The origins of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) are found in the changes in the

British language teaching tradition in the late 1960s.

Situational Language Teaching (SLT) was the major approach to teaching English as a FL.
Language was taught by practicing basic structures in meaningful situation-based activities.
British applied linguists rejected the theoretical assumptions underlying SLL because the
focus on language teaching was the mastery of structures rather than on communicative
proficiency.
In 1972, D. A. Wilkins proposed a functional or communicative syllabus for language
teaching. His contribution was an analysis of the communicative meanings that a language
learner needs to understand and express.
Wilkins defined two categories of meanings: notional categories (concepts such as time,
sequence, quantity, location, frequency) and categories of communicative function (requests,
denials, offers, complaints). This was the birth of notional syllabuses, which had a significant
impact on CLT.
There are two version of the CLT:
The weak version stresses the importance of providing learners with
opportunities to use their English for communicative purposes (learning to
use English).
The strong version advances the claim that language is acquired through
communication. That is not merely a question of activating an existing but
inert knowledge of language, but of stimulating the development of the
language system itself (using English to learn it).
The Communicative Approach in language teaching starts from a theory of language as
communication. The goal of language teaching is what Hymes (1972) referred to
ascommunicative competence. Hymes coined this term in order to contrast a
communicative view of language and Chomskys theory of competence.
In Hymes view, a person who acquires communicative competence
acquires both knowledge and ability for language use. Knowledge
and language use respond to :
- Whether something is formally possible
- Whether something is convenient
- Whether something is appropriate in relation to a context in which it is used.
- Whether something is in fact done, actually performed, and what its doing entails.
Another linguistic theory of CLT is Hallidays functional account of language use. Halliday
elaborated a powerful theory of the functions of language. He described seven basic function
that language performs for children learning their L1:
1. Instrumental function: using language to get things
2. Regulatory function: using language to control the behavior of others
3. Interactional function: using language to create interaction with others
4. Personal function: using language to express personal feelings and meanings
5. Heuristic function: using language to learn and to discover
6. Imaginative function: using language to create a world of the imagination
7. Representational function: using language to communicate information
At the level of language theory, CLT has a rich theoretical base. Some of the characteristics
of this communicative view of language follow: language is a system for the expression of
meaning, the primary goal of language is to allow interaction and communication, the
structure of language reflects its functional and communicative uses, the primary units of
language are categories of functional and communicative meanings.
As a consequence, learning activities are selected based on how well they engage the learner
in meaningful and authentic language use (rather than just mechanical practice of language
patterns).

The objective is supposed to be applicable to any teaching situation. Approach assums that
language teaching will reflect the particular needs of the target learners. These target maybe
in the domain of reading, writing, speaking, listening. Objective instructional or curriculum
fo a particular course would reflect specificaspects of communicative competence according
to the learners proficiency level and communicative needs.

A syllabus is your guide to a course and what will be expected of you in the course.
Generally it will include course policies, rules and regulations, required texts, and a schedule
of assignments. A syllabus can tell you nearly everything you need to know about how a
course will be run and what will be expected of you.

The range of exercise types and activities compatible with a communicative approach is
unlimited. Exercises enable learners to attain communicative objectives of the curriculum,
engage learners in communication, require the use of communicative processes like
information sharing, negotiation of meaning, and interaction. Classroom activities are often
designed to focus on completing tasks that are mediated through language or involve
negotiation of information and information sharing.

The learner is a negotiator (between himself, the learning process, and the object of learning).
The implication is that the learner should contribute as much as he gains, and learn in an
interdependent way. Learners are expected to interact primarily with each other rather than
with the teacher. Learners give and receive information.