Communicative Language Teaching

After reading this article, one word sticks out in my mind: authenticity.  The main key, I feel, to communicative language teaching is making sure that all the materials and contexts are authentic, that they have meaning.  I completely agree with the quote that states "being able to communicate required more than mastering linguistic structures" (p. 121).  You could know all the grammar in the world, but if you can't apply that to a conversation, then you aren't able to communicate. The class that was evaluated had so many beneficial activities, and the reason that they worked so well is because they all were things that applied to real life things and situations.  the picture story, the the sports newspaper, and the election candidates; all these things are examples of what students can encounter outside the classroom.  The article continued to talk about about how the students need to be able to express their opinions and ideas, use the target language, negotiate meaning, and cooperate with the other students.  It is important the the teacher not interrupt and act as a facilitator/ advisor  so the students are able to think for themselves.  There was one thing that confused me, however.  IT was stated that if a student makes an error, it shouldn't be corrected.  If a student makes a mistake and it goes unfixed, then they won't know that they made a mistake, and they will never fix it. This confused me a little bit.  But other than that, I really enjoyed reading the article because it shows how important it is to make sure that teachers provide applicable examples and real-life situations to their students.