Perceptions of and Perspectives on the Term "Communicative" Author(s): Bill VanPatten Source: Hispania, Vol. 81, No. 4 (Dec.

, 1998), pp. 925-932 Published by: American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/345805 . Accessed: 06/09/2011 17:09
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Hispania.

http://www.jstor.org

PEDAGOGY: ALL LEVELS

Perceptions of and Perspectives on the Term "Communicative"

BillVanPatten University Illinoisat Urbana-Champaign of
as Abstract: An analysisof the term"communicative" used by scholarsandas realizedin textbookssuggests differencesbetweenthe perspectivesheld by schola gap between theoryand practiceas well as substantial ars andthe perceptionsheld by instructors, publishers,andothers.These differencesare reviewedandtheir sources tracedto attemptsto adaptthe term itself to existing methodologiesas well as to the educationof languageinstructors. textbooks,theoryand practice Key Words: communicative,

Introduction The term"communicative" come to has in be commonplace secondlanguageteaching. Whetherone is engaged in theoryand research, language instruction,textbook or and development publishing, technological innovations,it is understood,if not exlanguage plicitlystated,thatcontemporary teaching means communicativelanguage teaching. The purposeof the present articleis to of explorethreeperceptions the term"commarmunicative" underlying commercially keted materialsthat in turnreflectpercepThese perceptions held by practitioners. tions are subsequentlycontrastedwith the heldby scholarsandresearchperspectives ers in both second language acquisition andlanguageteaching,revealinga considerable gap between theory and practice. The final section of the article traces the source of this gap throughan examination of historical processes, the relationship between teaching and commerciallypublished materials,and teacher education. Havingbeen deeply involvedin the development of two textbooks (QSabias two que...? andDestinos), experiencesconvinced me thatthatauthorsandusers may have very differentideas abouttheir communicativenature. In the first, a Spanish LanguageProgramDirectorat a large uni-

versity who was considering adopting jSabias que...? for his basic Spanish courses told me thata colleagueremarked, "You wouldadoptthat?But it'snot communicative at all!"On hearing this, I was astounded,because my co-authorsand I believed that we had producedthe first truly communicative textbookon the market.In the second case, at a panel session by users of Destinos,an instructor expresseddisin for appointment the materials not having activities.Once againI any communicative was surprised,for as faras I knew,Destinos fit squarely within communicative approachesto languageteaching. I began to suspect that other instructors across the countryhad similarreactionsto these materials,and I asked myself,"Whyare these materials perceivedas communicative?" not What does the term "communicative" mean in textbooks? textAn examinationof university-level books in Spanishthat claimto be communicativeor to teach towardcommunicative abilityrevealed the followingquotes from texts fromsix the prefacesof six top-selling differentpublishers.1
The primary objectiveof the programis to offerstuskills to dents an opportunity acquirecommunicative of while developingan awarenessand appreciation

926 HISPANIA 81 DECEMBER 1998

Hispanicculture. ...the secondeditionis a completepackageof instructionalmaterials beginningSpanishcourseswhose for skills. goal is proficiencyin communication primary We believethatthe text...canbe adapted individual to teaching situations and goals-among them, a and proficiencyorientation teachingfor communicative competence. A recognizedleaderin the field [titleof text] owes its communicative success to its emphasison developing skills.... [Titleof text]...suggests a sequence of activitiesdesigned to lead studentsto developthe completespectrumof languageskills and a readinessto use Spanish for personallymeaningful communication. These materialswere createdto preparestudentsto communicate simplybut effectivelyin Spanish....

