The importance of the acquisition of the foreign language can hardly be exaggerated. The first reports about the teachers of foreign languages were found among the letters of Alexander the Great, who was himself educated by one of the most prominent linguists of the Ancient times. Aristotle, while teaching Alexander the basics of the Latin and Eastern languages told the one, who knows the language, knows the people.
A prominent fighter for independence of the South Africa Republic Nelson Mandela ones said that “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language that goes to his heart”. The overwhelming majority of the scientific and business luminaries of both the modern and the ancient worlds do seem to be totally convinced by this statement.
Having realized the importance of the foreign language mastering, the humankind has always aspired to invent most effective and time-saving method of mastering the language. The shortest way to it, the so-called audio-lingual method was elaborated many years ago, and the essence of this method lies in the ability of the human being to imitate the sounds and the actions of his brothers. The students mastering either Eastern or Western Latin languages always followed the same approach: reading, listening, drilling of the vocabulary and again the reading.
With the advent of the modern age various international linguistic institutions charged by the British Council and the Oxford Society for the Development of Foreign Languages have created the so-called communicative language approach — the system which is aimed to simplify the process of the language acquisition and to remove the difficulties that accompany the process of linguistic mastering.
Although the scientific community wholeheartedly accepted the method and is reported to be particularly exhilarated by the implementation of this method, the practice firmly indicates that serious problems of implementation still exist. The aim of this essay is to outline what major problems are empirically encountered by the scholarly community while educating future linguists as well as those, for whom English or other foreign language is the working tool.
- Literature Review
For the purposes of this essay, the following research studies have been extensively applied. First and foremost, “Teaching in Yemeni EFL classroom: Embraced or merely lip-serviced?” composed by the cooperation of Rula Fahimi, Bateineb Samiha Saif Thabet. This outstating and informative article reveal the main problems , with witch the teachers of the English language daily encounter in the Eastern countries while educating their students, detecting and accentuating the major shortcomings of the communicative language approach. In particular, these scholars reviewed the influence exercised by these imperfections of the approach to the implementation of the one.
The second no less valuable source for this research is “the Effect in an EFL Context: Learners Attitude and Perceived Implementation” by Sahai M. Assfeh, Faisal M. Kwaileh, Yosel M. Al Shabowl and Sabri M. Alshbowl. This research provides a detailed scientific background on what is expected from the teachers who preach the EFL approach, and what is virtually conducted by them, closely analyzing and accentuating the main problems with the approach implementation. The main scientific and applicable value of this study is the fact that it does not merely analyze the scope of the problem, but also detects the roots which endanger the problems, covering the descriptive aspects of the ones superficially only. This research services as one of the primary sources for this essay.
No less important is “The effect of the Teachers Attitude About Communicative Language Teaching on Practice: Do they Practice What they Preach?”. This research guidance, composed by the outstanding and globally acknowledged Arabic scholars Bahram Mowlai and Ali Rahimi recognizes and evaluates the importance of the discussed method. Although the benefits of the method in question are unequivocally acknowledged by the scholars, the practical implementation of the one in the Arabic-spoken countries is extensively challenged by them. This research papers alongside with the rest if the sources accentuated the practical problems which are faced by the teachers of English as a foreign language and specifies how their perception of the approach deviates from the practical implementation of the approach.
Another valuable scientific base used for the purposes of this paper is the “Two Dimensions of teacher Knowledge: The Case of Communicative Language Teaching” composed by Devod Woods and Hamid Cakir, who are both the scholars and the linguistic professors. The study amplifies what is understood by the practicing teachers under the term Communicative Language Approach, how the peculiarities of this approach are well-perceived by them and with what postulates of this modern approach the followers of the traditional audio-lingual school agree. Traditionally, the second section of this study closely analyzed the reasons which impede the effective implementation of the approach into the contemporary system of the eastern linguistic schools and the factors which cause these impediments are closely analyzed by the authors, with an accent made on the insufficient scientific and empirical background of the educators themselves.
- The problems of the Implementation
The benefits of the communicative language approach are obvious for both the professional and the laymen. First and foremost, under the obsolete audio lingual method the students are required to proceed with their academic linguistic studies and numerous discomforting side effects accompany their educational process. They are required to undergo innumerable vocabulary drilling, to memorize thousands of words, always to be present in the classroom and exercise a significant number of homework.
In contrast to the outdated XIX century audio-lingual method of the language acquisition, the more contemporary and scientifically justified communicative language approach gives more liberty to the participants of the educational process. In particular, both the teacher and the student are almost free to choose the format of the lessons, drills are no longer necessary for the needs of the process and excessively huge homework tasks have been absolutely replaced by the intensive intercourse between the student and the professor in the classroom, when the thinking and memorizing mental capabilities of the student are developed by the professors. In other words, the students are motivated to think and therefore to master the language by means of gradual implementing the linguistic techniques opposing to the blatant memorization of the vocabulary and the grammar rules. Sometimes, the practice even justifies the dominance of the fluency over the accuracy for the purposes of the educational process.
