EFFECTIVENESS OF COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING (CLT) IN DEVELOPING FLUENCY AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

The prestige of the English language is recognized globally, as well as within the ESL domain, such as in Pakistan. The study aims to investigate the effectiveness of the communicative language teaching approach in enhancing English language speaking proficiency and fluency among Pakistani secondary school students, who face limited oral proficiency due to the dominance of the grammar translation method, despite English being a compulsory subject. Grammar translation method is a traditional and foundational learning approach; however, in contrast, the communicative language approach has a functional view and an interactional nature, which emphasizes authentic communication, learner-centered activities, and fluency over mechanical accuracy. We use quasi-experimental research to evaluate the fluency outcome of two groups. The experimental group is taught using a communicative approach, and the other group is taught using GTM. The CLT instructions were based on the involvement of speaking proficiency, group discussions, information gap activities, and real-life communicative tasks. Data is gathered by pre- and post-speaking assessment, classroom observation, learner feedback, and a seven-point Likert scale questionnaire. The six students' samples were taken from each of the ten higher secondary schools. The findings indicate that students who are exposed to communicative language teaching have significant improvement in confidence, fluency, and communicative competence, paralleled by their counterparts who were taught by the traditional method. The research contributes to applied linguistics in Pakistan by providing the superiority of communicative language teaching. It further offers insights to educators and stakeholders for reforming syllabus design and classroom environment as a step towards improvement of pedagogy at the secondary school level.