Table of Contents:
1. Communicative Language Teaching Approach
2. Task-Based Language Teaching Approach
3. The Lexical Approach
4. Integrating Grammar into Skills-Based Lessons
Communicative Language Teaching Approach
The Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach focuses on teaching grammar in context, emphasizing communication over accuracy. In a TEFL classroom, this approach involves creating opportunities for students to use grammar structures in real-life situations. Teachers provide meaningful contexts for grammar practice through activities such as role-plays, information gaps, and discussions. By using authentic materials and encouraging student interaction, CLT helps learners develop their communicative competence while acquiring grammar naturally.
Task-Based Language Teaching Approach
Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) is a learner-centered approach that integrates grammar instruction into meaningful tasks. In TBLT, students work on tasks that require the use of specific grammar structures to complete them successfully. By focusing on the task, students are motivated to use grammar accurately to achieve a communicative goal. Teachers provide feedback on grammar errors that arise during task completion, helping students improve their accuracy while maintaining a focus on communication. TBLT encourages students to learn grammar in context and apply it to real-world situations.
The Lexical Approach
The Lexical Approach emphasizes the importance of teaching grammar in chunks of language, rather than isolated rules. This approach focuses on the teaching of high-frequency phrases and collocations, helping students learn grammar naturally through exposure to authentic language use. By teaching grammar in context and highlighting the relationship between words, the Lexical Approach helps students develop a more intuitive understanding of grammar. Teachers can incorporate activities such as vocabulary exercises, word games, and language drills to reinforce grammar structures within meaningful language chunks.
Integrating Grammar into Skills-Based Lessons
Integrating grammar instruction into skills-based lessons helps students see the relevance of grammar to real communication. By connecting grammar practice to reading, writing, listening, and speaking activities, teachers can show students how grammar enhances their ability to communicate effectively. For example, teachers can introduce grammar points through reading passages, then ask students to discuss the content or write a summary using the target structures. By integrating grammar into skills-based lessons, students see grammar as a tool for expressing themselves in English, rather than a set of abstract rules.
