Observation of communicative language teaching (CLT) in a year 3 primary school in Johor Bahru

Abstract

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) has a long history in an English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom. It is an approach which focuses on developing learners’ communicative skills in a meaningful context. However, the application of communicative language teaching (CLT) in an English language classroom has recently been debated extensively. Teachers still find it difficult and challenging to adopt CLT effectively in the classroom. This paper aims to report the application of CLT in a Year 3 English language classroom during a 90-minute lesson. Specifically, the study intended to observe and describe whether or not the teacher focused on CLT in terms of lesson development and implementation. Data was collected using an observation checklist and field notes in accordance with the objective of the study. The collected data was analysed using content analysis and validated by interrater reliability. The findings have indicated strengths and weaknesses in the lesson conducted. This can be seen in certain features of the observation towards CLT such as pair or group work activities, fluency of the language, error correction implemented by the teacher and the role of the teacher. It can be concluded that CLT approach should be given importance in the classroom by teachers in the learning process.