Task-Based Language Teaching vs Communicative Language Teaching

Task- Based Language Teaching (TBLT) and Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)

The Communicative Language Teaching method and the Task-Based Language Teaching method have both similarities and differences in regards to their principles. First of all, the teachers´ goal are little different. The goal of the teacher in the TBLT is to facilitate language when implementing the use of tasks and the goal of the teacher in the CLT is to enable students to communicate in the target language using functions and forms. They also differ in the teachers´ role because in the TBLT the teacher monitors students´ performance and intervenes as necessary, but in the CLT the role of the teacher is to facilitate situations for promoting communication skills. It means that in both methods the teacher not always interacts with students because students usually work in pairs, triads, or groups to complete or practice the tasks or activities that the teacher facilitates. It means that the role of the student is similar in both methods because they are communicators; they have to work with their partners in order to achieve the outcomes proposed by the teacher.  In relation to the characteristics, the activities and the tasks have to be related to any possible situation they could present in their lives because if they feel they are learning something useful, which also prepared them for real life situations, they might feel more motivated to study. Similarly, in both methods, the teacher uses a post task or an accuracy activity to reinforce students´ learning or to address problems they might be having, but in both cases the teacher responds differently to errors. In the TBLT, errors are corrected by recasting, modeling or giving brief grammar explanation, and in the CLT, the teacher notices them and returns to them later with an accuracy activity. One difference lies in the view of language and culture. IN the TBLT the language is considered as a mean of communication and for doing, but the culture is not explicitly dealt unless the task have a cultural focus; contrary to this,  in the CLT the language is considered a mean of communication, with the difference that the culture is the everyday lifestyle of people who use the language. In addition to this, the areas of language that are emphasized also differ from one another. In both methods, the four areas of language are emphasized, but in the TBLT it depends on the type of task. In the CLT language, as well as the development of the four areas of language, functions over forms, along with the learning of cohesion and coherence, are the main emphasis of this method.  Another difference between these methods is the role of the students´ native language because there is not explicit role in the TBLT, but in the CLT the use of  target language should be applied for every activity during the whole class, students native language is applied just when is necessary.