Chapter 1 Communicative Approach

易桃良

Nowadays，communicative approach in English teaching is becoming more popular， it is necessary to get familiar.

1.1Definition

The Communicative Approach is an approach to English teaching，which emphasizes that the goal of language learning is communicative competence.Communicative Approach teaching aims at helping learners understand different kinds of functions in targeted language.

The approach emphasizes the process of communication to get information，and using language for social interaction with people.

1.2Advantages

The Communicative Approach is accepted by many applied linguists and teachers as the most effective approach in general use.There are many reasons why the Communicative Approach is so attractive. It can contain wider considerations，handle a wider range of language， provide realistic and motivating language practice.；it uses what learners know about the functions of language .The teacher is treated more as a consultant than as a supervisor.He gives students help.The students will recover their confidence.

Chapter2 Roles of Teachers and Students

Communication competence is being concentrated on more and more in language teaching.Interaction is the core of Communicative Approach.Dealing with the relationship between teachers and students correctly is useful to improve efficiency.

2.1Different Teaching Process

There are two main approaches of English Teaching： Communicative Approach and traditional approach.

Traditional English teaching is dominated by a teacher centered，examination-oriented，grammar and vocabulary-based method. Harvey summarized features of Chinese teaching methods as follows，a concentration on intensive reading；a preoccupation with the careful， painstaking examination of grammatical structure and a corresponding lack of attention to more communicative skills；the use of memorization and rote learning as a basic acquisition technique；a strong emphasis on the correction of mistakes，both written and oral；a view of literature and a reverence for the printed word；the use of translation as both a teaching and a learning strategy.

The traditional teaching methods regard language as a structure made up of phonetics， grammar and vocabulary.From it， the goal of learning a language is to learn the language form. But Communicative Approach insists language is an abstract system used for communication.

Communicative Approach and traditional approach have different teaching process.The former regards language as a tool. The process of English teaching is using skills.So，we should make clear teachers roles.

2.2Teachers Roles

Teachers play important roles.The role of a teacher is imparting language and directing students to have communicative activities .The teacher plays multiple roles--as an organizer，an instructor，a prompter，a participant，and a resource.

In the Communicative Approach，students take greater responsibility for learning and teachers act as participant.

2.3Student-Centered Classes

For Communicative Approach，The focus of classroom should be shifted from the teacher to students.The present teaching is the opposite；the class is mainly teacher-centered..Too much of this will harm the students initiatives and reduce their enthusiasm.

The class should be learners-centered.Communicative Approach makes learners to be themselves and requires the classroom instructor to play a secondary role，trying to keep focus on the students and encouraging students to communicate.The teacher is expected to “lead from behind”.

2.4Goal to Achieve

The ability of listening and speaking and improving the students communicative competence become more important. So the goal of Communicative Approach is to teach the students the English linguistic knowledge，and to cultivate their competence.

Chapter3 Application of Communicative Approach

Communicative Approach has been accepted by English teachers.Their teaching result proves Communicative Approach is an effective teaching method， Creating a Communicative Classroom Atmosphere and Variety of Activities are very important.