The Impact Of Using Communicative Language Teaching CLT On The Students Performance

The Impact of using Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) on the Students’ Performance

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A Thesis

Curriculum and Instruction

Submitted to……………….

for

the Degree of

MASTER OF EDUCATION

Approved

Dr. Name Surname

Name Surname, Ph.D.

Dean of the Graduate School

Date

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to express my special thanks to Prof. Barbara Morgan-Fleming who is my

supervisor from the Department of Curriculum and Instruction I appreciate your rigorous

guidance towards the success of my thesis. Also, many thanks to Dr. Lee Duemer for serving as

a committee member for his valuable comments and feedback.

Words cannot express my heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Mohammed Allazzam who was

supportive to me during my study journey by giving me advice and solutions for the difficulties

that I had when conducting this study. Thanks for your creative criticism, ideas, as well as your

assistance in undertaking this thesis.

Thanks to the students and teachers who are voluntarily participated in this study for the

immense assistance in completing this study. Without you, I would not have succeeded in this

study. To all my brothers and sisters, who have in one way or another contributed to the

completion of this project, I am sincerely grateful for your support. To my mother and father

who provided me with the unflinching support, love, and encouragement that made my dream a

reality.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS i

ABSTRACT v

LIST OF FIGURES vi

1. INTRODUCTION 1

The Definition of the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) Method 4

Background Information 5

Problem Statement 6

Problem Justification 7

Main Objective of the Study 7

Specific Objectives 7

Research Questions 8

2. LITERATURE REVIEW 9

Effect of the Design and Approach of the CLT 9

Teaching ESL using the CLT method 10

Activities Associated with the CLT 11

Analysis of a Case Study on the use of the CLT in Saudi Arabia 13

Principles of Communicative Language Teaching 14

CLT- A Case Study of the Opinion of Teachers in Vietnam 15

The Role of a Teacher when Using the CLT method 17

The Role of the Students in the CLT 18

Impact of Students’ Attitude toward CLT on their Performances 19

The Impact of Implementing the CLT in Schools 20

Challenges Associated with the CLT 21

Practical Applications of the CLT 22

Conceptual Framework: The Social Interactionist Theory 23

Research Gap 24

3. METHODOLOGY 25

Research design 25

Context of the Study 25

Participants 25

Biography of the Participants 26

Gravi 27

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Morton 27

Alex 27

Adam 27

Data Sources 28

Data Collection Methods 28

Instrument 28

Interviews and Observations 28

Data Collection Procedure 30

Trustworthiness and Transferability 30

4. RESULTS 32

Pre-Coding of Data 32

Coding 32

Analysis 33

Results 33

Pre-coding 33

Coding of Data 34

Interpretation 35

Text search queries 37

First Observation 41

Emerging themes 45

Major Themes 45

Sub-themes 45

5. DISCUSSION 48

Students satisfaction about the CLT 49

Students’ perceptions toward the CLT and Impact on their performances 50

Teachers’ perceptions toward the CLT 50

Implications and Suggestions for Further Research 51

Limitations of the Research 52

Conclusion 53

REFERENCES 54

APPENDIX A 57

APPENDIX B 58

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APPENDIX C 59

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ABSTRACT

The use of the English language has rapidly increased as the world has become

increasingly connected, allowing communication to become more efficient and easier. To this

end, the impact of the communicative teaching method in the field of education is outstanding

considering the fact that it has proved to be an efficient method of teaching English as a second

language. This study defined the term ‘Communicative Language Teaching method’ and

explained its critical relationship to teaching. Then, the study provided a brief history of the

method. Next, the study examined the impact of using the communicative teaching method on

students’ learning performances. In the same context, the research also looked at the perceptions

of students and teachers toward the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) method. A

qualitative method was used to conduct the study. The data used was obtained from research

papers from online libraries, three class observations, and interviews with four teachers and five

students. The study revealed that the CLT method has a significant impact on the learning

experiences of students and a positive impact on their performance in the classroom.

Keywords: Communicative Language Teaching method, students, teachers, speaking, learning.

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LIST OF FIGURES

Output of the pre-coding analysis 34

Word cloud for the analysis of the first 50 words 36

Percentage of the word ‘learning’ 38

Coding source of ‘learning’ 39

Coding source of the word ‘speaking’ 42

Word frequency of ‘have’ 44

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Past studies have focused on the most efficient ways of teaching foreign languages, such

as English (Richards & Rodgers, 2014). For the past few decades, discussions and debates in the

profession of teaching have focused on issues related to the role of grammar in regards to

developing language curriculum, especially the English as a Second Language (ESL) curriculum.

As a result, teachers have employed various methodologies to help them enhance the English

language learning process for international students in ESL schools. The teaching profession is

continually exploring effective learning strategies that can be utilized to ensure that ESL students

learn the English language in the most efficient and effective ways possible.

Nelson Mandela provided the following description of education: “the most influential

weapon which one can utilize to transform the world” (Biwi, 2013, p. 13). This description has

been the key motivation for my strong interest in explaining and exploring the effective methods,

strategies, and approaches to teaching English as a second language in schools since it is crucial

to the students’ learning processes. In addition, if a teacher applies the appropriate methods for

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her students in the classroom, then their performances in regard to learning a second language

will be positively affected.

Today, teaching English has become an essential part of the global education system. The

number of English second language learners, as well as English institutions, has been rapidly

increasing because English is a common language used in technology, politics, and trade.

According to Teodorescu (2010), “the English language is used in communications and

international relations, negotiation and diplomacy, business, tourism, education, media among

others. It also dictates the World Wide Web since approximately 80% of the electronic

information is stored in English” (p.76).

While every country treasures its traditional language, most nations teach English to its

children and/or encourage the use of the English language in society. In fact, many countries

have fluent English speakers due to currently implemented teaching methods in their schools. In

some countries, English has even replaced the country’s traditional language as the dominant

language in the country.

I first understood the significance of the English language when studying for my

bachelor’s degree. During this period, I traveled to Asia to visit a friend who had gone overseas

to complete his degree. While I was excited about the trip, I was also nervous as well. I found the

thought of experiencing an entirely different culture in a completely foreign setting exhilarating.

When I arrived in Asia, I was pleasantly surprised to find a friendly environment in which

English was spoken freely, keeping me from experiencing a communication barrier. Even

though it was obvious that not everyone I conversed with was completely fluent in English, I

could tell that they could understand and use the basics of the language.

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This experience sparked my interest in regard to how other students are learning English.

While teachers attempt to be the best possible at communicating with their students, both orally

and through the written word, they often lack experience applying the appropriate teaching

methods to help the students learn a second language. Teachers often find themselves in tough

situations when it comes to finding the most appropriate approaches to teaching a second

language. They may select methods for which may have unknown future repercussions. As such,

most teachers try to be as cautious as possible when selecting the most appropriate method for

teaching a second language.

Many students learn the English language in order to improve their social and

professional prospects after graduation, considering the fact that it is an international language.

As many international students come to the United States in order to learn English, teachers in

the United States have found out that new burdens have been placed on them. Since most of

these students come from backgrounds different from their teachers, the teachers have difficulty

in regard to relating to and communicating with the students. In my particular case, I learned

English in an environment in which British English, which is slightly different from American

English, was predominant. As such, I had a difficult time assimilating to a system where

American English was used. My learning experiences were also different from that of other

students and, according to Okun (2012), “each child comes to our classroom with a wide array of

differing experiences outside of school; they demonstrate different talents [and] favor a variety

of different learning styles” (p. 238). Therefore, it is important for teachers to implement the

most effective methods to teach their students English.

While attempting to determine the most effective learning methodologies that can be used

to teach English as a Second Language (ESL), teachers have discovered that interaction is key

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when it comes to teaching ESL. Educators have acknowledged the fact that it helps them

understand the capabilities of each student in the classroom. Understanding such students’

capabilities reflects the way they perform.

Richards and Rodgers (2014) suggested that the teaching of any course is often based on

the subject’s nature as well as the application of the theories of teaching and learning drawn from

theory and research in the educational sector. The outcome of this study is usually referred to as

an approach to teaching. In learning a second language, several approaches, such as Situational

Approach, Direct Approach, Communicative Teaching Language Approach, and Audiolingual

Approach, have emerged.