In one way or another,the authorsand publishersof these textbooksmakeexplicit claims about their materials and about teaching towardcommunicativelanguage ability.Just how are these claims realized in these textbooks?An examination sevof eralchaptersin each revealsthat,first,each and every textbook lesson begins with a vocabularylist and words to be learned. Second, each one has a clearly marked grammarsection with exercises separate from the vocabularysection. Third,five of the six books containspecial sections that refer specifically to communication as speaking.These sections alwaysfollowthe and previouslydescribedvocabulary grammarsections andarelabeled"You Havethe Floor!," "Situations,""Let's Converse!," or "Conversation," something similar.The latter sections are of immediate interest, since they pointto the followingperception. refers to Perception 1. "Communicative" speaking.
A strong connection appears to exist between the concept of communicating and oral interaction. Why is this? Although it is certainly possible that a lay person's definition of communication and communicative might be restricted to oral use of language, in the language teaching profession

certainevents mayplaya role in Perception the 1. These events are those surrounding developmentand promotionof the ACTFL ProficiencyGuidelines. communicative language Contemporary teachingin the UnitedStatescanbe traced backto the early1970s,withthe pioneering work of Savignon (1972). Savignon's renatureof lansearchstressedthe functional guage andhowlanguageteachingcanallow room for "free"communicationwithout a subsequent loss in grammaticalaccuracy andotherareasof discretelanguageknowledge. While the term "communicative" nothingmuch creptintoteachereducation, happened with communicativelanguage teachingon a largescale untilthe early80s, when the ACTFLprovisionalproficiency These guidelineswere guidelinesappeared. developedto providea commonyardstick for measuring communicative language Whileguidelineswere developedfor ability. the so-calledfour skills as well as for culturalknowledge,testing mechanismswere developed and disseminatedfor only one: the oralskill.Sincethe early80s, hundreds of teachershave attendedOralProficiency Workshops, and hundreds have gained in workingknowledgeof or certification the Oral ProficiencyInterview.Greatdebates followedregardingthe natureof the guidelines andthe natureof the interview a test as (for example, Valdman1987). As the polemic unfolded,the professionaldiscourse was dominated analmostexclusivefocus by on oral communication. the end of the By 80s, the averagepracticing teacher,a good numberof methodologists,publishers,and others had come to equatecommunication with oral proficiency. In furtherexaminingthe similaritiesof lesson structure in Spanish textbooks, a second probableperceptionrelatedto the term "communicative" emerges. This perception has to do with when communicative activities are appropriate. In the six textbooks previously mentioned, there seems to be a standard lesson sequence: presentation ->practice -> communication. This progression may look familiar, since it follows closely the widely known concept of

PEDAGOGY: ALL LEVELS927

"fromskill-getting to skill-using"(Rivers activ1964).In this model, communicative with skill-using,is approity, synonymous a priateonlyafterskill-getting, termsynonymouswithpresentation practice.Inthis and view of events, a communicative activityin is something to work language teaching toward. is anend point.Itis notsomething It one does all along the way, nor is it even somethingone beginswith.Itwouldappear that a second perceptionof the term communicativeis the following: 2. refers Perception "Communicative" to an endpoint, a goal. A closer look at the actualactivitytypes thatformpartof these communicative sections of textbooks reveals anotherlayer of in languageteaching similarity commercial materials.Fouractivitytypes tend to dominatecommunicative in activities these texts. * picturedescription * structuredquestion-answer * structuredrole-play * pairinterviews Whatall these activitieshave in commonis that students are invitedto interact,but for no other apparentreason than to practice the vocabulary, expressions,andgrammar thathavebeen previously learned.Students thesetasksbecausethatis whatone perform doesin a language class.Studentsdo not,for intervieweach other in order to example, get information requiredto do something intervieweach other because it else; they is oral language practice of a particular grammatical point or set of vocabulary items. These activities and their raison of suggest a thirdperception the term d'etre that permeateslanguage "communicative" teaching.

