Apply the Communicative Approach in Listening Class

【Abstract】Speaking and listening are the two obstacles in the process of our learning and they are also the most important abilities that we should possess. Communicative approach aims to the ability of learners’communicative competence， thus apply the communicative approach in listening class is an effective way in English teaching procedure.

【Key words】communicative approach； listening class

The communicative approach

The communicative approach is an approach to foreign or second language teaching which emphasizes that the goal of language learning is communicative competence. It is also called communicative language teaching. The communicative approach has been developed particularly by British applied linguist as a reaction away from grammar-based approaches such as the audio-lingual method. Teaching materials used with a communicative approach often teach the learner to express and understand different kinds of functions， such as requesting， describing， expressing likes and dislikes， the approach follows a notional syllabus and emphasizes the process of communication， such as using language appropriately in different kinds of tasks， e.g. to solve puzzles， to get information， and using language for social interaction with other people.

Content of communicative activities in listening class

The communicative activities advocate the integration of skills. It holds that the skill of listening， speaking， reading and writing are rarely used in isolation outside the classroom in a real sense. And in the listening classroom， we can integrate various skills and activities in the listening class. Overall competence in the foreign language is going to involve more than performing in the four skills separately， it will also involve them in effective， combined use of the skills which will depend on the nature of the interaction taking place.

In developing listening and note-taking skills by using video materials， the teacher might first ask learners what they know or think about the topic in the first instance. Next， the teacher can play a short sequence of the tape and ask them to take guided notes on a sheet provided， or ask them to note down the most important points that they hear， or the most interesting points. A follow-on activity from this would be discussion work where learners discuss points that they found interesting or， if the material is suitable， some aspects of the tape which may be more open to question. Then the students could be asked to reconstruct the overall message of the tape from their own notes. Then the teacher hands out a transcript of this section of the tape for immediate feedback and self-correction.

Oral presentation along with the listening is good for the learner to use the context truly. That is one of the responses. One way to begin this activity is to choose proper listening materials. Background information can be provided first and make the student have a general idea of it. After the teacher played the tape， students are required to repeat the passage and renew it each other. On the one hand， students can strengthen their understanding of it and on the other hand， they can grasp some more specific knowledge， whatever minimal language structure or material word.

Another way is to create communicative situation. Teachers may setup different situations and students choose one topic to start a conversation. Actually， the process of speaking is the process of listening， and it more vivid and efficiency. This also encourages the students to talk with the foreign language in the daily life and improve their communicative competence.

Role-play activities are often thought to be one of the most effective ways of integrating language skills in the language classroom. Role play activities involve the learner in "role assumption"， in other words， the learner takes on a different role from his normal one by "playing the part" of a different person. In this situation， students are actively in their own part and forge their communicative abilities.

Besides， language games are used frequently in the foreign language teaching. The students find them enjoyable if they are properly designed， they can inspire the students' interest to a great degree and offer students valuable communicative practice.

Also some communicative activities like interviews， information gap， language exchange， pair work and learning by teaching can be applied in the communicative classroom. All of these make a vivid and valid classroom.

References：

[1]Penny Ur.2000.Teaching Listening Comprehension[M]. Cambridge： the Press of the University of Cambridge.

[2]H.G.Widdowson.1978.Teaching Language as Communication[M]. Oxford： Oxford University Press.

*本文为北京政法职业学院科研青年项目，项目名称：交际法在高职英语听说教学中的应用。