Most schools use CLT to teach foreign languages, such as English. As such, this study,

which was conducted in university located in Western Texas, focused on determining the definition

of the “communicative teaching method” as well as the impact of this method on the students. In

addition to this information, this study provided a historical context of the method, pointing out

the notable reasons that contributed to its rapid and widespread use. Below is a detailed explanation

of this study.

The Definition of the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) Method

According to Richards (2006), most teachers use Communicative Language Teaching

(CLT) to teach languages. Therefore, in order to understand the meaning of CLT, one needs to,

first, understand what is meant by the term “communicative.” Richards (2006, p. 2) defined the

communicative language teaching method as “an asset of philosophies concerning the objectives

of teaching a certain language, how learners get to learn a particular language, the events carried

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out in the classroom that best facilitates language learning, and the obligation of the learners as

well as educators in the classroom.’

Knowing a certain language means more than just understanding a given set of

phonological, grammatical, and lexical rules. For one to utilize a certain language in an effective

way, he needs to come up with a communicative competence, which forms the basis of defining

the communicative language teaching method. Hiep (2007) suggested that communicative

competence consists of the ability of learners to utilize a certain language that they have learned

in a given social encounter.

Savignon (1991) also asserted that CLT entails the use of both objectives and classroom

learning processes for teaching practice. This method of learning a language looks at competence

as the fundamental concept of learning a foreign language. Savignon (1991) suggested that

competence can only be achieved through social interactions in the classroom; a concept that

aids in the acquisition of a language. Spada (2007) defined the communicative teaching method

as “a method that combines both functional and formal aspects of teaching a language in the

delivery process.”

Background Information

Research carried out by Al-Humaidi (2011) contributed to the emergence of the

communicative teaching method in the early 1970s. However, the history of CLT can be traced

back to the 1960s when Al-Humaidi (2011) advanced two notions (i.e., performance and

competence), the intention of which was to counteract the audio-lingual method of language

learning. Later on, these two concepts were developed into what was known as the

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communicative competence, which entailed social, psychological, and cultural rules that aimed

at disciplining the use of speech (Al-Humaidi, 2011).

Al-Humaidi (2011) was concerned about teaching speakers the cultural and social

understanding needed to understand and use linguistic forms. Therefore, the author’s idea

incorporated the concept of knowledge as well as the ability to utilize knowledge in

communications (Al-Humaidi, 2011). Five dimensions of communicative competence were

identified: fluency, pragmatic competence, strategic competence, linguistic competence, and

discourse competence. Fluency is the ability to write or speak a second language accurately and

easily. Pragmatic competence is a person’s ability to utilize language efficiently in a contextually

proper fashion. Strategic competence is the ability of a speaker to adapt their use of nonverbal

and verbal language to compensate for communication issues that may arise from the speaker’s

inability to understand appropriate grammar. Linguistic competence entails a linguistic

knowledge system that is processed by native language speakers. Discourse competence is the

ability to have an understanding as well as produce several visual, spoken, and written texts that

characterize a given language.

Richards and Rodgers (2014) considered Communicative Language Teaching to be more

of an approach than a technique used to teach a language (i.e., a methodology). An approach is a

language teaching philosophy that can be applied and interpreted in various ways in the

classroom, while a methodology entails a fixed teaching system that has prescribed practices and

techniques. These authors considered CLT as an approach since, sometimes, no fixed system of

teaching ESL exists. CLT is an interactive approach as the method of teaching can vary

depending on the teacher’s preferences.

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Problem Statement

Finding an effective method of teaching ESL is becoming one of the major challenges

that ESL schools face today. Many ESL schools have attempted to employ methodologies, such

as audio-lingual, grammar-translation, suggestopedia, silent way method, and total physical

method, that have not been effective. For example, a method, such as grammar-translation, may

not be useful to students when attempting to apply their knowledge to the real world.

Problem Justification

The increasing demand for the most appropriate method of teaching ESL has caused ESL

schools to employ well-experienced ESL teachers due to the existing notion that well-

experienced teachers will propose some of the appropriate techniques of teaching ESL. However,

the use of these teachers has caused an emergence of ineffective methods. As such, ESL schools

have redoubled their efforts to find new, effective methods. To this end, CLT has emerged as one

of the most effective methods to be used by schools. Therefore, this study was created in order to

learn more about its mode of delivery as well as its impact on the performance of the students

learning within it.

Main Objective of the Study

The main objective of this research study is to investigate the impact of using the

communicative language teaching method on the performance of students.

Specific Objectives

The specific objectives of the research study are as follows:

● To define and understand what is meant by the term ‘communicative teaching method,’

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● To provide a brief historical account of the term that leads to the present-day use of the

method in the classroom,

● To point out the notable reasons that have contributed to its rapid and widespread use

across ESL classrooms, and

● To discuss the characteristics of communicative teaching.

Research Questions

This study will answer the following questions:

1. What is the impact of using the communicative teaching method on students’ learning

performances?

2. What are the students’ and teachers’ perceptions toward the communicative teaching

method?

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CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

Effect of the Design and Approach of the CLT

Research conducted by Al-Humaidi (2011) suggested that the design of, approach to, and

procedure related to using CLT method are what affects the performance of students. This author

showed that the theory related to teaching a language that underlies the CLT is behavioristic

instead of holistic. The term ‘behavioristic’ in this case implies that the students have to be self-

motivated when the teacher uses this method.

Unlike other methods of teaching, the CLT sets priorities based on the semantic content

of learning a certain language (Al-Humaidi, 2011). It implies the learning of grammatical forms

through understanding the inner meaning of certain words, phrases, or sentences of a certain

language. Therefore, the activities of learning are chosen in terms of how well the method

engages the learner in an authentic and meaningful use of a particular language. Since the key

goal of the CLT is to help students communicate effectively and learn from the grammatical

mistakes that they make, this language learning technique enables learners to learn from mistakes

(Al-Humaidi, 2011). This aspect of the communicative method has been found to have a positive

impression of the performance of students (Al-Humaidi, 2011) because the students are not

afraid of making mistakes when pronouncing new words since they expect to be corrected by

their teachers.

Teaching ESL using the CLT method

The research carried out by Richards and Rodgers (2014) showed that this method of

learning a foreign language allows students to improve their performance because it focuses

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more on learning the language and less on completing a set course outline. The CLT is practical

and contains teacher-student interactions that allow the students to speak freely and ask their

teachers questions concerning what they do not understand. This aspect of teaching gives the

students opportunities to know how fast they can learn and master a certain language since the

students participate in pronouncing words and constructing sentences practically, while the

teacher is given opportunities to understand the capabilities of the students. The teacher can

identify those students who are quick vs. slow learners. Al-Humaidi (2011) found out that the

ability of the teacher to determine the slow and quick learners in the classroom is an effective

way of monitoring each student. Hence, teachers can interact closely with their students and look

for the most efficient ways by which to help them improve their performances.

According to Mohammed (2015), the CLT is regarded as a theoretical model for teaching

ESL. This approach requires the learner to actively participate in the activities carried out in the

classroom rather than just passing exams. Mohammed (2015, p. 121) asserted that “the CLT

classrooms stress the use of a language rather than language knowledge and appropriateness and

fluency in the utilization of the target language instead of structural correctness.” Much emphasis

is usually made on error correction and clear instructions related to observing the rules of

grammar. Furthermore, exercises and tasks that motivate meaningful negotiations among the

teachers, students, and utilization of the materials that take place in both informal and formal

environments are some of the core aspects of this approach of teaching ESL (Mohammed, 2015).

In contrast with other traditional techniques of teaching a second language, Mohammed

(2015) suggests that the CLT approach entails allowing the teacher to play the role of the

facilitator. As the teacher facilitates the process of learning, the students become actively

involved in the classroom negotiations, interpretations, and expressions. This language learning

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method concentrates more on the learner than the teacher since the learner is the one who carries

out most of the activities in the classroom.

