Communicative Language Teaching: A New Metaphor

A great deal of current research in language acquisition and in ESL classroom practice is coalescing into a method for second language instruction called Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). Although there is agreement about some of its characteristics, other aspects of this method lack consensus or even clear definition. One reason for this may be because CLT has moved away from the metaphors commonly used to describe language teaching but has not as yet fastened onto one of its own. This article discusses some characteristics of what such a new metaphor might be and reviews a few of the ways in which CLT guides classroom practice, aligns ESL teaching with current theory in other fields, and offers directions for future research.