Communicative Language Teaching in Senior High School English Lessons: A Case Study of Begoro Presec

Abstract

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) remains one of the most influential approaches to second language instruction because of its emphasis on communicative competence. (Larson & Freeman, 1986; Ellis, 1996). The paper examines the use of CLT Techniques in English as a Second Language lessons and, by doing so, provides a critical evaluation of the lessons. It examined the existence of information gap in lesson activities, the existence of alternative for a choice of information in lesson activities and the extent to which feedback is given in lesson activities. This research used qualitative approach, collecting data through observation and interview, and analyzing it. The findings indicate that the CLT approach to language pedagogy has dominated language instruction at the SHS level, as all the lessons sampled in this paper used techniques from this approach. It was specifically found that all the lessons had alternatives for which students had to make a choice, feedback ran through all the lessons, and information gaps existed in all the lessons, which made these lessons gain the characteristic of CLT. It was also found that many of the teachers do not have knowledge of the theoretical basis of the techniques they use. It is therefore recommended that teachers upgrade their knowledge of approaches and techniques of teaching language, especially Communicative Language Teaching, to enable them to make the best of these approaches and techniques.