As far as grammar is concerned, most of the textbooks used in schools do not reflect the

principles of the CLT. Chung (2017) stated that the activities related to grammar in some

Taiwanese and Malaysian textbooks have retained the structured technique of teaching a

language and that the CLT syllabus is described as a type of curriculum that adheres to the

following aspects: contextualization, emphasis on meaning, creation of a language through

repeated errors and trials, language learning through communication, and emphasis on fluency.

In this case, accuracy is a secondary aspect of the method.

Activities Associated with the CLT

The CLT is a learner-centered technique used to learn a second language. Even though

CLT is learner-centered, it does not mean that the teacher does not enhance the learning process.

In fact, the teacher is crucial as one-half of the teacher-student interaction required for the CLT.

For the successful application of this method, a highly imaginative and competent teacher is

necessary.

Al-Humaidi (2011) raises a major facet of the communicative method that makes it be

regarded as one that improves the performance of students. The author suggested that the method

concentrates on using a certain language in everyday activities, which permits the learner to

apply what he has learned in the classroom practically. The method emphasizes the needs and

interests of the learners. Therefore, the teacher needs to alter the syllabus each class to meet the

needs of the learners. Changing the syllabus enables the learners to adapt to the new concepts

that are introduced and, thus, improves their performances.

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When comparing the curriculum of Taiwanese and Malaysian schools, Chung (2017)

found that there are five activities commonly associated with the CLT: the adjustment of the role

played by the teacher, personalization, games, activities that balance skills, and natural contexts.

At the beginning of a lesson, the teacher provides direction to the students. Personalization is

where the interaction between the teacher and student becomes intense. The students might, later

on, engage in games or activities that balance skills. Natural contexts are provided in order to test

the students’ natural abilities to comprehend what is being taught by the teacher. According to

Chung (2017), ESL students who are taught using the CLT often participate in gaming activities

that aim at ensuring that they actively communicate with one another. During the gaming

activities, the students speak a variety of words with which they are familiar and, in that process,

they learn from one another. Dewi (2016) studied the use of gaming activities as a

communicative method of teaching a second language and found that the use of games in

learning a foreign language improves the speaking skills of students since they have the freedom

to speak with their gaming partners. As far as the aspect of balancing skills is concerned, Chung

(2017) suggested that “it is crucial to emphasize the significance of communicative skills, like

initiating, sustaining, and closing a conversation, in order to ensure effective communicative

competence among the students” (p. 47). The author suggests that reading, speaking, and

listening are some of the activities that are emphasized when it comes to implementing the CLT.

Analysis of a Case Study on the use of the CLT in Saudi Arabia

In the context of Saudi Arabia, Al-Humaidi (2011) found that the communicative

language teaching method had a negative influence on the students’ performances because the

structure of the schools in this region is not designed for group work. According to Richards and

Rodgers (2014), group work forms a major component regarding the mode of delivery of this

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method. Therefore, this technique affects the students’ performances negatively since the

learners in this region are not acquainted with the facilities and aids through which the use of the

method would be considered successful. Teachers use their funds to prepare classes so that they

can apply this method. Administrative issues such as admitting students who are more than the

required number in a classroom raises a major concern in regard to using the communicative

language learning method in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, overloading the classrooms impacts the

performance of students in a negative way.

Having large class sizes prevents the teachers from implementing the CLT method.

According to Qiang and Ning (2011), “many language teachers hold a negative view on teaching

English in large classes. Often can we hear them say such words as ‘out of control,’ ‘hard to

organize class activities,’ or ‘impossible to communicate’ (p. 2). The study conducted by Nguyen

(2014) on the factors affecting the students’ performances in higher education, while being

taught using the CLT showed that large class sizes influence the students’ performances because

the teacher cannot monitor the process of all of the students or what they are discussing in their

groups. It also limits the time that the teachers have to implement activities since they must

spend additional time monitoring the students.

Principles of Communicative Language Teaching

Richards (2006) argued that the CLT enables the students to learn a given language by

using it to communicate. This author suggested that the open communication between the teacher

and students provides better opportunities for learning as compared to other, grammar-based

methods of learning a foreign language. Students also have opportunities to learn how to speak

using the open communication with the teacher.

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Richards (2006) suggested that various principles existed that underlie the CLT. The first

principle is that the method allows the learners to experiment and practically apply what they

learned in the classroom, increasing their confidence in using the language to communicate. The

second principle is that the method is tolerant of the learners’ errors. The fact that the CLT

method provides the learners with opportunities to develop both fluency and accuracy is another

important principle. According to Richards (2006), the communicative method of teaching links

together different skills, such as listening, speaking, and reading, to enable the students to learn a

foreign language efficiently. These skills are crucial since the teachers have the ability to monitor

the ways that the students perform. The last principle is that the method allows learners to

discover certain rules of grammar.

Dornyei (2013) suggested that the CLT stresses the principle of “learning through doing”

(p. 162), which involves developing communicative competence on the part of the learner by

allowing the learner to actively participate in classroom activities through interactions, asking

questions, and negotiations. Dornyei (2013) suggested that the CLT enables the learners to

engage in tasks that will help them learn to communicate using a certain language. Ohashi (2015)

also suggested that communicative competence forms the core principle of the CLT. In

comparing adult and youth learning, Ohashi (2015) found out that young learners utilized the

principle of communicative competence in learning a foreign language.

CLT- A Case Study of the Opinion of Teachers in Vietnam

Research carried out by Hiep (2007), in which three teachers at a university in Vietnam

were interviewed concerning the benefits of communicative language teaching, showed that

various benefits exist of using this method. Two of the participants had master’s degrees, while

the third had a postgraduate diploma. According to Hiep (2007), the teachers highlighted the

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importance of using the CLT to teach a foreign language on the performance of the students and

emphasized the fact that the primary focus of this method is to enable students to learn a

language that will help them communicate well with other people in different areas such as the

workplace. The method is also useful in regard to improving the learning atmosphere in the

classroom and, thus, improving the performance of the students. In one of the interviews, Hiep

(2007) discovered that the communicative language approach enables the learners to succeed in

the way they communicate in real life. The teacher stated that the CLT method has proven to be

the best method of teaching a foreign language and that the students’ needs, such as hoping to

work in a foreign country as an NGO worker or tour guide, have made the students work extra

hard to ensure that they achieve their dreams. As a result, most students have developed a

positive perception towards the CLT. This form of motivation has made the students opt to learn

in institutions that use the communicative language teaching method to learn English as a foreign

language since such jobs require excellent English communication skills.

The teacher also stated that communicative language approach is the right teaching

method not only for teaching ESL but also for teaching other subjects. The method aims at

teaching the learners things that are practically useful to them in a relaxing manner. The students

learn faster when the learning atmosphere is stress-free, fun, and stimulating, which is exactly

what the communicative language learning method offers. Research conducted by Hiep (2007)

showed that students are more likely to learn when the environment in the classroom is stress-

free and stimulating. The CLT ensures that the students use a certain language in a meaningful

way and not necessarily in a way that is accurate.

One teacher in Hiep’s (2007) study stated that he allowed the students to read English

language newspapers and then discuss the topics in the classroom. According to Hiep (2007),

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these discussions and the impromptu presentations on the topics helped the students learn how to

express themselves in English and allowed the teacher to correct them whenever they made

grammatical mistakes.

According to Alzahrani (2017), online discussion forums affect students’ learning

processes in a positive way. This concept relates to the CLT since it employs the feature of

interaction which is a facet of CLT. Through online discussion forums, students get to interact

with each another in foreign languages, such as English. Through interactions between native

and non-native speakers of English, foreign learners get opportunities to learn how to speak

English.

The Role of a Teacher when Using the CLT method

Canale and Swain (1980) stated that a teacher’s role in a second language classroom is to

be a facilitator in the learning process. As such, the teacher needs to have a high degree of

communicative competence, which means that he or she needs to have sufficient knowledge in

phonology, syntax, and morphology. According to the study completed by Canale and Swain

(1980) this competence allows the teacher to more fully interact with the students, improving

their performances. Mohammed (2015) suggested that teachers act as facilitators when using the

CLT method of learning because they facilitate the process of learning, while the students

become actively involved in classroom negotiations, interpretations, and expressions. According

to Vaezi and Abbaspour (2014), “the role of the teacher oscillates between the roles of a direct

transmitter and facilitator at the same time” (p. 1907). All of these authors agree that teachers

play critical roles in regard to implementing the CLT.

