Reconsideration of Communicative Language Teaching for the Korean EFL context

Abstract

Communicative language teaching (CLT)-related innovations and measures in Korea have drawn considerable research interest. A synthesis of these studies’ findings suggests that the implementation of CLT has been difficult in Korea. There is little evidence to suggest that the adoption of CLT has brought any significant changes in classroom teaching practices in Korea. This observation calls for a reconsideration of CLT as it is implemented in the Korean English as a foreign language (EFL) context. The main goal of this study is to reconsider the appropriacy of CLT in the Korean EFL education. For that purpose, the paper revisits major features of CLT, including the emphasis on communicative activities, the orientation toward student-centeredness, the lack of appropriate assessment tools, and the development in the English as a second language environment. The paper then relates the features to realities of Korean EFL education. The study argues that these realities function as constraints on the employment of CLT in the Korean EFL context. As a conclusion, the paper argues for more context-sensitive approach.