Topic 14

Methods and techniques focused on the acquisition of communicative

competences. Methodological foundations for the teaching of English as a Foreign
Language.

Introduction
1. Methods and techniques focused on the acquisition of communicative
competences.
1.1. Communicative Approach.
1.2. Task-Based Learning.
1.3. Cooperative Language Learning.
1.4. Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL).
1.5. Presentation, Practices, Production (PPP).
1.6. Modern approaches.
1.6.1. Lexical syllabus.
1.6.2. Using smartphones in the English classrooms.
2. Methodological foundations for the teaching of English as a Foreign
Language.
3. Conlusion.
4. Bibliography.

Introduction
What is the best method to use with my students? How will I differentiate my
instruction to help my students succeed? How can I help students to communicate in
English and also acquire real-life knowledge? These are some of the questions that
any English teacher asks him/herself when working on a lesson plan.
In this topic we will study several methods and techniques focused on the
achievement of communicative competence. There is not a unique communicative
method but a great variety of them. We are going to describe some of the most
commonly used when teaching English as a foreign language as well as some modern
approaches which seem to place great emphasis on communication:
- Communicative approach.
- Task-Based Learning.
- Cooperative Language Learning.
- Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)
- Presentation, Practice and Production (PPP).
In the long search for the best way of teaching a foreign language, a wide
range of new approaches and methods has been devised. From a methodological
point of view, the communicative approach is probably the best known as it
comprises techniques which promote understanding and expression of messages as
well as the use and the integration of the four skills: listening, speaking, reading and
writing.
Syllabus planning in communicative models include activities and techniques
to be carried out in the units by the pupils in order to achieve a communicative
competence. This is the main aim in foreign language teaching, established by article
17. f. in the Organic Law which modifies the Organic Law of Education (LOMLOE) of
December 2020.

1. Methods and techniques focused on the acquisition of communicative

competences.
David Nunan, an Australian linguist, defines tasks as class work requiring the
students to understand, manipulate, elaborate on, produce or interact, using the
target language while their attention is focused on the meaning of the messages
rather than on their form.
Tasks, according to Nunan, should be completed actions in themselves.
Therefore, teachers should design tasks considering the following aspects:

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 - Objectives: the aim we want to achieve with the tasks should help to acquire
the target language.
- Input: There are different ways to introduce the vocabulary and structures of
every unit, for example: flashcards, videos, powerpoint, chants, etc.
- Activities: it will depend on the stages of the unit and the student levels.
Teachers will also need to consider the timing, grouping or adaptations for
children with special needs.
- The role of the teacher: it can change during the session or during the unit. At
some point, the teacher might start with teacher-centred activities to finish as
a mediator where he/she can act as an advisor.
- The role of the student: Children mostly listen and observe when they start a
new unit. Later, they participate, especially when they have the language to do
so.
The decision of changing from one method to another, or from one set of
classroom techniques and procedures will always depend on what our students will
need to be successful. As follows, we will learn about some of the methods and
techniques that we can use to promote communication in the English class.

1.1. Communicative Approach.

The communicative approach is a teaching approach that highlights the
importance of real communication for learning to take place. Real communication
and interaction are not only the objective in learning, but also the means through
which it takes place. This approach started in the 70s and became prominent as an
alternative to others that focused more on grammar or vocabulary acquisition. Its
aim is to develop learners' competence to communicate in the target language by
taking real-life situations as a reference.
According to Jack C. Richards (2006), a learner can develop communicative
competence by:
- Using the target language for different purposes and functions.

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 - Varying the language according to the context and the children.
- Producing different types of texts.
- Using strategies in order to communicate efficiently.
In this method the teacher designs a syllabus including the four skills in the
activities: listening, speaking, reading and writing. The activities will favour
student-student interaction and provide learners with opportunities to speak. Some
examples are role-plays, information-gap activities, jigsaws, open-ended questions or
presentations.
Learners are then the centre of the teaching and learning process. The teacher
is now seen as a facilitator in the classroom by creating opportunities for
communication, maintaining the learner’s motivation, establishing a relaxed
atmosphere in class and providing feedback when needed.

