Teachers’ understanding of the communicative language teaching approach: The case of English language teachers in Thohoyandou

IntroductionThe Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) Approach, in terms of language teaching methods, is considered to be the most recent and the most popular of all teaching methods of all times. It has also been held in high esteem for a considerable number of years before it was subjected to criticism by various researchers who investigated its appropriacy to settings in the developing world (Boughey, 2005). It places emphasis on the goal of language learning which is communicative competence. The Department of Basic Education (DoBE) requires that English as a First Additional Language (FAL) or English as Second Language (L2) be taught using CLT (Curriculum statement, 2008). The teaching of English is very important in South African (SA) schools since the language is more than a subject; it is the language of teaching and learning. This then seems to suggest that the learners' progress and success is premised on their competence in English. Therefore, the method used to teach English is not only important for English as a language and as a subject but also for other learning areas.There is general consensus that our school leaving youth at grade 12, especially from SA black schools are inept in the use of English. Ndlovu (1993:23) elaborates that Pupils in black schools in South Africa spend many hundreds of hours over a number of years attending classes in 2nd language learning, and yet the success of these learners in acquiring communicative competence in this language is extremely modest and are certainly not commensurate with the time and effort expended on language teaching programmes. Kariuki (2006) also notes that among the problems that first year university students are confronted with is the inability to comprehend English as it is used in text and also to express themselves clearly in English. The curriculum statement does not provide much in terms of theory and features of CLT for teachers to enhance their knowledge of the CLT theory. It only provides implications of the communicative approach for classroom practice (CS, 2008:10). Considering that CLT can assume many different forms, the lack of extensive guidelines is a notable omission. The findings as stated above illustrating that most South African students using English as a First Additional Language or as a Second language, do not do well in English language usage and the omission inspired the study. It was then conducted in order to establish the teachers' knowledge of the approach that they are supposed to use when teaching English as FAL or L2.The discussion includes the problem statement, followed by the literature review, method, findings and then recommendations.Problem statementFirst year students in higher education exhibit difficulties in constructing correct, complete and meaningful sentences. This is manifested in their written and spoken language. This happens despite the amount of time spent in learning English. Learners are taught English through the use of the communicative approach. This then prompted the study to establish if the teachers tasked with using the approach are conversant with it in terms of its features and related theories and how it differs from other methods.Literature reviewLanguage teaching theories and methods did not see the light of day until the mid-19th century. The learning of a foreign language (Latin and Greek) was done for its own sake and also to promote intellectuality or for being scholarly. No attention was paid to the development of speaking skills in the target language. When the need arose to learn other languages as a second language, there was no readily available method except for the Classical method also known as the Grammar Translation Method (GTM) which was used for the learning of Latin. According to Prator and Celce-Murcia (1979), the GTM was characterised by classes being taught in the mother tongue and with little active use of the target language. …