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According to Vaezi and Abbaspour (2014), teachers also serve to answer questions that

students may have in regard to pronunciations. Teachers should also ask the students questions

regarding what they have learned in the classroom (Vaezi & Abbaspour, 2014). Yousaf et al.

(2017) asserted that the beliefs and attitudes of the teachers affect the process of implementing

the CLT in schools. According to these authors, if the teacher does not believe that their students

will excel in their academic lives after they have been taught using the CLT, then the students

will not trust themselves, which will cause poor performances in ESL activities. A study

conducted by Bartlett (2016) in Japan found similar results concerning teachers’ attitudes toward

implementing the CLT.

The Role of the Students in the CLT

According to Sreehari (2012), students play an important role when using the CLT.

While the teacher aims at facilitating the process of communication, the students act as the

communicators. Sreehari (2012) pointed out that the students’ role is to actively engage in

negotiating the meaning of the language that they are learning in class, which means that the

students must attempt to understand one another or try to be understood by their classmates.

Even if they have an incomplete understanding of the target language, the students should try as

much as possible to engage in active speaking so that they can familiarize themselves with the

foreign language.

Furthermore, since the role of the teacher is less dominant in this method, the students are

considered to be the most responsible party when it comes to the process of managing their own

learning. According to Rahimi and Nader (2014), “teacher-student interactions through the

process of asking open-ended questions prove to be an effective tool when it comes to the aspect

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of implementing the CLT” (p. 240). Asking questions enables the teacher to note what the

students have not understood in the process of learning.

Rahimi and Nader (2014) suggested that the students play the role of interactionists in

which they engage in with their teacher and classmates in order to prove that they have

understood how to use and pronounce certain English words. The students also negotiate among

themselves to find out the right pronunciation of certain words before asking the teacher for the

right pronunciation. Rahimi and Nader (2014) asserted that it is at the students’ own discretion

that they ask the teacher for assistance. If the students seek assistance from the teacher, then the

CLT will prove to be effective.

Impact of Students’ Attitude toward CLT on their Performances

A study conducted by Muhammad (2016) on the attitudes of students towards the CLT

showed that the students’ attitudes often impact their performances. This research indicates that

more students had positive attitudes toward the CLT than students who demonstrated neutral and

less favorable attitudes toward the CLT. There were no gender differences. Hence, according to

Muhammad (2016), the majority of the students liked to be taught using the CLT method rather

than the grammar-translation method. In addition, the students who had positive attitudes toward

the CLT performed better that those students who had negative attitudes toward it. As such,

Muhammad (2016) suggested that the attitude of the students matters when it comes to the issues

of teaching and learning as well as the performances of students who use the communicative

approach.

Rahimi and Nader (2014) highlighted the importance of the students’ attitudes when

implementing the CLT. "Students who have a positive attitude toward group work, in particular,

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while implementing CLT perform better as compared to those [students] who possess a negative

attitude” (Rahimi & Nader, 2014, p. 237). The research conducted by Abdullah and Shah (2016)

showed that the positive beliefs and attitudes of students toward the implementation of the CLT

led to improvements in their performances. In their study, Abdullah and Shah (2016) found that a

strong, positive correlation exists between the attitudes of students and their performances

regarding ESL, which means that positive attitudes toward the CLT leads to improvements in

student performances and vice versa.

The Impact of Implementing the CLT in Schools

Jabeen (2014) carried out a study related to the implementation of the CLT in schools and

found that schools that utilize the CLT method performed better than those schools that do not

utilize this method. In addition, the author found out that most teachers in ESL schools believed

that ESL students should be taught using the communicative approach because it is the most

effective method of teaching a foreign language. Jabeen (2014) pointed out that, despite the

willingness of these teachers to adopt CLT, they encountered certain challenges, such as

inadequate teaching materials and inadequate proficiency in teaching a language, that caused

them to not use this method of learning a second language. These teachers demonstrated that the

CLT was a counterproductive method despite the lack of necessary requirements for the effective

use of this method of learning.

Jabeen (2014) also pointed out that, while there are teachers who utilize other traditional

methods of teaching ESL, they have expressed positive attitudes toward the CLT. These positive

attitudes show that, even though they use other approaches to teaching a second language, they

are still interested in utilizing the CLT since they consider it to be one of the most reliable

methods of learning a language. Jabeen (2014) suggested that, even though the communicative

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teaching method might prove to be an effective method, challenges, such as lack of cooperation

while working in groups, may arise, hence hindering the use of the CLT. For instance, when

students work in groups, they may create noise, which becomes a barrier to communication

Research carried out by Ghofur et al. (2017) compared the audio-lingual method (ALM)

and CLT for teaching ESL. According to the outcome of the study, “students in the CLT class

performed better in speaking English as compared to those [students] in classes taught using

ALM” (Ghofur et al., 2017, p. 6). The reason for this result was because the CLT students were

focused more on the student-teacher interactions through speaking, listening, reading, and asking

questions rather than just studying to pass the exams. Ghofur et al. (2017) suggested that the

CLT shaped the speaking competences of the students in the proper contexts.

Challenges Associated with the CLT

Huang (2010) pointed out that the practical difficulties associated with the CLT may lead

to reduced performances for students learning using this method. According to this research,

factors that are related to classroom personnel and dynamics, socio-cultural factors, and matters

related to the administration in the school have caused teachers to have negative attitudes toward

teaching a language using the CLT. The study concentrated on 75 teachers who were interviewed

in order to determine the difficulties that they have faced while implementing the CLT. The

study revealed that the attitude of the students was one of the hindrances to implementation. In

addition, several students were surveyed and the results of these surveys showed that the low

English proficiency of the students was one of the main challenges of using the CLT as it

contributed to the lower performances of the students. Communication problems also existed

among the students due to the different native languages.

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According to Huang (2010), the fact that these students lacked something that would

motivate them to work hard was a major hindrance to the process of implementing the CLT. The

author suggested that the parents had a negative attitude toward the CLT, which affected the

students and caused them to have negative attitudes as well. As the students did not agree with

the method being used by the teacher, they did not perform well on their exams.

Rahimi and Naderi (2014) stated that four factors impact the implementation of the CLT.

They include teacher-related factors, difficulties inherent in the CLT itself, student-related

factors, and institutional factors. Institutional factors include factors like the size of a class and

washback impact of tests that are based on grammar. “Student-related factors like the lack of

motivation for students to develop their communicative competence” (p. 239) is a second factor.

The third factor is a lack of knowledge concerning Western culture. The factors raised a major

concern when it comes to the implementation of CLT.

Some of the teachers who may be selected to implement the CLT may not have

confidence in this type of method, which inadvertently will cause the students to perform poorly.

Some teachers may also have fragmented knowledge of the CLT, which makes it impossible for

them to deliver the method in the most appropriate way. In addition, the teachers might resist

using the language or may not being proficient in a given foreign language, which will also lead

to ineffective implementation.

Practical Applications of the CLT

Research carried out by Hu (2010) on the ways of making the CLT a viable method for

teaching ESL found that engagement in practical activities was one of the best methods for

employing the CLT. This method motivates students and causes them to become interested in

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learning a particular language. Practical learning in the classroom provides students with

opportunities to explore their capabilities related to communicating in English.

Ghofur et al. (2017) stated that the CLT actively engages students in classroom activities

that foster their needs to learn how to speak a foreign language. It causes them to learn faster as

compared to other methods such as, ALM. The CLT enables students to ask questions regarding

whatever they learn in the classroom.

Conceptual Framework: The Social Interactionist Theory

The social interactionist theory of language acquisition explains how adults and children

learn certain languages. It was formulated by Vygotsky, a Russian psychologist, who believed

that a child develops behaviors due to observed interactions (Matsueda & Heimer, 1997). When

the child interacts with the people who surround them, they learn how to communicate.

