Fluency-led English Language Teaching covers a rich history of humanistic approaches; ones that prioritise the students’ meanings as opposed to following a structural syllabus. These approaches definitely have something to offer us if we’re interested in the communicative part of communicative language teaching.
Three key movements:
Community language learning
Charles Curran, early 1970s
👉 Based on a counselling model, with the teacher as facilitator
👉 Begins with the clients’ (students’) meanings
Dogme
Scott Thornbury, 2000 until now
👉 Conversation-driven and stripped down
👉 Unmediated by the clutter of materials
Task-based learning (TBL/TBLT)
N.S. Prabhu, Dave & Jane Willis, Mike Long, Rod Ellis, 1980s until now
👉 The aim of the lesson is based on students’ succeeding in real or pedagogical tasks
👉 Information gaps and communicative goals (outcomes) optimise the chance for students to negotiate meaning
These approaches have in common that they are radically student-centred. In each case, the idea is the same, and very simple: start with language use. The lesson focus is then firmly on the students, and the language is derived from what the students want to say – possibly with other sources of input, such as the teacher themselves and other immediately relevant and available materials.
The language focus in all three approaches usually comes later in the lesson, and is contextualised and reactive; the teacher can use techniques such as oral reformulation and “upgrades”. Many teachers find this liberating, because instead of repeating familiar presentation routines, they respond to language as it emerges.
Making his case for TBL, Mike Long (2015) described its radical roots in an educational tradition that rejects authoritarian structures and instead follows an alternative and progressive tradition which takes learners’ agency as its starting point.
To begin like this, with the students (*their* contexts, *their* meanings, *their* language) is still probably the boldest and most radical step a language teacher can make with lesson design. The results can be transformative. The language focus is kept personal and relevant; and teachers are kept on their toes.