Some techniques that are related to the Communicative Approach are:

- Authentic materials where students can be exposed to real language in
different situations. For example: reading brochures, watching tv-shows,
listening to podcasts, etc., in the target language.
- Scramble sentences: this allows students to put in order ideas to make sense.
For example, students can order paragraphs from a story, or sentences to
create a text, or words to form a word to practice spelling.
- Language games: games are used frequently in Communicative Approaches
since it can provide multiple opportunities of communication for students.
One of the platforms that has been used in the last few years has been Kahoot
where students can participate collaboratively with other teams or students.
- Picture strip story: For example, a student in the group will then show the first
picture of the story to the other members of her group and ask them to
predict what the second picture is like. This activity is an example of using a
strip story to conduct a problem-solving task as a communicative technique.

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 They can be structured so that students share information or work together to
arrive at a solution.
- Role-plays: These are very important activities because students have the
opportunity to perform different characters and roles in different contexts.

1.2. Task-Based Learning.

TBL (Task-Based Learning), or TBLT (Task-Based Language Learning) is an
approach developed in the late 1980s, in which learning involves the performance of
meaningful tasks. In the TBL approach, the main focus is on the authentic use of
language for genuine communication.
Task-based language teaching provides many benefits to aid foreign language
learning. Ellis (2009) lists these benefits as follows:
- TBLT provides the opportunity for ‘natural’ learning within the classroom
context.
- It stresses meaning over form; however, it can also emphasise learning form.
- it offers learners a fertile input of target language.
- It is intrinsically motivating.
- It is consistent with a learner-focused educational philosophy but also gives
permission for teacher input and guidance.
- It contributes to the improvement of communicative fluency while not
disregarding accuracy.
- It can be deployed together with a more traditional approach.

Although a task-based approach presents many benefits to aid foreign

language learning, it is not without some obstacles and challenges. According to
Hatip (2005), some challenges of task-based approach are as follows:
- Task-based learning involves a high level of creativity and dynamism on the
part of the teacher. If the teachers are restricted to more traditional roles or

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 do not possess time and resources to provide task-based teaching; this type of
teaching may be impracticable.
- Task-based learning necessitates resources beyond the textbooks and related
materials generally available in foreign language classrooms.
- Students may, at first, refuse or object to task-based language learning in that
this type of instruction is not what many students expect and want from a
language class.
- Some learners employ the mother tongue when they face difficulty or if the
group feels intolerant.
- Some learners are inclined to get caught up in making an effort to find the
appropriate word, and do not worry about how it is placed into the discourse.
- There is a danger for learners to attain fluency at the expense of accuracy.

In this method, teachers need to be prepared to adopt a number of roles in

the classroom and have the linguistic competence to perform them in English and
provide students with useful feedback and practice.

There are many types of activities which are suitable for children and
motivating them to learn a foreign language. Some examples are: puzzles, writing and
solving riddles, using maps, carrying out surveys, doing interviews, inventing and
designing objects or games, etc.

1.3. Cooperative Language Learning.

Cooperative Language Learning is based on the idea that second language
learning can be best done in heterogeneous groups, where all students work
collaboratively and cooperatively for one common goal. The theories of Vygostky and
Piaget can be seen as the bases of cooperative language learning.
There are five fundamental elements involved in cooperative learning. In fact,
these five elements distinguish cooperative learning from other forms of group
learning. These elements can be thought of as pieces in a puzzle. When all of these

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elements are present in a learning situation, the result is a cooperative learning
group. The five basic elements of cooperative learning are:

- Positive interdependence: This means that the efforts of each person benefit
not only the individual, but also everyone else in the group. The key to positive
interdependence is committing to personal success as well as the success of
every member of the group.
- Individual and group accountability: The group is accountable for achieving its
goals, and each member must be accountable for contributing a fair share of
the work toward the group goal. The performance of each individual must be
assessed and the results given back to the group.
- Interpersonal and small group skills: Interpersonal and small group skills are
required to function as part of a group. These are basic teamwork skills. Group
members must know how to - and be motivated to - provide effective
leadership, make decisions, build trust, communicate, and manage conflict.
- Face-to-face promotive interaction: This means that students promote each
other's success by sharing resources. They help, support, encourage, and
praise each other's efforts to learn. Both academic and personal support are
part of this mutual goal.
- Group processing: Group members need to feel free to communicate openly
with each other to express concerns as well as to celebrate accomplishments.
They should discuss how well they are achieving their goals and maintaining
effective working relationships.