The social interactionist theory seems to fit the ESL learning environment. In this case,

the student is considered like an infant who has no way of communicating with the teacher

except through the use of non-verbal means of communication. Thus, the teacher will be forced

to act like an adult so as to create the infant-adult relationship. The teacher leads the interaction

until the student becomes familiar with the English language to the point where he can

communicate.

This theory has similar opinions based on the sub-theme of interaction that emerged in

the data analysis. As seen in the results of the data analysis for this study, this sub-theme stated

that interaction is key when it comes to learning a foreign language using the CLT. Interaction

enables the student to have a friendly environment for learning.

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Research Gap

The communicative teaching method has been extensively researched, especially within

the field of teaching. Despite this research, researchers in the field of education have not

researched the specific impact of using this method in the classroom on students’ performances.

Most of the research in the field has explored the topic in a general sense, explaining the impact

of the method in general. However, less emphasis has been placed on the actual aspects that

determine the extent to which the students’ performances will be modified. As such, this paper

will explore the aspects that have not been researched sufficiently. The information obtained in

this research will help to bridge the literature gap that currently exists in education.

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CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

A qualitative method was used to carry out this study and will be elaborated upon in this

chapter. The study examined the communicative teaching method and its impact on students’

performances in regard to learning English as a second language. The research design was

chosen because it examines and analyzes a concept as well as its impact on the field.

Research design

This study uses a qualitative research design technique that answered the formulated research

questions.

Context of the Study

The study was conducted in university located in Western Texas where many of the students

come from different countries to complete their education, and it was a prerequisite for those

students to pass the English proficiency test before getting an admission for the academic life. The

university also offers ESL courses that apply a variety of teaching methods to the classroom. The

various teaching methods used teaching ESL in the school made me feel that conducting the study

in the area of teaching ESL was a good topic due to my personal interest and expertise.

Participants

Interviews were conducted with the participants, which consisted of both teachers and

students. Of the four teachers recruited for the study, one of them had a Ph.D. in curriculum and

instruction, one had a master’s degree in Applied Linguistics, and two of had bachelor’s degrees

in the English language and were studying for their master’s degree in English literature and

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TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). These teachers were chosen because

they were utilizing the communicative teaching method in their ESL classes, which had beginner,

intermediate, and advanced levels. The teachers ranged in experience from five to 15 years. The

interviews with the teachers were recorded and did not last for more than 30 minutes. Each of the

teachers answered nine questions.

The interviews with the students did not last more than 20 minutes and consisted of eight

questions. Each of the students had been enrolled in ESL school for between three and 12 months.

The students came from a variety of nationalities and mother languages, such as Arabic, Spanish,

and Uredo.

Biography of the Participants

My goal for the study was to include an equal number of teachers and students and male

and female participants as well as experienced and inexperienced teachers. After the participants

volunteered and agreed to participate in the program, we scheduled meetings to conduct the

interviews at times and places convenient for them. Most of the participants chose public places

in which to meet, such as the library or a business office. One participant chose to meet at her

home as she did not have a car. Each interview was audio-recorded and I also took notes. Once the

interview was completed, I assigned each participant with a pseudonym to protect his or her

privacy. The section below contains detailed information about the teachers who participated in

this study.

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Gravi

Gravi was born and raised in Texas. She received her bachelor’s degree in curriculum and

instruction from a Texas university and previously worked in an ESL school. She speaks Japanese

as her second language and has been teaching English for the past 15 years.

Morton

Ana is originally from Russia and can speak and understand Russian, Ukrainian, English,

and Arabic. Ana learned English when she was in elementary school and her father, who was an

English translator, encouraged her to learn the language. She speaks English as a second language

and Russian as native language. Ana has a master’s degree in Applied Linguistics and has taught

English for seven years. She was recently selected to be a lecturer in a foreign language department

to teach the Russian language.

Alex

Alex is originally from the U.K. and speaks English as his native language. He has a

bachelor’s degree in TESOL and is currently pursuing his master’s degree in English literature.

He has taught English for 10 years. He has also worked with young students at the ELS school and

has volunteered to teach older immigrants English. He teaches TOEFL (Test of English as a

Second Language) courses for advanced level English learners.

Adam

Having been brought up in Washington and speaking English as his native language, Adam

has a bachelor’s degree in English and is currently studying for his master’s degree in TESOL. He

speaks Spanish as a second language and has worked for an ESL school for eight years. He has

also worked as an academic advisor for international students. He teaches students at the beginner,

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intermediate, and advanced levels as a substitute teacher Adam lived and taught English in China

for three years. He is currently working in the United States.

Data Sources

The data was collected via the following methods.

1. I conducted nine individual interviews with four teachers and five students.

2. I conducted three observations in the classroom with two of the participants who are

implementing this method of teaching.

3. Review of literature that is related to CLT

Data Collection Methods

One of the data collection methods for this research study was the use of online academic

libraries. Articles and books about the topic being considered were obtained from online sources

that are known for providing reliable academic data. A literature review was utilized to aid in the

investigation process. The review of literature was conducted on resources gathered from recent

studies. The data was compiled based on the outcomes of the studies, which came from books,

journals, and peer reviewed articles.

Instrument

Interviews and Observations

A qualitative research technique was used to conduct this study. To this end, I used

interviews to collect the data because it seemed to be the most appropriate method for this

research study because of the nature of results that it would yield. Berg (1989) described three

types of interviews: standardized interview, unstandardized interview, and semi-standardized

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interview. I used the semi-standardized interview when conducting this study because it seems to

yield the best results as suggested by this author. Berg (1989) stated that

this type of interview is conducted in a systematic and consistent order, but it allows the

interviewers sufficient freedom to digress; that is, the interviewers are permitted (in fact,

expected) to probe far beyond the answers to their prepared and standardized questions.

(p. 81)

I conducted the interviews with teachers who are implementing the communicative teaching

method in their classrooms. Through the interviews, I was able to understand their individual

perceptions and thoughts regarding this method. Each interview consisted of open-ended

questions and took 30 minutes.

The participants were asked to read the questions before the interview, so that they could

add any relevant information related to the topic. Throughout the interviews, I asked them what

types of methods they were using as well as what challenges they were facing, when

implementing them in their classrooms (see Appendix A). I asked them how the communicative

teaching method had affected the students’ performances. The aim of the students’ interviews

was to focus on their satisfaction related to learning using this method as well as the impact it has

had on their performances, either positive or negative (see Appendix B). The purpose of the three

observations was to understand how the teachers were implementing the CLT method. The first

observation occurred in mid-June 2017, the second at the beginning of July 2017, and the third at

the end of August 2017.

Data Collection Procedure

The collection of the data for this study began with applying for permission from the IRB

(Institutional Review Board) at Texas Tech University. Once this was granted, I focused on the

patent and copyright issues that I might face. In order to make sure that the study did not face

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any copyright issues, I made sure that the research was original and did not contain ideas from

other research papers that were not properly cited. Citing sources is mandatory when the

information used in a study is obtained from another research paper.

In order to not interrupt the students’ education, I made sure that my classroom

observations did not interview with any exams. The first interview that I conducted with the

students took place after the first classroom observation, while the rest took place after the

second observation. The purpose of this schedule was to prevent any interruption of the normal

classroom activities.

Trustworthiness and Transferability

The triangulation method was used to ensure that the research findings were credible and

reliable. Many methods, including interviews, observations, and document reviews, were used to

collect the data for this study. In order to ensure that the interviews yielded reliable information,

they were conducted with both teachers and students. In addition, five students were interviewed

in order to make sure that the results were trustworthy. These students formed a small sample

that depicted the outcome of a large population. Each of these students assisted in regards to

proving the validity of the information gathered by identifying the outcome of the interview. A

comparison was made between the teachers’ responses in order to aid in proving the

trustworthiness of the findings. The selected teachers had different qualification levels and

experiences. The transferability of the study results was done by comparing the findings of this

research with previous studies. Any similarities witnessed in the information in this study and

previous studies proved the validity of the findings.