other words, why are the term "communicative"and the place of communication in these materialsso similar?Although one to mightexpect content be the same across one materials, wouldnotnecessarilyexpect thatthe contentwouldbe realizedin much the same way. I will returnto this question in the third section of this article,but for now it is important note thatthe univerto textbooks suggests the same salityamong who amongpractitioners adopt universality anduse them.In short,thatthe perceptions containedin textbooksareverylikelythose held by practitioners.2 How do scholars view communication and what does it mean to teach communicatively? Inthe introductory chapterto the second editionof her book Communicative Competence: Theory and Classroom Practice, Savignon (1997) develops a series of definitions communication commufor and nicativecompetence:"Communication... is a continuousprocess of expression, interand negotiationof meaning"(8, pretation italics in the Original). Later she adds: "Communicativecompetence applies to both written spoken and as language, wellas to manyothersymbolic (8, systems" italicsin the original). Inhis book,DesigningTasks theComfor DavidNunanpoints municativeClassroom, out thatin many,if not most activities the in real world,a communicative activityis not limitedto one modality(i.e.,skill) andmost certainlycannotbe equatedwith speaking:
There are occasions, certainly,when one is simply listening, speaking,readingor writingto the exclusion of the other skills:examplesmightbe watching a soap operaon television,readinga novel, giving a lecture, or writinga letter to a friend.But there are many other examples where a numberof skills are interwoveninto a complex language activity [read (Nunan1989,22,brackets activity"]. "communicative mine)

refers to the Perception 3. "Communicative" application of learned material (i.e., vocabuOne might imagine, for example, the somelary and grammar). what mundane task of planning a meal, say A question that arises is why there is a dinner party, with a partner or spouse. such commonality across the textbooks. In Here is what the activity would probably

928 HISPANIA 81 DECEMBER 1998

involve: 1. brainstorming(talkingand listening); 2. checking a recipe (reading); 3. makinga list (writing,reading); 4. verifying(talkingand listening).

is speakerof English,while "Wu" not.)

John:So why isn'tDennis here? Wu:He is vacation. John: (verifying what he heard) He's on vacation? Wu:Onvacation,yes. Based on a reading of Savignon and John:Luckyguy. Nunan,amongothers, andbased on everyday tasks that we all perform,a research- In this example,it is clear that the learner based perspectiveon the termcommunica- is not onlyengagingin a communicative act, tive wouldbe the following: but that some kind of languagelearningis In happeningas partof thatinteraction. the 1. Communicative to all third line, John is questioning what he refers Perspective modesof languageuse and is not restricted heard,wantingto makesurehe understood to speakingor so-called abilities. Wu. In the fourth line, Wu realizes that productive something is not quite right and alters his A communicativeactivity,then, is any outputbased on what he just heard from of activityin which the conveyance meaning John. is primary. communicative A In short, scholars' perspectives on the activityis any in which there are both message term communicative not distinguishbedo activity and message interpreterswho tween skill-gettingand skill-using. expressers Applied are responsiblefor communication. Filling to a classroom,if partof a lesson is for stuout a survey is a communicativeactivity. dents to begin internalizing vocabulary the TrivialPursuitis a communicative and grammarfor talking aboutfamilies, a Playing activity.Readingandtakingnotes on a pro- lesson mayverywell begin with an instrucspective graduatestudent'sfile in orderto tor describingandtalkingabouthis or her Studies Committee family.Outof the interaction, preparefor a Graduate appropriation is a communicative Thus, of language begins.3To summarizethese meeting activity. Perspective 1 encompasses a much wider ideas in anotherperspective: range of tasks that those that only involve 2. speakingand also encompassesthe notion Perspective "Communicative" to lanrefers of co-participants communication. in guage acquisition.(Or, better language yet, A readingof the literature second lan- acquisition on occurs because ofcommunicative and use suggests that events.) guage acquisition is communication notthe result of learning discrete bits of language and then putting A thirdscholarly on perspective the term them together (for example, Hatch 1983; communicativerefers to purpose. People Lightbownand Spada1993). It is not clear engage in communicationfor one of two at all that linguisticanalysisor knowledge basicpurposes:social-psychological cogor of grammar atall-precedes nitive-informational(Lee and VanPatten necessarily-if use. What seems more reasonableis that 1995, Chap. 8). These purposes are not the internalization of grammar and lan- mutually exclusive but can be described The nature guage is a result of the ongoing process of separately. social-psychological involvesthe use of comcommunication. state this anotherway, of communication To to theinterpretation, and expression negotiation munication establish,enhance,assure,or of meaningmayprecedeand actuallycause change social or psychological relationlanguageacquisition.The interchangebe- ships between people. Everyday salutalow is a very typicalcommunicativeinter- tions,for example,are simpleacts of social change that occurredin a locker room af- courtesy. How we express them and how ter a tennis match. ("John"is a native we interpretthem are relatedto our social

