3565. On Establishing Real Communication in Second Language Lessons

Communication. 

That’s sheer important in second language lessons. Otherwise… why would we summon our students into language classes? If I teach English as a foreign or second language, I have to foster and promote communication in my classroom. 

Sixteen years ago I filled out a card when I was studying my PhD – I carried out those studies yet I did not finish that academic career; anyway I got a lot of interesting research for my lessons and for this blog. On that card I typed: 

Communication

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“The language teaching profession was still not ready for much real communication.” (x; the underlining is ours). We as teachers should foster as well real communication and not just always simulation. Think for instance of the warm-ups we practise in class: they usually deal with real things of their lives (of our students).

So we teachers should also give our logistics announcements to our dear students in the target language or L2, in the classroom. And then, after giving those pieces of information whilst speaking with them, we could reinforce the message in their first tongue (L1), but first, as I said, in L2. We could reinforce in L1, for them not to miss those logistics announcements. And the rest of the class in L2. 

And thus we will interact with those people along the lesson in that tongue, English in our case. Because we teach a second or foreign language for… communication. 

We do not teach language facts, but we teach to communicate with our learners and these ones amongst themselves. 

We can implement roleplays but there should be authentic and genuine communication in English or whatever the language is the one we teach, ok? 

Thus the English classes will be an atmosphere where the communication medium is English. 

And what if our students’ level is so basic it’s hard to communicate in English? 

We could communicate in that basic level. 

Something else I propose is atomized communication, what do you think? Thus you the teacher could say a chunk of message – one sentence for example – in L1 and then in L2, at a basic level. 

Come on, think of it and then let me know what you’ve thought of, because I’m not sure it’d work. 

I had thought I could operate in that way in some classes I was going to teach English in, during this school year, but unfortunately with the pandemics I was not able to accomplish. 

Otherwise: you could teach in very basic English, and then escalate onto more and more advanced levels, little by little. I’ve got to stop here. Have a nice week. 

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