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CHAPTER FOUR

RESULTS

A qualitative thematic analysis of the interview questions was conducted using the Nvivo

8 software. In total, there were 12 sources of textual data (i.e., nine interviews and three

observations). According to Welsh (2002), a qualitative analysis of data is usually seen as a

repetitive, demanding, and often arduous task. The main goal of a qualitative analysis is the

deconstruction of data blocks via fragmentation and then grouping the resulting information into

a collection of ideas that relate conceptually on the basis of assumptions made about a given

scenario or phenomena. The process involves decontextualization and recontextualization of

ideas, which marks the fundamental process of any qualitative data analysis (Buchanan & Jones,

2010). The data used in this study was acquired via firsthand experiences involving a subjective

interpretation and outlook of the research questions. Comprehension and perception of the

phenomena through experience is highly subjective and, therefore, prone to bias.

Pre-Coding of Data

The process of pre-coding the data involved a review of the dataset for the sake of

familiarization. In Nvivo 8, the query command was used for this operation and the results

indicated using a word frequency tool that was displayed as a ‘word cloud’ with various fonts

depicting the frequency of the word usage.

Coding

The main objective of carrying out a qualitative analysis is to generate various themes

aimed at addressing the research questions. After deriving the main themes, the next step is the

presentation of the findings (Adu, 2013). The research questions in this study were as follows:

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1. What is the impact of using communicative teaching method on students’ learning

performance?

2. What are the students and teachers’ perceptions toward the communicative teaching

method?

Analysis

The next step involved identifying themes on the basis of the analysis and data

presentation. Saldana (2013) that the way the results are presented to the audience has a great

impact on the credibility of a given qualitative study. In order to improve the level of credibility,

every researcher ought to present each theme with its appropriate or respective evidence and

meaning from the data. The addition of visual representations of the themes, existing

relationships, and related ideas assist the audience to gain a better understanding of the research

findings (Welsh, 2002). The Nvivo ‘explore’ function was used to create the concepts maps,

project maps, and charts as well as the cluster trees that would be used as the visual aids during

the analysis process.

Results

Pre-coding

The process started with the importation of the data from the nine interviews and three

observations. The next step involved the creation of a Word Frequency Query, which showed the

500 most frequently used words. The results of the analysis indicate that the 29 most frequently

used words in the interview transcripts (from both the teacher and student interviews), in order of

decreasing frequency were as shown below. The words that appeared frequently depicted the

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output, which formed part of the answer to the first research questions. The output of the pre-

coding analysis is shown in Figure 1 below.

Output of the pre-coding analysis

Coding of Data

The dataset was header-coded appropriately in MS Word before importation into Nvivo

8. The process of header-coding the transcripts involved two key elements. The first element was

the placement of all of the speaker identifications, topical headings, and questions into

standalone paragraphs, while the second element involved the application of consistent topical

heading styles to the questions. The process shown in the YouTube video by ATS (2016) was

repeated for all of the datasets before the header formatted files were imported into Nvivo 8 for

further analysis. A sample of an actual header-formatted transcript for student Jamila depicts

how the CLT had a positive impact on a student’s learning. As seen from Jamila’s response to

the interviewer, the CLT turned out to be an enjoyable and helpful method when it came to

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

language

teaching

using

from

don't

very

lot

see

way

been

kind

morton

able

skills

our

thing

listening

new

start

challenges

now

try

changes

vocabulary

hard

giving

talking

Frequency

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learning ESL. The below information shows that the majority of Jamila’s colleagues are satisfied

with the method as it has yielded positive outcomes with regard to their performances.

“Jamila: It is a very helpful and enjoyable method. I have learned more and enjoyed

learning through the communicative method. I have tried the traditional way of learning

before and my English improved, but not as much as with the communicative method. I

also enjoyed learning through communicative learning because I felt more engaged and

connected to my classmates.”

Jamila supported her view concerning the CLT by suggesting that this method connects

students from different backgrounds. The CLT helped them learn a common language in an

effective way that made it easy for them to interact. Students learn English faster using the CLT

than via other methods as seen in Jamila’s quote below.

“Jamila: Having students from different cultures and backgrounds has led to the use of

this method. Also, having students that did not speak a word of English made it necessary

to use this method to make them improve faster.”

After that, 10 header-coded files were auto-coded into Nvivo 8. The process is shown in

the next step.

Interpretation

The thematic analysis tended to look for words that described the concepts of educational

impact and perceptions. The CLT places a great emphasis on interactions and, therefore, our

thematic analysis analyzed various forms of interactions as reported by the students’ words and

the impact of such interactions on their learning experiences. The interactions among the students

formed a major component of the CLT as shown in the interview with Yazeed below.

“Interviewer: Since you started learning using this method, what characteristics of the

CLT have you identified, in your opinion?

Yazeed: Okay. There's like games or things, like the games that we played in class.

Interviewer: Yes, the games or like talking groups or like guest speakers that come to the

classroom.

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Yazeed: Well, we have guest speakers at the school. For example, we had people who

came from the police department; we have firefighters come sometimes, like once a year

maybe…”

As seen in the excerpt, Yazeed explained that participating in gaming activities was one

way of interacting with other people, while learning a second language. Ahmed (2016) also

showed that interactions were one of the crucial ways of learning a second language using the

CLT.

The next step dealt with the new word query results. Limiting the analysis to the first 50

words of the students’ interviews produced the word cloud seen in Figure 2.

Word cloud for the analysis of the first 50 words

The word cloud revealed that the most common words used were ‘I’ and ‘interviewer.’

However, the concepts that stand out at this stage are: student, language, teaching, learning,

question, and speaking. These results warrant further analysis via a node analysis. A node is a

collection of references concerning a particular place, area of interest, or theme. References are

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gathered through coding sources, such as survey results, articles, or interviews. In this case, the

interviews were used as the sources for gathering the references. Gathering the interviews in one

specific place helped in identifying the emerging ideas and patterns.

Thereafter the themes were code-brushed into nodes. For example, the references were

coded by gathering them into a node for the word ‘speaking.’

Text search queries

I ran a text search query in the nodes in order to check to see whether a theme was

prevalent in most of the interviews and observations. The first concept that I searched for was

learning a given language. The term ‘learning’ was entered into the text search criteria section

and the outcome is shown in the figure below. Figure 3 describes the percentage of the word

‘learning’.

Percentage of the word ‘learning’

The textual analysis revealed the consistent appearance of the word ‘learning’ across the

entire data range. All of the participants hinted at the need for learning in the CLT process. The

term was most prevalent in Ingred’s interview, having a 10% relevance, and lowest in Alex’s

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interview, having a 4.1% relevance. A closer inspection of Ingred’s interview indicated that she

opined that

“but learning a language involves many different theories, like Stephen Crashen talks

about comprehensible input. You have to be able to understand what people are asking

you to be able to use the language. Especially when you're a beginning learner of a

language, you have to understand what the meaning of the words are before you can

answer. You can't just learn them. You can't just practice using a language, you have to

know what it means.”

A closer look at the word ‘learning’ is shown in Ingred’s interview below. The excerpt below

describes the frequency of the word “learn.”

“Interviewer: What are some of the challenges that you have encountered since you

started using the communicative method of teaching English as second language?

Ingred: …They forget what form of the verb to use and that seems like it’s the very, very

last thing that they learn and like plurals, you know idioms, idioms are really, really

difficult for some students to learn. Not because students are not smart cause most of the

students we get at ELS are like Physics majors, they're brilliant people. It’s just that the

language is so complicated, okay. Those are the challenges. Beginning speakers, when

we get beginners they don’t always want to learn English, at least at ELS. We've gotten a

lot of people that they've been forced to do it. Their companies made them learn it. Their

parents have made them learn it and we have learned that you can’t learn a language if

you don’t, if your identity is not wrapped up in it. If you hate America or if you hate

teachers that speak English you're not going to learn it okay? And that's okay. I'm not

saying you have to, but don’t make somebody learn a language…”

A chart for the number of times the word ‘learning’ was coded for the various

interviewees is shown below. Figure 4 describes the coding source of ‘learning’.