PEDAGOGY: ALL LEVELS929

It should be clear that the perspectives on communicative (and communication) held by scholarsis researchbased.Afterall, researchis whatscholarsdo. Butwhere do the perceptionscome fromthatare embodied in the six textbooks reviewed previously, perceptions that probably reflect those held by instructorsand others?Current perceptionsof the term "communicative" held by many instructors, textbook authors, and others in the field are most likely a result of two tightlyintegratedprocesses. The first is the adaptationof the term "communicative" fit traditional to beliefs aboutgrammar, language vocabulary, learning,and languageteaching.The secondis the internalization practitioners of by 3. "Communicative" to how they perceivethatcommunicative lanrefers Perspective guage teaching is realizedin existing textpurposeful languageuse. books. A reviewof each of these processes It should be clear by now that there are follows. some fundamental differences between The history of languageteaching is, inhow scholars interpret the term communicative and how many instructors, publishers, and others do. These differences in perceptions and perspectives may be summarized as follows (T/I = textbooks and instructors; S= scholars): terestingly, reflected in a constant tension between theory and methodology. As Musumeci (1997) points out, scholars have never truly disagreed about how languages are learned. Languages are learned through the act of communication. However, scholars are not often in charge of the class-

is "What's boss?" different relationships. up, from "Howare you today, sir?" And at the cocktail party, the statement "I hear you teach at the Universityof Illinois"may really mean "Ihave no one to talk to. Can I hang outwithyoufor fifteenminutesor so?" A great deal of language use, however, in is cognitive-informational nature.Every thousandsof studentsin classroomslisday ten to teachers, ask questions,andprocess about languagein orderto get information a topic. Everydayhundredsof banktellers ask someone"Doyouwantyourbillsin tens or twenties,or does it matter?" becausethey need the information orderto complete in a task. Everydaythousandsof people read the stock marketreportsbecausethey need the information to make important economic decisions. These are all examples where the communicative is aboutgetact information processingit for some and ting purpose. The pointhere is thatspeaking,reading, writing,or listeningwithoutpurposecannot be communicative. When one speaks, one does so because one has a reason. When one reads, one does so because one has a an reason. Likewise,to be communicative, in the classroom must have some activity informational outcome (orsocialpurpose). Students and teachers exchange meaning because they are going to do something with the informationor because they are social beings who are establishing and maintainingsocial and psychologicalrelationships. All this can be summed up in a thirdperspectiveon the term"communicative."

Mode is T/I: Communication speaking. can S: Communication involveanymode of languageuse and any symbolicsystem. Sequencing is T/I: Communication an end point,someto do afterbuildingupdiscreteknowlthing edge of language. is S: Communication languageacquisition. or. Languageacquisitionis communication. Purpose activitiesare for pracT/I: Communicative communication. ticing activitiesinvolvesocialS: Communicative or cognitive-informational psychological outcomes. Where do perceptions come from?

1998 930 HISPANIA 81 DECEMBER

rooms,so one mustlook athow methodologists and materialsdevelopers "translate" theory into practice.In this century,when languageteachingagainturnedits attention towardcommunicativeabilityin the early 1970s,the professionwas well entrenched in teachingpracticesthatwere antithetical to theory. This time the contrast was betweenlanguagelearningas communication andthe solid andextendeduse of drillsand mechanical practice in the classroom as partof audio-lingual methodology. As the concern for communicative abilonce again emerged into the profesity sional discourse (again,in the early 70s), the professionwas confronted with several The firstwas to do nothing,thatis, options. ignore the scholars and keep plugging The alongwith audio-lingual methodology. didnottakethis option.The secprofession ond optionwas to dropcurrentpracticealtogether and put together classroom approaches from scratch. Except for a few renegades, languageteachers did not take this option either. The last option was to somehow make the new focus on communication and learning-as-communication "fit"into the existing audio-lingualpedagogy. This became the optionthatthe profession accepted. In 1972, Cristina Bratt Paulstonpublished an influentialpaper in which she proposed "a theoretical classification of structural pattern drills which attempts to incorporate both the theories of Chomsky and Skinner"(131). Her attemptto reconciletwo irreconcilable theories resulted in the developmentand and hierarchy sequencwidelypromulgated of drilland exercise types for language ing lessons. This sequence is somethingall instructors have seen in textbooks and are familiar with,whetherthey share the same terminologyfor the exercise types or not:
mechanical practice '---> meaningful practice -> communicative practice4

