat
protocol * blogs and wikis * social networking
*audio-recording * course management
systems
*voice
* plagiarism
recognition

*presentation tools
 Classroom Applications
Grammar and Vocabulary Cultural and Cross-cultural Skills
* grammar checkers * corpora
* use of drills * online/electronic dictionary
 A Brief Look at Literature
ACMC SCMC
Pros Cons Pros Cons
study anytime complex threads of motivation to short sentences
and anywhere posts communicate in L2
more equal participation

study at one’s lack of social cues inflexibility in

own pace + effect on shy students
time
keeping personal
information

reflective hesitate to post when

learning and lacking confidence in negotiation of meaning high-
grammatical the validity of ideas proficiency
feedback for repairing students speak
accuracy lexical and syntactic more
errors
 ACMC or SCMC? (Yamada, 2009)
plain text chat text chat with image

S11: I think that we need to think about the ability of Comment 1: When I made a grammatical error,
communication. my partner could understand my desired meaning.
S12: How do you think? So I felt relaxed, even when I made a mistake.

S11: Yes, that is the most important. I think the last one is Comment 2: I could not use gestures with voice
good about the ability of communication. explanation in text chat with images, in order to
S12: Why do you think so? transfer my desired meaning.

S11: I’m sorry. I am so slow to type words. She can Comment 3: I felt uncomfortable when the text
speak the language of that country. was mixed with the image. I prefer to speak.
S12: OK. No problem. Yes, I agree with you
 ACMC or SCMC? (Yamada, 2009)
videoconferencing audioconferencing

S7: Yes. Horiike is the best one for this work. Comment 1: I felt that it was difficult to speak with only
S8: Hai (‘‘yes” in Japanese) (with laughing) voice. When I could not imagine suitable words, I wanted
S7: His life and ability is very good. And the. . . to transfer my desired meaning with gesture.
S8: (interrupting) Yeah (nodding)
Comment 2: I could not find an opportunity to start
S7: And he can go to work not take long time.
communication, because I could not see my partner’s non-
S8: Uhnnn (with nodding), is our choice Miss Horiike
(cocking inclining head)? (S8 mistook of the sex of the verbal response, which would have enabled us to
character ‘‘Mr. Horiike” in the task)
understand the timing to start communication.
S7: Yes.
S8: Yeah. (with laughing) Comment 3: I could not voice my thoughts and feelings

S7: (laughing) without seeing my partner’s image.

 Reflection: A Final Quote
“ One of the most demanding tasks … is that of making proper technological
choices …technology is not neutral. The notion that technology can be good or bad
depending how it is used has validity, but only withing a very limited context:
clearly, a knife can be used to kill or to cut bread. But at a more fundamental level,
technology carries with it an ideology and pronounces on the way individual and
social life should be organized. Technological choice … is itself an expression of
values …” (Arbab, 2000, pp. 217-219)
List of References
◦ Arbab, F. (2000). Promoting a Discourse on Science, Religion, and Development. In S. Harper (Ed.), The
Lab, the Temple, and the Market: Reflections at the Intersection of Science, Religion, and Development
(pp. 149-237). IDRC.
◦ Celce-Murcia, M., Brinton, D. M. & Snow, M. A. (2014). Teaching English as a Second or Foreign
Language (4th ed.). Heinle Cengage Learning.
◦ Larsen-Freeman, D. & Anderson, M. (2015). Techniques & Principles in Language Teaching (3rd ed.).
Oxford
◦ Richards, J. C. & Rodgers, T. S. (2014). Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching (3rd ed.).
Cambridge.
◦ Scheurs, J. & Dumbraveanu, R. (2014). A shift from teacher centered to learner centered approach.
International Journal of Engineering Pedagogy, 4(3), 31-37.
◦ Yamada, M. (2009). the relationship between media, learners’ perception of social presence, and output
in communicative learning using. Computers & Education, 52(2009), 820-833.