Language Bridge

Method of choice

Language Bridge’s method of choice in helping language learners master the English language is based on Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach. According to CLT, the objective of language instruction is the ability to communicate in the foreign language (Savignon 1997). This differs from previously common perspective in which knowledge of grammar rules was considered to be the primary objective in language training.

It is a familiar situation for many English as a Second Language (ESL) learners: having been taught the basic vocabulary, grammar, reading and writing skills in the classroom, they try to talk to a native speaker, only to recognize that the conversation is moving along cumbersomely, if at all, and both parties strain to understand each other. How is it possible to learn ESL for years and still end up having trouble in a face-to-face conversation? And why was it easy to talk with one’s classmates and teachers, and so awkward and difficult—with the native speaker?

Communicative competence

It turns out that these problems arise because of the traditional ESL teaching’s overemphasis on what the famous linguist Noam Chomsky (1965) called “linguistic competence,” the knowledge of words and grammatical rules of the language. Another famous linguist Dell Hymes (1964) demonstrated that simply knowing the grammatical rules and vocabulary is not sufficient for effective communication. Hymes showed that effective communication also required what he called “communicative competence”—knowing when and how to speak, when to listen, what words to use in specific contexts and situations, etc.  

For example, most linguistically competent ESL learners would know that the word “chill” means “cool” in English. A communicatively competent speaker, however, will also know that “chill” may refer to a relaxed, not fussy, self-confident person. In addition, a communicatively competent speaker will know that this word should not be used in a work interview or a college application to describe oneself.

Conversational practice

In order to develop ESL learners’ communicative competence, CLT teachers choose learning activities that are the most effective for students developing communicative abilities. Conversational practice, rather than only grammar drills or reading and writing activities, is common among CLT instructors, because it includes active conversation and original, unscripted responses from students. Conversation practice promotes collaboration, fluency, and confidence in the language learners.

Traditional language classes tend to focus on “correct” way of speaking. Teachers who are focused on linguistic competence shun colloquialisms, which means that they actively try to speak in the way most people don’t actually speak. As pointed out by Jean-Marc Dewaele, Professor in Applied Linguistics and Multilingualism at the University of London, the training the learners receive in such classes is not diverse enough for the learners to comprehend and master everyday speech (Dewaele 2004).

Learning effectiveness

Numerous researchers have demonstrated that conversation practice is extremely important in language training. Conversation practice between native and non-native speakers significantly improves second language learning effectiveness (Long 1996). Being able to converse with a native speaker helps non-native speakers, not only in their ability to understand native speakers, but also to be understood by them (Gass & Varonis 1994).

A recent study co-authored by the University College London and The University of Tokyo researchers examined the effects of video-based conversational interaction on second language learners’ speaking proficiency (Saito & Akiyama 2017). The researchers compared two groups of students. One group used a telecommunication tool, such as Skype (today, that could also be Zoom) to practice conversation with a native speaker. The second group did standard vocabulary and grammar exercises. The authors discovered that, after twelve weeks, students in the conversation practice group considerably improved their listening comprehension, speech fluency, vocabulary application flexibility, and grammar accuracy, while the group that did only grammar and vocabulary exercises showed no significant improvement.

Bridging the divide

Our choice of the language training approach is informed by why we learn a foreign language in the first place. We don’t learn it to know the words and grammar rules. While those are important as foundational building blocks, our ultimate objective is to be able to connect with people who speak a different language. For that, we need to master contextual usage and cultural underpinnings of the language. With that mastery, we can successfully bridge the language divide.

Bibliography

Chomsky, Noam. 1965. Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. Cambridge: M.I.T. Press.

Dewaele, Jean-Marc. 2004. The acquisition of sociolinguistic competence in French as a foreign
language: An overview. Journal of French Language Studies, 14 (3). 301-319.

Gass, Susan, & Varonis, Evangeline. 1994. Input, interaction, and second language production.
Studies In Second Language Acquisition, 16 (3). 283-302.

Hymes, Dell. 1964. Two types of linguistic relativity. In Sociolinguistics: proceedings of the
UCLA Sociolinguistics Conference. 114-67.

Long, Michael H. 1996. The role of the linguistic environment in second language acquisition. Handbook Of Second Language Acquisition. 413-468.

Saito, Kazuya, & Akiyama, Yuka. 2017. Video‐based interaction, negotiation for comprehensibility, and second language speech learning: A longitudinal study. Language Learning, 67 (1). 43-74.

Savignon, Sandra J. 1997. Communicative competence: theory and classroom practice: texts and contexts in second language learning. McGraw-Hill.

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