COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH

Today we have started with Communicative Approach. Communicative Approach is focused on communication, it also promotes interaction and language items are selected on the basis of what the learner need to know in order to get things done through language (in order to perform linguistic functions).

We have also learn the difference between functions and forms:

• Functions of languages are the purposes for which language is used.
• Forms are the linguistic means through which functions are accomplished.

So, as teachers, how should we proceed when selecting the language to teach? Firstly we identify general functions and notions and then, we select linguistic forms to express those functions and notions.

Communicative Approach also uphold that you have to appropriate your language to the context.

And the last characteristic about Communicative Approach is that it should be guided by these principles:

• The information gap principle.
• The information transfer principle (from one format to another).
• The correction for content principle.

Big mistakes are communication content mistakes, not linguistic mistakes. We not only have to be good at using proper linguistic content, we have to be able to use linguistic content accroding to the situation (social markers, politeness conventions...).