Universite d’antananarivo ecole normale superieure

3.2.3- On using communicative activities in grammar class

Using communicative activities in grammar class is a challenge for teachers. They have to select the appropriate activities for their students. They have to make sure that the activities are really communicative and communication really takes place. Thereby, teachers should focus on the objective of the lesson, the level of the students, their interests and their expected reactions, the length of the activities as well as the different steps to reach the objective. As such, they will not have problems of timing as they are supposed to know the available time for completing a task. The point is to balance the timing, depending on the allotted time. Teachers should also know on which stage they should focus more: is it the first time to present the structure to the students or do the students need reinforcement. Moreover, classroom management is important in completing communicative tasks since there are group works and pair works. A teacher should know the number of his or her students. The members of a group should not be more than four students, except the case of if chain game in which there should be six to twelve students. Teachers should avoid too much choir repetition because some students may not participate at all.