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Coding source of ‘learning’

The figure reveals that the interview with the 4

student had the highest number of times

(16) that the word ‘learning’ was coded. As the word was coded 12 times for Jamila and three

times each for Adam and Morton, it can be assumed that Adam and Morton had similar opinions

with regard to learning a second language using the communicative method of teaching. The

context of Adam and Morton’s use of the word is, however, different from Ingred’s since it

shows how communicative methods are applied to learning by instructors as shown in the

excerpt below.

“Morton: Yes. I do believe that communicative teaching works. Mostly because I have

seen it, effects from the classroom. So, let me start by saying that I have been learning

English, French, and my native languages are Ukrainian and Russian so I have lots of

experience with languages and I have never experienced communicative language

teaching in my years as student learner. I have learned that construction of good

sentences enables students to communicate in polite way…,

The use of pictures can help the students in learning a second language. Pictures enable

the students to learn new vocabulary words, which enables then to speak more fluently. When

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students look at a word on the board, they get to know the spelling of that word, which

eliminates any confusion or doubt that may be present among the students. They become

confident in not only just mentioning the word, but also writing it in their books if they are told

to do so.

The visual form of learning is a component of the CLT that enables teachers to have an

easy time trying to explain the meaning of word, which, in turn, helps teachers develop

confidence that their students are understanding whatever they are learning through observations

(Alwazir & Shukri, 2016). This way of learning was clear from the first observation class as

shown in the following excerpt from my notes.

The teacher wrote new words on the board so that the students could use them in the

discussion. One method that the teacher used is that, when a student stated a word, he or

she was given a word that had the same meaning as the one mentioned by the student. For

instance, [the teacher] said ‘No problem’ and the students replied

‘yes.’…………………...

The same teacher also used a projector to show PowerPoint presentations on different

words. This method proved to be effective as shown in the excerpt of my notes from the first

observation.

The students were shown some photos using a projector as they guessed the pictures’

meanings in the English language. [The teacher’s] intention was to examine whether [the

students] could describe the pictures in less than 10 minutes using

English………………………………

The CLT is based on a premise of participation from both the teacher and students.

According to Wang, Xu, and Zhou (2016), the CLT requires the participation of all of the parties

involved for it to have a positive impact on the students’ learning processes. My observations

reinforced this concept just like shown below.

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First Observation

This observation showed that, when the students participated in the classroom, they

gained confidence, which enabled them to communicate outside the classroom in English. They

were not only able to more easily express themselves, but also to be understood. Therefore, it

was obviously that, through this process, they internalized the English language.

“When the group completed the task, the new students were invited … to introduce

themselves … on the board. For instance, they could begin by saying:

I am _______.

I am from _______.

It took me _______ hours to come here.”

Through this process, the students learn not only from the teacher, but, also, from their peers. As

a result, the students develop positive perceptions toward the CLT.

The second-class observation showed that participation could also be undertaken via

readings.

There was a short article in the book. Every student was allowed to read a paragraph

aloud followed by another student who read the next paragraph. While reading the

paragraphs, the teacher walked around as he listened to them, correcting their

pronunciation mistakes. At the same time, the students were correcting one another’s

mistakes. When a student did not understand the meaning of a certain word while

reading, they were allowed to highlight the word and ask for the meaning from the

teacher………………….

Therefore, the aspect of ‘speaking’ is relevant to this study. A textual search for

‘speaking’ revealed that all of the datasets referenced speaking. The highest relevance of which

was in the second student’s interview with 6.4% just as shown in Figure 6

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Coding source of the word ‘speaking’

The interview with Sultan shows that ‘speaking’ is a major element of the communicative

method and emphasis should be placed on mixing students with weak language speaking skills

with the ones with strong speaking skills. Sultan mentioned that “I can't understand the

pronunciation of my friend when he speaks, so, sometimes, the communication fails…”

The findings of the data analysis were similar to the findings of previously published

research. According to Wu (2010), students are always anxious when learning to speak a foreign

language. Speaking provides proof that the students have learned something, while, in the

classroom, they can express themselves using English. Speaking also provides the students with

opportunities to practically apply the language that they learned in the classroom in the real

world (Wu, 2010).

The prevalence of the word ‘have’ was used to create a node in order to harvest all of the

themes and sentiments possessing a certain facet of the CLT. In this regard, a text search analysis

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indicated that there were 40 instances of the word. Jamila’s interview had the highest incidents

which was 8.7%. The appearance of this word showed that the students acknowledged that the

use of the CLT has yielded positive outcomes with regard to learning ESL. Figure 7 below

shows the word frequency of ‘have’ in the interviews.

Word frequency of ‘have’

As shown in the except, in Jamila’s interview, the prevalence of the word ‘have’ means that the

students have already acquired the necessary language skills as a consequence of using the CLT

method.

As seen from Alex’s interview, it can be seen that communicative teaching helps students

learn English in a more natural, conversational way. Learning through communicative teaching

helps the students understand how words are correctly pronounced. An interview with one of the

teachers showed that the CLT enables the students to gain effective speaking skills. Even though

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the students might not speak fluent English during the initial stages of learning, they will

eventually improve.

I think that it really shows them how English is spoken, you know, as opposed to a

teacher standing in front of the room and lecturing for 50 minutes or three hours. They’re

interacting with both the teacher and, more importantly, … with each other. So, it’s a

two-way communication. It’s very dynamic. It’s unpredictable and I think that is what

they’re going to be experiencing out in the real world. Our goal as teachers is to prepare

them for the real world…….

Emerging themes

The following are some of the common themes found in all of the interviews.

Major Themes

● Speaking is one of the most effective ways utilized in teaching a foreign language using

the CLT.

● Learning using the CLT impacts foreign students positively.

● Communication skills are enhanced through the use of the CLT in the classroom.

Sub-themes

● Interaction is key when it comes to learning a foreign language using the CLT.

● The CLT has a positive impact on students’ learning since it enables them to speak a

language in practical situations.

● Students who embrace the CLT usually develop a positive perception toward it.

The results of this analysis are congruent with the results of various scholarship from the

past. For instance, the results of this study showed the importance of participation and

interactivity in the CLT process. An interview with Mohe revealed that the CLT encourages the

students to learn a second language since it is enjoyable rather than boring.

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Since I started learning via the communicative method, I feel that it has been a very

enjoyable experience. Also, it encourages learners to incorporate their personal

experiences into their language learning environments and focus on the learning

experience in addition to the learning of the target language.

Literature from previous studies has shown similar outcomes. According to Wren (2006),

communicative teaching helps develop language skills for people who are just beginning to learn

the language. The spoken language is the main medium through which people learn and teachers

teach. Communicative learning begins by processing and producing sounds. Such skills are of

significance since, as people begin learning any language, they start by learning how sounds are

pronounced. Communicative teaching also enhances comprehension and expression as expressed

by García & Wei (2014). Whether in graphic or oral form, people usually interact through

expressions. Speaking refers to the process of sharing and building the meaning of a language

through the utilization of non-verbal and verbal symbols (García & Wei, 2014).

Communicative teaching is a significant part of learning and teaching a second language,

even though it has often been undervalued. As depicted from the interview results, the

communicative method seems to be an effective method of learning a second language. Morton

mentioned that “Yes, I do believe that communicative teaching works, mostly because I have

seen it.… I think communicative language teaching is … a superior method because it allows

you to be able to use your skills right away.”

Research has proven that the CLT concentrates more on the learner than on the teacher

since the learner is the one who carries out most of the activities in the classroom (Akhmedova,

2016). The learner engages in participation activities, such as group work, which enables them to

gain practical knowledge. The outcome of this analysis is similar to that of Foote et al. (2012),

which showed that speaking forms one of the most important aspects when it comes to using the

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communicative method while teaching students in the classroom. The aspect of engaging the

learners in learning a language gives them an actual exposure to that language. They make

mistakes and stand a chance to be corrected. As a result, they learn from these mistakes and

become confident when speaking in public.

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CHAPTER FIVE

DISCUSSION

The qualitative method was used in this study in order to examine the impact of the

Communicative Language Teaching on students’ performances and teachers and students’

perceptions towards the CLT. This study included several sources of data, including past studies,

observations, and interviews. The nine participants in this study provided thoughts from the

teachers and students’ perspectives related to using the CLT method in teaching or learning ESL.

