Signing decrees “on measures to further improve training specialists in the area of the state governance” from April 10 and “On measures to further improve foreign language learning system” from December 10, 2012 by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov have become very important supportive encouragement in improving foreign language teaching in the country. As it is also noted that in the framework of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan and National Program for training in the country, teaching system of foreign languages is also aimed for preparing as highly- educated, modern –thinking specialists and governors in Uzbekistan. Teaching and learning foreign languages is one of the most important tasks to be resolved by the nation. The progress in the development of the teaching system depends on methods chosen by a teacher. Studying of the evolution of teaching methods, we can observe that changes arise according to learners breakthrough, needs and purposes. Promotion of a foreign language culture as the training purpose has become as the reason for emerging of a problem on necessity of the creation of new methodic system which could provide achievement of this purpose by the most effective and rational way. The communicative approach could be said to be the product of educators and linguists who had grown dissatisfied with the audio lingual and grammar-translation methods of foreign language instruction. Foreign language teachers had a sense that learners were not learning enough realistic, whole language. Teachers did not know how to communicate using appropriate social language, gestures, or expressions. In short they were at a loss to communicate in the culture of the language studied. However interest in and development of communicative-style teaching is developing at present days. Nowadays authentic language use and classroom exchanges are becoming quite popular. In the past years, the communicative approach has been adapted to the elementary, middle, secondary, and post-secondary levels, and the underlying philosophy has spawned different teaching methods known under a variety of names, including notional-functional, teaching for proficiency, proficiency-based instruction, and communicative language teaching. The logic of working out of a communicative technique also has led to certain promotion of the foreign language culture as the teaching objective of foreign languages in adult education. And the similar system can be constructed only on a communicative basis. Besides, as practice has confirmed that the use of a communicative technique provides not only foreign language mastering as communicative means, but also development of all-round personal features of adults. The structure of the communicative method includes informative, developing and training aspects which are directed for teaching adults. Taking it and a concept of communicativeness into consideration and also many-sided nature of the teaching system, some methodical principles of a communicative technique can be formulated. The communicative method has firstly raised the problem about communication that should be taught only through communication. In this case communication can be used as an area of education, knowledge and development. Communication is social process, where an exchange of activities, experience combined into the material and spiritual culture, takes place. Emotional and rational interaction of adults and impact on each other is carried out in communication. Namely, communication is an important matter of good education. So, communication carries out a function of teaching, understanding, developing and educating in the communicative methodology of teaching. Teaching process of a foreign language gives a chance to a model of the real communication process on the main parameters: motivation, purposefulness, informative ness in the communication process, novelty, situation, functionality, character of interaction communicating adults and system of spoken abilities. Thanks to it, teaching conditions, due adequate reality, are created that make easy in proper mastering of abilities and using them in the real communication process. Teaching English as a foreign language for adults has long determined changes in the pedagogical methods and continues to do so. What is important is that the focus has changed from teacher-centered classes to learner-centered classes. This method foresees new approaches especially for the teacher. The present teaching system has understood that the class is a stabled two-side partnership between the one who teaches and the one who learns. It means relationship between teacher and adult learner. So the two parts “negotiate” their options in the class, in the sense that, for a better learning activity the one who teaches should become more or less dynamic or adequate. That is the one who understands, the one who finally sets things into order and realizes the best attitude towards his counterpart. In my opinion the main task of the teacher is to create the conditions in which learning process occurs. I regard that we must complete this statement by saying that the teacher has to form the best conditions in which the best learning process for adults can be taken place. The matter is that we are for optimal activists to gain the best results. Communicative method seems to be an appropriate way to rich all objectives. Communicative method deals with classroom interaction of adult learners as an important teaching principle. It is not less important for the adult learner to listen to and to speak with the teacher, as the latter is the one who may and can decide whether the required level of accuracy has been reached. The adult learners always try to treat a teacher teaching them, as a person who has the necessary skills to observe, understand and most important to correct their mistakes. It is not always the best way to learn, especially when it comes to a teaching a foreign language for adults. It is the part of productivity of the teaching process. The adult learner gets a lot from what he hears from the teacher or from a listening activity, but is more important to become the one who can finally produce language. One of the challenges in teaching a foreign language lies not only in the process of entrance, of providing information — that is pronouncing the words and explaining their meaning. It is also the problem of exit, of what the adult learner is capable of pronouncing. Counting on that the learner absorbs the correct depiction of the language (or of a certain vocabulary) by listening to the teacher, we may simply fall into the mistake of dominating the lesson to the exclusion of any other learner. So, we have to constantly acknowledge that by interacting with the teacher, a learner can learn to interact with a competent user of the language. Communicative language teaching makes use of real-life situations that necessitate communication. The teacher sets up a situation that learners are likely to meet in real life. Unlike the audiolingual method of language teaching, which relies on repetition and drills, the communicative method can leave learners in suspense as to the outcome of a class exercise, which will vary according to their reactions and responses. The real-life simulations change from day to day. Learners motivation to learn comes from their desire to communicate in meaningful ways about meaningful topics. Margie S. Berns, an expert in the field of communicative language teaching, writes in explaining Firth's view that «language is interaction; it is interpersonal activity and has a clear relationship with society. In this light, language study has to look at the use (function) of language in context, both its linguistic context (what is uttered before and after a given piece of discourse) and its social, or situational, context (who is speaking, what their social roles are, why they have come together to speak)".
