Prospects and Challenges of Communicative Approach in EFL Context

Abstract

Since 20th century, language teaching approaches and methods have been consistently oscillating from one end to the other following successive changes in linguistic ideologies and learning theories. Grammar translation, direct method, audio-lingual, Suggestopedia, Silent Way, Total Physical Response and so forth had been in application in many countries with slight modifications. However, none of these methods were able to accommodate learners’ diverse communicative intentions, learning needs and interests. Therefore, to makeup the failures of these methods and approaches, the most liberal and eclectic approach, CLT, emerged in to sphere of existence in the early 1970s. Instantaneously, most non native users of English have adopted the approach in to their own context. While, some other countries which felt sceptic about the compatibility of the approach and obsessed with situational language teaching methods were bound to adopt the liberal approach in to their own situation lately. Yet, irrespective of this, empirical literature revealed that there still exists a mismatch between theoretical presumptions and practical implementation of the approach in many countries where English services as a foreign language chiefly because of intricate delusions and lack of vivid conceptual understanding of the approach. Thus, the intention of this article is to elucidate the prospects and challenges detracting the application of communicative approach in EFL context on the bases of varieties of recent empirical and theoretical literature.