TESOL Proposal

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TESOL Proposal

Introduction

The explicit goal of teaching second/foreign languages is how to use the target language communicatively. Since the communicative approach emerged in the 1980s, language has been perceived as a vehicle for communication rather than simply a set of grammar. The communicative language teaching (CLT) approach has dominated second and foreign language teaching since the 1970s. CLT is based on the assumption that communication is the prime goal of learning any language (Littlewood 1981). This collective action research study investigates how to increase students' oral performance through communicative approaches. The main purpose of this investigation is to learn about the impact of communicative approaches on students' oral performance in primary schools. A classroom is a highly complex environment (Dornyei 2007.186). In addition, classroom researchers appear to be increasingly reluctant to restrict themselves to a single data collection (Nunan 2005.237). Therefore, multiple approaches to data collection are used in the current study, including classroom observations, observation journals, and open-ended questionnaires.

Background

For many decades, the grammar translation method has dominated second language teaching, and most curricula focused on teaching grammatical rules; consequently, oral performance was completely ignored. In the 1950s, the audio-lingual method emerged, replacing the grammar translation method. However, this alternative was also criticized for minimizing student's opportunities to interact and use the language in meaningful ways. Thus, neither method produced satisfactory outcomes. In the 1980s, yet another approach came to dominate language teaching. The communicative language teaching (CLT) approach is built on the assumption that communication is the prime goal of learning any language (Littlewood 1981).

The aim of the research

This research will be conducted in elementary schools in Saudi Arabia, where grammar translation and audio-lingual methods are still followed. This collective action research study investigates how to increase students' oral performance through communicative approaches such as task-based and student-centred approaches. The main purpose of this investigation is to increase student's oral performance through communicative approaches.

Significance of the research

Many Saudi researchers have investigated the challenges of teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) in Saudi Arabia. The vast majority of these studies criticize the teaching methods and/or syllabus. Most of these researchers address the problem without giving practical alternative solutions. Rather than focusing exclusively on EFL challenges in Saudi Arabia, which has been thoroughly investigated, the current study examines the communicative approaches to teaching as an alternative. In particular, it investigates the impact of communicative tasks on students' oral performance while addressing one important challenge to teachers using communicative approaches.

The primary goal of this research is to explore and investigate the effect of communicative approaches on students' oral performance in primary schools in Saudi Arabia, where grammar translation and audio-lingual methods are still followed. Such methods undoubtedly have many drawbacks on learning processes as well as students' participation and academic achievement. In many state schools in Saudi Arabia, communicative approaches are rarely used in English language classroom. As such, opportunities for practicing English inside and outside classroom are scarce. In light of this situation, numerous students in ...