Methodology Terms

Communicative approach to teaching suppose using target language in classroom instruction. In this situation some students may simply need gentle encouragement to become invested in this practice; others seek explanation and justification of the value of target language use. “Communicative” learning suggests that the most important student outcome is an enhanced ability to communicate in the target language – to effectively get information and share opinions with other speakers of that language. In order to develop these skills, a great deal of practice in both speaking and listening to the language is necessary. For this reason, it is necessary that teachers themselves understand the importance of using the target language in the classroom, and that they take time to explicitly address students’ learning needs during the course.
Context plays an important role in language instruction. Context activates the prediction of word meaning in two ways: according to the logic of thought and by language system. It is recognized as one of the most important factors of guessing. Psychologists studies [L. Sprenger-Charolles] show a special significance of the facilitative effect of context for inexperienced readers, because of the lack of skill of a single word identification.
A generative situation which the teacher sets up in the lesson in order to “generate” several example sentences of a structure has certain advantages. First of all it permits presentation of a wide range of language items. Then the situation serves as a mean of contextualising the language and this helps clarify its meaning. At the same time the generated examples provide the learners with data for induction of the rules of form. Students can be involved in the development of the presentation as well as in solving the grammar point: this makes it more vivid than a traditional grammar explanation. Moreover, the situation, if well chosen, is likely to be more memorable than a simple explanation. On the...