Dealing with Accuracy in Communicative Language Teaching

Abstract

For practitioners interested in making principled decisions about what and how to teach, the implementation of any new approach presents dilemmas for which there are no clear answers. Theoretical knowledge, insights from experience and practical considerations all go into formulating hypotheses and developing techniques and materials to solve these problems. In this paper we will discuss some of these issues as they relate to the problem of accuracy within the communicative approach and present the self-assessment unit we developed to deal with the problem in our program.

Achievement or proficiency? Just getting a pass is enough!

“…But, they may not be able to put their ideas in appropriate words and their writing is found to be incomprehensive. They usually lack adequate skills of language and expression (Allen & Waugh, 1986). They are not able to write the sentences in an effective way as they lack contextual use of grammar and lexis and often commit spelling mistakes (Nel & Muller, 2010).…”

“…Achievement tests are oriented towards selective text preparation and it is more based on content specific and explicit learning of structures. It is more realised through cognitive learning and academic progress is generally recognised through the explicit learning of structures and content (Allen & Waugh, 1986). Krashen (1981, cited in Stern, 1983 claims proficiency in speaking skills cannot be developed through explicit language learning.…”

The Effect of Using the Jigsaw Cooperative Learning Technique on Saudi EFL Students’ Speaking Skills

“…In order to investigate the effect of the jigsaw CL technique on Saudi EFL female students' speaking performance, a five-dimension speaking skill rubric was used. It consisted of vocabulary that aims to categorize EFL students' practice of vocabulary during the speaking tasks, and their accuracy and ability to speak using very formal language (Allen & Waugh, 1986). Furthermore, it examined fluency in order to categorize EFL students' levels of interaction during communication (Richards, 2006) and pronunciation, in order to categorize EFL students' production of significant sounds (Dalton & Seidlhofer, 2001).…”