However, although the majorities of the professors accepts this notion and are fully consonant with the opinion that this very approach is of the greatest scientific and practical value, the practice obstinately and steadily indicates that the provisions of the approach are either disregarded or merely forgotten by the professors in the course of their educational endeavors.
This section of the papers outlines the main problems which are faced by the scholarly community in the process of the Communicative Language Approach implementation.
a) The Majority of The Professors Comprehend the Peculiarities of the Method Theoretically Only.
Having made a quantative analysis of the respondents (200 English language teachers have been randomly selected and questioned), it has become evident and clear that the overwhelming majority ( approximately 93%) of the current and future professors of the English and other Latin languages comprehend the theoretical part of the proposed method.
However while having a sufficient theoretical understanding of the methods is present in the among the professors community, the practical aspect is not clear for the majority. Approximately 71% of the questioned respondents admitted the fact that they have never been previously instructed on the how the communicative approach is to be practically implemented.
The conducted research has affirmed the fact that while the substantive theoretical background dominates among the scholarly community of the professors, the teachers still apply outdated audio-lingual method. In particular, the students report that they are still allowed to use their mother tongues in the course of the lesson. Moreover, the major part of the lesson the teachers who ostensibly advocates the communicative language approach are actually following the guidelines outlined by the audio-lingual method followers. Drilling, listening comprehension and forced and intensive vocabulary memorization are still present. Another important aspect is the fact that while the majority of the teachers may commence the lesson in a strict accordance with the provisions and postulated of the reviewed communicative language approach, while the lesson is proceeding the educational tools and mechanism are gradually shifted to the traditional audio-lingual school.
There is a converged opinion in both the scholarly scientific and political communities that the best way to eradicate the inconsistency of the postulates of the communicative language approach and the aspects of the practical implementation is the corrections implemented to the educational process of the promising educators themselves. In particular, alongside with the extensive theoretical part, the aspects of the practical implementation must be amplified to the promising teachers of English and other languages.
b) Those Teacher Who Do Comprehend the Practical Aspects of The Method, Apply it Improperly
The essence of the advocated method is to ensure the intercourse between the educator and the students and the informational interchange is the pledge of the successful accomplishment of the projected educational goals. While the information is communicated and duly comprehended by the students, the language elements are simultaneously internalized by the students of this language. Although the students communicate not to the teacher exclusively, but between themselves as well, the role of the teacher must not be artificially diminished. The teacher remains the dominant as well as the most important figure of the educational process.
However, the practice shows that this postulate is misinterpreted by the scholarly community. While recognizing that the role of the teacher is diminished, the practical pedagogues deliberately give the educational initiative to the hands of the students. The outcome is natural: the course of the lesson is majorly channeled by the students, while the teacher remains in the capacity of the impassive and independent supervisor, but not an active participant of the process.
Another illustration is that the teachers systematically opt out to correct the blatant grammatical mistakes perpetrated by the students while communicating to the teachers, especially when the students demonstrate a certain degree of proficiency and fluency. In other words, if the student is fluent in terms of his or her vocabulary but it is evident that he lacks grammar accuracy and profound structural comprehensions of the peculiarities of the language, this student is likely to be completely forgiven by the professor and his flagrant imperfections usually go uncommented.
c) The Solutions
As far as the prospective solutions are concerned, the shortest way to remedy the problem is to arrange an effective and permanent state supervision over the practicing linguistic experts. Special committee on the Communicative Language Approach implementation is to devised and accordingly instructed to ensure the permanent enhancement of the practical skills of the working educators (Fahmi,2011). Moreover, the necessary practical aspects must be integrated to the courses if linguistic education of the future professors.
- Summary
Having encapsulated the main issues of the present problem, it can be easily inferred that the international linguistic community is on the right path. In particular, it a right way that the importance of the Communicative Language Approach is duly understood and comprehended by both the leading luminaries and average practicing professors of the language school.
It seems to be necessary to stress that the latest effort that is to be exercised to guarantee a total victory over the proponents of the conventional audio-lingual school is to ensure the practical implementation of the elements. In order to ensure the observance of the postulates practically, the most effective strategy does seem to be additional instructing of the educators and the necessary amendments incorporated to their educational process. Moreover, when the government supervision over the implementation of the principles at hand is duly guaranteed, the efficacy of the outlined method can be increased dramatically, because the educators will fully realize that their ineffective performance may lead to the license termination.