Cooperative learning, compared with traditional instruction, tends to promote

productivity and achievement and provide more opportunities for communication.
When connected with foreign language learning, it shares the same basic set of
principles with the widespread Communicative Language Teaching. It makes clear
that the objective of foreign language teaching is not only to teach students some

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grammatical rules and vocabularies, but also how to use the knowledge in practice to
express or narrate thoughts and ideas.
Cooperative language learning responds to the trend in foreign language
teaching methods by focusing on the communicative and effective factors in
language learning. It is not surprising that cooperative language learning is beneficial
in foreign language learning and teaching. It is worthwhile for teachers and scholars
to introduce this method to language learning classrooms.
Some examples of activities about Cooperative Learning are Think-Pair-Share,
Jigsaw or Round Robin:
- “Think-Pair-Share”: Also called turn & talk. Teacher poses a question to the
group, and each student has a minute or two to think about the question.
Then, they turn and discuss with someone sitting next to them, and then share
with the whole class.
- “Jigsaw”: Students are placed into "home groups" and "expert groups" and
are each assigned a different topic within the same general topic. Students
work on researching their topics with others who have the same topic (their
expert group) and then return back to their home group to teach them about
their topic. Together, all the pieces come together to form a complete product.
- “Round Robin”: Students are sitting with groups (3-4 students), and their
teacher asks them a question or gives them a problem to solve. The questions
or problems are deliberating chosen, in that there are multiple ways to solve
the problem and multiple points for discussion. Students in their groups take
turns answering and sharing their ideas with each other, working together to
come up with an answer that they all agree on.

1.4. Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL).

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is an approach where students learn
a subject and a second language at the same time. A science course, for example, can

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be taught to students in English and they will not only learn about science, but they
will also gain relevant vocabulary and language skills.
It’s important to note that CLIL is not a means of simplifying content or
reteaching something students already know in a new language. CLIL courses should
truly integrate the language and content in order to be successful – and success is
determined when both the subject matter and language is learned.
CLIL can work for students of any age, all the way from primary level to
university and beyond. So long as the course content and language aims are designed
with the students’ needs in mind, there is no limit as to who can benefit from this
teaching approach. However, it is most commonly found in primary and secondary
school contexts.
Some of the advantages of this approach are:
- Many teachers see CLIL as a more natural way to learn a language; when a
subject is taught in that language there is a concrete reason to learn both at
the same time. And as students have a real context to learn the language in,
they are often more motivated to do so, as they can only get the most of the
content if they understand the language around it.
- Moreover, being content focused, CLIL classes add an extra dimension to the
class and engage students, which is especially advantageous in situations
where students are unenthusiastic about learning a language.
- CLIL also promotes a deeper level of assimilation – as students are repeatedly
exposed to similar language and language functions and they need to produce
and recall information in their second language.
- Furthermore, it has the advantage that multiple subjects can be taught in
English, so that students’ exposure to the language is increased, meaning
their language acquisition is faster.
- CLIL also encourages students to develop 21st Century skills, including the
ability to think critically, be creative, to communicate and collaborate.

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 When applying CLIL in the classroom, it’s important to have a strategy in place.
One of the key things to remember is that the language and subject content are given
equal weight and that it shouldn’t be treated as a language class nor a subject class
simply taught in a foreign language.
According to Coyle’s 4Cs curriculum (1999), a successful CLIL class should
include the following four elements:
- Content – Progression in knowledge, skills and understanding related to
specific elements of a defined curriculum.
- Communication – Using language to learn whilst learning to use language.
- Cognition – Developing thinking skills which link concept formation (abstract
and concrete), understanding and language.
- Culture – Exposure to alternative perspectives and shared understandings,
which deepen awareness of otherness and self.