I examined the implications of the CLT through observations in the classroom as well as how the

students responded to the teachers when they were teaching them using this method.

The findings revealed that the CLT helped the students perform better in English.

According to the response of the four students regarding the first research question for this study,

since they started using the CLT, they have improved regarding the way they perform in the

English language. Despite the other methods that they could use to learn English, the CLT has

proven to be the most effective for them. This finding is similar to that of the data analysis for

this research in which Jamila praised the method as both helpful and enjoyable.

Learning through listening, speaking, and interaction through participating in group

discussions and gaming activities has helped the students learn how to use the English language

in any setting and enabled them to communicate effectively. Interaction can also be seen in the

data analysis as one of the key components of the CLT. This interaction comes about when

students from different backgrounds meet and share their views and opinions concerning what

they have experienced in their academic lives.

These findings are connected to the social interactionist theory as seen in the study

conducted by Matsueda and Heimer (1997) who found out that interaction is key to learning a

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second language as students get to learn from one another through listening and speaking. The

authors suggested that, just like a child learns a new language by listening to his parents, students

listen to their classmates and teachers in order to learn the correct pronunciation of words and

construction of sentences.

Students satisfaction about the CLT

The results of the interviews showed that the students are content with the CLT and feel

that it is helping them to learn the English language faster and easier than other methods.

According to the data analysis, one of the advantages of the CLT is its emphasis on speaking,

which the students find to be more beneficial than the theory portion of learning the language.

Both the word cloud and nodes showed that ‘speaking’ was a theme often discussed by the

interviewees.

In order for teachers to properly institute the CLT, they need to first understand where

each student’s weaknesses lie. They also need to know which students learn quicker than others

so that the students who learn quickly can be paired with students who learn slowly so as to help

the students learn from each other. In addition, by teaching the students how to pronounce words

correctly, the teachers will provide the students with confidence in their ability to speak the

language. Group discussions further enforce this confidence as they provide them with practical

situations in which to practice their speaking abilities and receive corrections in a safe

environment.

Students’ perceptions toward the CLT and Impact on their performances

According to the responses of the students, the CLT has positively affected their

performances by building confidence and self-esteem in them. It has also enabled them feel as if

they belong to a certain society where people communicate using a foreign language. Hence,

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they gain the ability to speak fluently and confidently in the public. The CLT enables the

students to be more practical than theoretical when it comes to learning English as a Second

Language (ESL).

Teachers’ perceptions toward the CLT

The response of the teachers’ interviews showed that they felt positively about the CLT

and felt that it was an effective method when teaching a foreign language since it reduces

monotony and boredom of both the students and teachers in the classroom. The issue of adhering

to the rules of grammar when speaking in English might be challenging for some students. Most

students who are beginners in learning a second language often encounter this challenge while in

the classroom. Even though students might face such challenges, it is possible to utilize modern

technology, such as online platforms, to improve their performances. For example, online sites,

such as YouTube, can be crucial in aiding the students’ learning processes. This site comes in

handy when students want to know the correct pronunciation of words as well as the rules of

grammar. The results of the data analysis also depicted similar outcomes in that the use of visual

aids, such as projectors and the board, enables students to visualize what the teacher is saying

and enables them to learn new vocabulary, which allows them to speak fluently.

Implications and Suggestions for Further Research

The outcome of this research has shown that the communicative approach of teaching a

second language can be used alongside other methods, such as grammar translation. As seen in

this research, it is quite clear that some students may not be satisfied with the CLT because of the

challenges that they face while learning using this method. For instance, at some point, the

teacher might force a learner to speak English even if they do not know the correct

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pronunciation. Such a challenge can be overcome by introducing group discussions among the

students. Discussions in groups enable the learners to have positive perceptions toward the CLT.

This research has immensely contributed to the need of making the communicative

method more practical so that it can help improve the performance of students. According to the

outcome of this study, the performance of students should not be gauged in terms of theoretical

work only. Even though the CLT has proven to be effective as far as the outcome of this study is

concerned, there is need to incorporate technology in teaching ESL in the future. For instance,

some students may not necessarily be able to physically attend class. Therefore, new approaches

have to be integrated into the CLT to ensure that such students also benefit from the use of the

CLT outside the classroom.

New questions have emerged from this study.

● Even though a student might learn English through speaking and listening, is it

possible for the student to make a grammatical mistake while writing the same

language rather than pronouncing it?

● If group discussions are effective, why must the teacher monitor them?

● Do social interactions enable learners to learn the formal or informal English

language?

● Does the CLT method effective in the classroom for those countries which are not

using English as primary language?

These questions need to be answered in order to aid in future research on the topic.

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Limitations of the Research

Several limitations were experienced while conducting this study. First, I was forced to

select only five students since some of the students lacked experience with the teaching method.

My choice was based on the fact that most of the second language learners came from different

countries where this method has not been incorporated into their educational system. Second,

some of the students in the English school were at the beginner level and, thus, it was difficult

for them to answer the interview questions in English. Third, I had a difficult time booking

appointments with the teachers due to their busy schedules. Fourth, it was hard to schedule the

observations around the class exams. Fifth, some of the teachers did not provide direct answers

to the interview questions, which caused difficulties when attempting to analyze the outcome of

the interviews. Sixth, during the observation classes, some of the students spent more time

focused on me than on the lessons being presented to them. Seventh, the speed with which the

teachers answered my questions was an obstacle as some of the teachers could speak very

quickly, which made it difficult to gather all of the spoken data during the transcription portion

of the process. Eighth, some of the students were unable to answer my questions even though

they spoke English because they were not fluent enough to express themselves with the proper

words.

Conclusion

This study revealed that the communicative teaching method has a great impact on the

learning experiences of various students. However, for the impact to be truly transformative and

lead to better learning among ESL students, there must be a great emphasis on participatory

learning and speaking experiences. Such activities must also be supported by use of appropriate

curriculum that is both responsive to the needs of the students and tailored according to the

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relevant ESL learning theories. Appropriate curriculum plays an important role when it comes to

using the CLT since the curriculum provides the students and teachers with directions to follow

(Ko, 2014).

Proper implementation of the CLT can yield positive results in terms of the students’

performances. Research conducted by Rahman (2015), has proven this statement to be true since

the CLT provides the students with a friendly learning environment. The students automatically

become interactive when the teacher uses the CLT in the classroom because they are not afraid

of the teacher. Instead, they feel free to ask the teacher any questions that come up during the

discussion.

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APPENDIX A

Interview Questions for Teachers

1. From your experience, do you find the communicative method is an effective method of

teaching English as a second language? If so, elaborate.

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2. What has been the trend of the performance of student since you started using

communicative method of teaching ESL?

3. How students have been performing before you started using communicative teaching

method to teach English as a second language?

4. How do you compare communicative teaching method to the other methods of teaching

English as a second language? Is there a significant difference in terms method of

delivery and performance of students? Are there any similarities?

5. What are some of the challenges that you have encountered since you started using

communicative method of teaching English as a second Language?

6. How do you compare the rate of enrollment of students in this school before and after

you started using communicative method of teaching English as a second language?

7. What kind of complaints that raised by students concerning the communicative method of

teaching English as a second language?

8. Do you feel that anything needs to be changed regarding to this method of teaching

English as a second language? What changes do you suggest?

9. In your opinion, do you think that this method should be scrapped off or should teachers

continue using it?

APPENDIX B

Interview Questions for Students

1. How have you been performing since you started learning English as your second

language using the communicative method?

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2. Are you contented with the communicative method of learning English as a second

language?

3. What changes do you think should be introduced to make the communicative method

of learning more efficient?

4. Since you started learning using this method, what characteristics have you identified

in your opinion?

5. Are there any other alternative methods used to teach English as a second language in

your school? If yes, could you mention some of these methods?

6. In your opinion, what is the impact of using communicative teaching method on the

learning performance of students?

7. What perceptions do you have as a student who learns using the communicative

method of teaching English as a second language?

8. What are the factors that led to the use of the communicative method of teaching

English as a second language in your school?

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The Impact of using Communicative Language Teaching CLT on the Students Performance

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