r.belchamber {a t} latrobe {d o t} edu {d o t} au
La Trobe University Language Centre (Melbourne, Australia)
Introduction
As a teacher trainer working with international groups, I am frequently asked to include an overview of communicative language teaching (CLT), and discuss ways of adapting materials to make lessons more communicative or interactive.Most groups are enthusiastic about the lesson opportunities which CLT offers. However, some also indicated they felt constrained by the system under which they operated, especially those teaching in settings which are particularly exam-focused. In addition, they queried the relevance of CLT to their situation, where many of the students never used English outside the classroom. In contrast, I had shifted across a spectrum of learners, enthusiastically taking CLT along with me as universally appropriate.
Taking my colleagues' concerns on board, I began to question the appropriateness of CLT for some of these diverse learner groups. This was supported by current reading on the topic; the titles of some articles (see the Reference list) made me think I should give up the support for CLT then and there. However, the more I read on the topic, the more I defended the continued suitability of CLT. It really does benefit the students in a variety of ways.