As English becomes an essential add-on to any curricular program around the

world, it is moving into a position where it becomes a subject that students learn in
order to do something else. CLIL, with its dual-focused aims, encapsulates perfectly
this utilitarian view of the English language. “CLIL is about using languages to learn...
It is about installing a ‘hunger to learn’ in the student. It gives an opportunity for
him/her to think about and develop how s/he communicates in general, even in the
first language” (Marsh, Marsland & Stenberg, 2001).

1.5. Presentation, Practices, Production (PPP).

The PPP could be characterised as an approach to teaching with consists in
three states: Presentation of an aspect of language in a context that students are
familiar with; Practice, where students will be given an activity that gives them plenty
of opportunities to practise the new aspect of language and become familiar with it
receiving appropriate assistance from the teacher; and the final stage, Production,

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where students will use the language in context, an an activity set up by the teacher
who will be giving the minimal support.
This method is widely used in teaching simple language at all levels. However,
there are some critics about it. A review of the literature relating to the PPP approach
identifies a number of advantages and disadvantages which we summarise below.
Some advantages are:
- The PPP method is easy to adopt and is good for new language teachers.
- The approach is widely applicable and can be used very flexibly.
- It’s easy to plan a lesson around and has a clear, logical structure for
students (and educators) to follow.
- Evidence suggests that teachers trained on this method are more likely to
use new teaching methods than those who do not.
Some disadvantages are:
- It encourages and prioritises accuracy over fluency.
- The presentation stage is too teacher-focused and has limited student
engagement.
- It can become boring to students if used repeatedly, particularly for
higher language proficiency students.
- Research suggests that it might not be the most effective way to teach or
learn a language.

1.6. Modern approaches.

As follows, we will explain two modern techniques which are usually
combined with some of the methods or approaches studied above.

1.6.1. Lexical syllabus

This approach focuses on what language students really need to produce.
That is, the words that students need to understand in order to carry out
specific tasks.

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 Students are asked to learn lists of words which can be quite long so the
teacher categorises them into sections like “places in town”. Lessons can,
therefore, focus on this specific vocabulary.
Activities can range from matching pictures and definitions to working
with dialogues. An example could be to describe their favourite shop in
town, or even speculate about what they could do if they had enough
money to buy anything in a shop.

1.6.2. Using smartphones in the English Classroom.

Smartphones provide many useful tools for students such as dictionaries,
translators and grammar reference apps. Pupils need to understand that
using their phones in class is not for playing or personal use, but serves
as a learning tool.
Edpuzzle, Kahoot, live worksheets, flip-grid or word-reference are some
useful examples of apps that are easy to integrate in our lesson plans.

All the methods, approaches and techniques explained so far share a common
aim: to encourage students to acquire a communicative competence. The present
educational Act, the Organic Law which modifies the Organic Law of Education
(LOMLOE 3/2020), in its article 17.f, establishes that the curricular purpose of the
foreign language subject is to “Acquire basic communicative competence in at least
one foreign language to enable pupils to express and understand simple messages
and get by in everyday situations''. It involves, among others, the following
methodological implications:
- The integration of the four linguistic skills (listening, speaking, reading and
writing) to teach the target language.
- A holistic assessment where students can demonstrate their competence
in different ways of situations.

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 - A methodology based on communication and oriented towards the
acquisition of communicative competence.
- Mistakes need to be seen as part of the learning process, and a learning
opportunity to improve.
- The use of TPR activities, especially for the early stages, where children
can learn basic English structures or vocabulary by using gestures or body
movements.

2. Methodological foundations for the teaching of English as a Foreign

Language.
We consider learning a foreign language as a process of creative construction
because the students use natural strategies to establish their own rules apart from a
linguistic input. Thus, they will organise the language meaningfully to produce
messages in different communicative situations. Therefore, it is important that the
students have a great variety of different inputs to choose from.
Progress in the learning process is not obtained in a linear form but globally. In
that way a cyclic way of learning will be proposed. It is important to foment
mechanisms of acquisition in the form of spontaneous and unconscious processes
that will take us to internal construction of knowledge.
Besides, we will insist on conscious effort to establish mechanisms of learning.
The students will be in continuous contact with meaningful and understandable
communicative facts which will fulfil the following characteristic: close to the
students’ interests, applicable to various situations of communication, including
contextual help to make understanding easier.
To make students acquire meaningful language they will find the new language
in a context that counts on linguistic and non-linguistics experiences as well as on
actions, people and objects.
The kind of activities, which will determine the context, will be based on tasks
generally known by the pupils, like different games, dramatisations, events or songs.