practice,it wouldalwaysbe constrained by the grammatical focus of the sequence. Communication would be at the service of learninggrammar. The secondprocessthathas led to seemof inglyuniversal perceptions the termcommunicativeamong teachers and textbook authors has been the sheer ubiquity of Paulston's model, which most, if not all, textbooks have followed. Choice between textbooks is not that differentfrom choosavailable for ing amongthe myriad products sale. Onechooses a product becauseit does or does not have a particular feature,or because one has been persuaded television by commercials. However, with few exceptions, the productsfor a given purposeare not all thatdifferent.In the same way, textbooks are similar;not much is reallypedagogically differentfromone productto the next. Selectionbecomes a matterof where the subjunctiveis introduced,whether or not thereis a testingpackage,whatthe photos look like andwhetheror not they are in color, and so on. Thus, teachers never see anythingtrulydifferent.In short,teachers' very perceptionsaboutthe natureof communicative activities and their "proper place" in language learning is shaped in part,by the materialsthey have seen over the years. One might rightlyask why researchers and scholars are not writing cutting-edge textbooks that incorporate the latest in scholarshipon language teaching and acquisition.Some do. But publishersare reluctant to publish anything that doesn't "lookfamiliar" language teachers. Pubto is a competitivebusiness and publishing lishers need to sell their products.Thus, there is a cycle of teachers'perceptionsand expectations that shape what publishers will produce (see Figure 1). These materials in turn reinforceteachers'perceptions

and expectations and the cycle is difficult to break. A final aspect of constraints on textbooks Thus was born the most contemporary and language teaching merits at least some attempt to adapt the "new"to the traditional. mention: teacher education. What do aspirAnd because communicative practice would ing 20-21-year-olds or graduate teaching always follow mechanical and meaningful assistants learn about communicative com-

PEDAGOGY: ALL LEVELS931

questionedthe "commuBetween Teachers' 1. Perceptions some individuals Figure TheRelationship of Materials andthePublishing Commercial nicative" natureof the textbooks I thought were clearly communicative. Obviously those colleaguesdidnotrecognizethe comof Commercial municativeness books whichlacked"the Teachers' Materials familiar" & and did subscribe to certainperPerceptions Expectations and ceptionsaboutcommunication communicativeactivities. Withregardto pedagogy, the tremendous gap that exists between and language teaching? Who is theory (supportedby research) and pracpetence and tice is a real concern. In a certain sense, teaching these instructors-in-training what are they teaching them?The results those of us who are involved in language of Teschner's survey of the profilesof uni- acquisition and teaching cannot assume versity level language programdirectors that communicative language teaching The (1987)arerevealing.He foundthatin terms dominatesthe profession. morethatwe of the educationalbackgroundof those in interactwith languageinstructorsand the charge of the educationandtrainingof uni- more we examinewhatis in textbooks and versity graduateassistants in three major how instructorsuse them, the morewe reis are languages:59% likely to have obtained alize that the term "communicative" not in sharedconstructbetweenscholthe Ph.D.in a literary 19% traditional a mutually field; in linguistics; and 14% applied or educa- ars and practitioners.We share the word tionallinguistics.These arethe peoplewho but not its meaning. The future may be different. Perhaps who then traingraduate teachingassistants, with the Ph.D. degree andgo out communicativelanguage teaching will acgraduate in in the worldto teach at universitiesandcol- tuallybe communicative the sense that These people in turn teach other scholars and researchers use the word. leges. of graduate students as well as undergrads, Whatis neededis continuedexamination as andthe cycle continues.It is not unreason- languageteachingmaterials wellas what able,then, to concludethatlanguageteach- happensin classrooms.If scholarswantto ing does not change much over the years, have an impacton languageteaching,they since, in fact, the personnelin higher edu- must continually review how theory and into cation does not change much. Teschner's research are "translated" practice.5 of language programdirectorsbeprofile comes morerevealingwhen one makesthe * NOTES of following calculation: if only 14% laninformation are 1Thetextooknamesandpublisher directorsin the entirecounguage program The omitted. textswereselectedbecause are appliedlinguists,andif there is usu- intentionally try they have enjoyeda great deal of popularity. own My allyonlyone personin appliedlinguisticsin texts have been omittedfromanalysis. a language department, then probablyless as This articleoriginated keynotespeeches. Disthan 1%of the entirelanguageprofessoriate cussions with instructorswho were in the audience in the U.S. is a specialistin appliedlinguis- suggest thatthese are widelyheld perceptions. to 3Itis notuncommon hearteachersandmethodtics relatedto languagelearningand teachall ologists alike say somethinglike, "That's well and ing. In short, we have no large population good,butthe classroomis a confinedplacewitha limof language educators at the Ph.D. level. ited amountof contacttime. Thus, we have to have AlUniversitylanguage departmentsare, by some short cuts (e.g., practicewith grammar)." is on and large, departments of literature and thoughreasonable the surface,thisargument not supportedby theory and research. Acquisitionand culture. Conclusion Itis noweasierforme to understand why
use of languageare acquisitionand use of language, naturecannotbe changed. period.Theirfundamental There is no way to acquirea language"inX easy lessons."The pointhere is thatin some cases, there are not substitutesfor the real thing.

