Communicative Language Teaching emerged in the late 1960s-1970s. Why did this method emerge? It was because of the lack of success with traditional methods and migration, international trade and students exchanges increased in Europe. So that’s why people rejected traditional methods such as memorizing or just learning grammar. Because this traditional methods were not enough for people to communicate throughly. With traditional methods, students knew grammar rules, vocabulary but couldnt communicate in real life situations or was so afraid to talk because they thought they were going to make mistakes.
According to that educators needed new method and that was communicative language teaching method.
With that method, it was aimed that students’ language skills mostly on speaking parts. In that method, language is learned through communication. Real-life tasks such as role- play, pair work is done at the classroom, it is basically task-based learning. It is student-centered, the teacher is more likely to be a guide and teachers allow students to make mistakes because they believe making mistakes are natural part of learning. But mistakes are not corrected immediately but after.
Listening, speaking, reading and writing skills are practice together. This method encourages students to speak so while speaking they have to use correct grammar, even if they use it incorrectly teachers emphasize the correct way later and grammar is learned naturally with speaking exercises. And teachers provide scaffolding which means supporting students to develop higher language skill and withdraw that support gradually. The most exercises being done iin classroom are; Information Gap Activities, Role-Plays, Problem-Solving Tasks, Jigsaw Reading or Listening or Debates.
Like other methods, this method also lose its popularity due to some challanges.
One of them was they noticed students spoke fluently but always making mistakes because grammar wasn’t taught explicitly and this mistakes becoming permanent.
Also in some countries, their Education system is exam-oriented so this method was a mismatch.
Some schools had large class sizes so that was impossible for teachers to give tasks to all students and wait for them to answer and speak because they have limited time and a curriculum to follow.
With that way educators wanted new method and we are moving on with Task-Based Language Teaching.