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The task to be carried out makes up the centre of the lesson plans and therefore
integrates aims, contents and assessment.
The activities will be chosen according to themes or centers of interest, which
form part of the children’s experience, and they will be adapted to their interest and
age. It is important to use the newly acquired language to do things and thus the
children will learn the language they need to carry out the activities and not the
contrary.
The skill of oral and written comprehension and expression will be worked on
integrated although understanding does not imply immediate production. There
must be moments of silence that allow the internalisation of the new language.
Production beyond the students’ communicative competence will never be asked for.
At the beginning of the learning process, receptive and oral skills are very
important because the pupils’ linguistic and communicative competence is still low.
Tasks will often be accompanied by non-linguistic answers like drawing, building,
associating, showing, sequencing or answering physically. Excess of verbal production
would imply that students spend less time on receiving information to develop their
communicative competence.
Nevertheless, it is also necessary to use the foreign language productively as
an essential condition for its learning and acquisition. Production is possible due to
the cooperative context of the tasks, which will be developed among classmates of
the teacher and the students.
At this stage, it is important to develop communicative strategies that make up
for the students’ low level of communicative competence. Some of these strategies
will be natural: say only the things which are necessary, use mimes and/or gestures,
be brief, make predictions, deduce meaning or anticipate context.
Our classroom will be our common and authentic context in general, in which
all the relations of communication in the foreign language will be established. The
teacher plays an essential role as far as emotion and authenticity of the

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communicative situations are concerned. She/he is also responsible for using the
foreign language as a means of communication during the learning process.
The teacher's language should be easy to understand for the students.
Therefore, pictures or other contextual help that will facilitate the process of
comprehension will accompany all activities and tasks. Thus, the students themselves
will be the ones who interpret and carry out the activities autonomously.
In the instruction and interactive process with the students, the teacher will
introduce communicative strategies, which are similar to the ones used in natural
processes of language acquisition. In this way; the pupils will already know some of
these processes like paraphrasing, using redundant elements or repeating naturally.
Cooperative learning and interactive language among the classmates will
favour the extension of communicative situations and social relations in the
classroom. The interactive language to be studied, will help to make progress in the
processes of acquisition and learning. To make cooperative work become usual
practice in the classroom it is necessary to organise space in a flexible way to permit
different ways of organising groups.
During group work, it is necessary to favour the fluent exchange of roles
among students and to foster active participation in different communicative
situations. Before beginning any activity it is important to create an environment
which favours interaction. Group and pair work give more opportunity to speak.
Group work allows more variety of communicative activities and contributes to the
fact that children feel as the active centre of the activity and helps them to acquire
autonomy when using language orally.

3. Conlusion.
It is our purpose, as English teachers, to emphasise the communicative
methodologies which best fit the teaching of a foreign language in Primary Education.
A combination of methods, approaches and techniques will be kept in mind when
designing the tasks in our syllabus planning.

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 Apart from the activities, the four skills (listening, speaking, reading and
writing) involved in any of the stages must be considered, because only the
integration of all of them will allow students to communicate efficiently orally and in
writing. Nevertheless, adaptations will be needed for Spanish speakers as the English
language has some specific aspects to take into account, such as: stress, rhythm,
intonation, silent consonants, consonant clusters at the beginning or at the end of
the words, etc.
4. Bibliography.
Brewster, L; Ellis, G. and Girard, D. (1992). The Primary English Teacher’s Guide.
London: Penguin.
Littlewood, W. (1981). Communicative Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Marsh, D. et al, (2001): Profiling European CLIL Classrooms: European Commission
(Handbook).
Numan, D. (2004). Task-Based Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Richard, J. C. (2006). Communicative Language Teaching Today. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.

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