932 HISPANIA 81 DECEMBER 1998

4Mechanical practices may be defined as those duringwhich the learner need not pay attentionto meaningin orderto successfullycompletethe practice. In addition, there is alwaysone andonlyone correct response. Meaningful practices are those in which the learnermust pay attentionto meaningin orderto successfullycompletethe practicebutagain, there is one andonlyone correctresponse,thatis, the teacherknowsthe responseto the question.Communicativepracticesarethose in whichthe learnermust to payattention meaningin orderto successfullycomplete the practicebut the meaningcontainedin his/ her response is unknownto the teacher (Lee and VanPatten 1995, Chaps. 5 and 6, review these definitionsandthe sequencingof practices). 'This is a revisedversion of severalkeynote addresses deliveredat variousstate languageteaching conferencesduring1997and1998:the MichiganForeign LanguageTeachers' Association and the AlabamaAssociationfor ForeignLanguage Teaching.

1995.MakingComLee,JamesF., andBillVanPatten. municative NewYork: Language Teaching Happen. McGraw-Hill. Lightbown,Patsy, and Nina Spada 1993.How LanOxford: OxfordUP. guagesAre Learned. Musumeci, Diane. 1997. Breaking Tradition.New York:McGraw-Hill. Nunan, David. 1989. Developing Communicative Tasks.Cambridge: UP. Cambridge Pattern Paulston,ChristinaBratt. 1972. "Structural Drills."TeachingEnglishas a SecondLanguage. Eds. H. B. Allen and Russell N. Campbell.New York:McGraw-Hill. 129-38. and Rivers, WilgaR. 1964.ThePsychologist theForeign Chicago:U of ChicagoP. LanguageTeacher. 1972.Communicative Savignon,Sandra. Competence: An Experimentin Foreign Language Teaching. Center Curriculum for Philadelphia: Development. -. 1997. CommunicativeCompetence: Theoryand Classroom Practice.2nd ed. New York:McGrawHill. 0 Works Cited V. Teschner, Richard 1987."AProfileof the Specialization and Expertiseof LowerDivisionForeign Hatch, Evelyn. 1983. "Simplified Input and Second DirectorsinAmerican UniverLanguage Program Language Acquisition." Pidginization and sities."TheModern Language Journal71: 28-35. Creolization Language as Acquisition.Ed. Roger Valdman, Albert.1987.Proceedings theEvaluation on Andersen.Rowley,MA:NewburyHouse. 59-86. IN: ofForeignLanguage Bloomington, Proficiency. IndianaUniversity,Centerfor Researchand Developmentin LanguageInstruction.