Current Literature on English Language Teaching (ELT) - Volume 43 Number 4 (2005)

Sep 15, 2026

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Article critiques the transfer of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) from Western contexts to non-Western settings, arguing that imported pedagogy often clashes with local social, cultural, and physical conditions. Instead of abandoning CLT in EFL classrooms such as Vietnam or China, the article proposes a localized, modified CLT that aligns with local needs. It explains CLT’s theoretical essentials and discusses why misconceptions and limited theoretical understanding can lead teachers back to traditional instruction, concluding that CLT should be redefined for differing local conditions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

The need for CLT

CLT adoption in Vietnam

CLT adoption in China

Barriers to classroom implementation

Defining the essentials of CLT

CLT in theory

Communicative competence in CLT

Pham Ho a Hiep V I E T N A M C“IomportemmunicativedL PLLIOCATIONSCAL TEACHERS 2 URRENT LITERATURE ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING (ELT) CRITICIZES the transfer of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) from Western Englishspeaking countries to other development contexts. This transfer is seen as problematic since pedagogy imported from abroad conflicts with the social, cultural, and physical conditions of the recipient countries (Holliday 1994, Pennycook 1989) . However, abandoning CLT in the English classroom in countries such as Vietnam or China seems not to be a viable measure, given that the ultimate goal of English teaching in these countries is to help learners acquire a good working command of English. The solution, therefore, appears to be a modified version ofCLT, made appropriate to the local condition. For this, a deep understanding ofCLT theory and its implications for classroom practice is important (Thompson 1996, Sato and Kleinsasser 1999) . This article defines the theoretical essentials of CLT and characterizes the issues that commonly arise when CLT theory V O L U M E 4 3 N U M B E R 4 2 0 0 5 􀀂 E N G L I S H T E A C H I N G F O R U M Teaching C is put into practice, aiming to offer suggestions to help EFL teachers in non-Western EFL settings develop appropriate CLT practices for their classrooms. Finally, the article identifies the need to redefine CLT to accommodate the theory to differing local conditions. The need for CLT With the importance of English in the world today and the demand to teach learners a working command of English to satisfy various communicative needs in their life, EFL teachers in many Asian countries have felt an urge to learn the newest and best methods of teaching. In Vietnam, for example, teachers of English recognize that traditional pedagogy, emphasizing the acquisition of grammar and vocabulary rather than communicative competence, does not meet the requirements of English learning in an era of integration and globalization. Since the early 1990s, therefore, CLT has quickly gained popularity in Vietnam. Universities and schools have not only encouraged teachers of English to attend workshops and seminars on CLT given by foreign educational agencies in the country but have also sent their teaching staff abroad to study in TESOL or TESOL-related programs. In China, as in Vietnam, the government feels that the use of CLT is beneficial. Thus, the State Education Development Commission, which represents the highly centralized Chinese system of education, requires the teaching of English for communication (Liao 2004) . Liao (270) observes that “by introducing CLT, teachers can keep up with developments in English methods outside China. If not, teachers will return to the traditional way of teaching…. In addition, CLT will assist learners to develop greater competence in the use of English for communication.” Teachers in many countries, including Vietnam and China, are eager to learn about the newest methods of teaching English, but whether they use those methods in their classroom remains a matter of speculation. Le (2000) observes that Vietnamese teachers express their appreciation for communicative ways of teaching English during the training courses, “but after they return from those courses, they continue teaching in their own way, using traditional methods” (73) . Although CLT was introduced to China more than twenty years ago, ample data indicate that many English classrooms are more traditional than communicative (e.g., Burnaby and Sun 1989, Hui 1997, Hird 1995, Yu 2001) . The failure to promote CLT by many EFL teachers inspired to learn about it is a great concern in the ELT profession. In response to Bax’s 2003 criticism of CLT, Harmer (2003, 292) makes the important point that “the problem is not with the methodology itself, or with ideas that it generates, but rather with how they are amended and adapted to fit the needs of the students who come in

FAQs

Why is transferring CLT from Western contexts considered problematic?

The article argues that pedagogy imported from abroad can conflict with the recipient countries’ social, cultural, and physical conditions.

What solution does the article propose instead of abandoning CLT?

It proposes a modified, locally appropriate version of CLT that supports the goal of helping learners develop effective working command of English.

What factors make many teachers fail to promote CLT in classrooms?

Misconceptions about CLT and insufficient theoretical understanding can lead teachers to revert to traditional teaching methods.

Sep 15, 2026

Uploaded by Aladdin