The Implications of Communicative Language Teaching: Teachers Perceptions in the Spotlight

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is an approach to teaching language, and it can be understood as a set of principles: How learners learn a language better, the kinds of activities that facilitate the process of learning, and the roles of teachers and learners in the classroom. The main purpose is to focus on communicative competence much more than grammatical competence which means developing the ability of learners to communicate with each other. This review aims at reporting EFL teachers’ attitudes towards Communicative Language Teaching, exploring teachers’ reasons for their attitudes, and reporting the discrepancy between teachers’ beliefs towards CLT and their practice in the class. It is indicated that majority of teachers held positive attitudes toward principles of CLT, but they had difficulties in implementing CLT in their classes, and they did not really practice what they preach or belief in. A little gap was seen in teachers’ beliefs and their practices in the class. The present review paper brings to the fore teachers’ attitudes towards CLT which can be beneficial for English teachers, learners, and materials developers.