Summing up above mentioned statements, I’ll like to summarize the following:
- Communication method provides development of all-round personal features of adults.
- Communication method is an important matter for good education principles.
- Communication method changes a focus of the lesson from teacher centered into learner centered at classes.
- Communicative method deals with classroom interaction of adult learners as an important teaching principle.
- Communicative language teaching makes use of real-life situations that necessitate communication
Important instruction on performing communicative method in classes:
‒ Verbal techniques in communication method allow learners understand what is being said.
‒ Non-Verbal techniques allow our leaners to be receptive to what we are saying.
‒ Media facilities helps learners to explain complex ideas.
8-Slide presentations are useful for organizing a variety of visual, audio or animated information and can be used to emphasize key points and summarize ideas.
‒ Videos and animations can illustrate dynamic processes and provide a sense of scale.
‒ Audio clips can introduce a new voice into the classroom and illustrate the sounds of physical processes.
‒ Handouts, whether paper or electronic, are an effective way to share detailed information and images with students.
Getting the learners interested in communicative method:
We need to connect the day’s topic to the learners’ interests, experience, and prior knowledge to spark learners’ curiosity and explain why it’s valuable or useful for them. Provide an engaging example or anecdote that the students can connect to, as emotional connections are more memorable than raw facts.
Organizing the class on communicative method
Teachers have to structure the class in a logical way; e.g., frame the topic as a story, present a problem then develop its solution, describe events and processes chronologically or show the relationship of interconnected ideas to an overarching topic. They have to share an outline to help the students organize and assimilate their learning.
Make explicit transitions between topics to help students follow along; e.g., use verbal signposting such as mini-summaries or link a new topic to the one prior.
Clarifying the purpose or goal in communicative method of the class:
A teacher has to repeat the key ideas and concepts to emphasize their importance to learners and help learners to understand them; e.g., summarize key points, compare and contrast ideas with each other, or provide metaphors and analogies.
Focus on major points and have students seek additional information in other activities.
References:
- I. A. Karimov. A decree “On measures to further improve training specialists in the area of the state governance” from April 10, 2012
- I. A. Karimov. A degree “On measures to further improve foreign language learning system” from December 10, 2012
- Ляховицкий М. В. Методика преподавания иностранного языка. — М., 1981г
- Скалкин В. Л. Английский язык для общения. — М., 1986г
- Dolle, D., & Willems, G. M. (1984). The communicative approach to foreign language teaching: The teacher's case. «European Journal of Teacher Education», (2), 145–54.
- Morrow, K., & Schocker, M. (1987). Using texts in a communicative approach. «ELT Journal», 41(4), 248–56.
- Oxford, R. L., et al. (1989). Language learning strategies, the communicative approach, and their classroom implications. «Foreign Language Annals», 22(1), 29–39.
- Pica, T. P. (1988). Communicative language teaching: An aid to second language acquisition? Some insights from classroom research. «English Quarterly», 21(2), 70–80.
- Jim Scrivener — Learning Teaching, Macmillan Books for Teachers, Oxford, 2005
- Jeremy Harmer — The Practice of English Language Teaching, Longman, 1995
- Stephen D. Krashen — Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition, Pergamon Press,
- Pattison, P. (1987). «The communicative approach and classroom realities». (EDRS No. ED 288 407, 17 pages)
- Riley, P. (1982). «Topics in communicative methodology: Including a preliminary and selective bibliography on the communicative approach». (EDRS No. ED 231 213, 31 pages)
